North Bay Woman

S U M M E R 2 0 1 5 | NORTH BAY WOMAN 19 helped me a lot." The fi rst three years were a blur, she admits. "But I got a lot of support within the company, and within the community, which was key to my personal and company success." By the third year she realized that, even though she had run away from business, she had grown to like it. "I really enjoyed the entrepreneurial side of it so I gave up law school and revised my career plan," she says. At the time, she was still renting both heavy equipment and event supplies out of the original Petaluma location. The event rental division was fairly small. "We had two china lines back then," she remembers. "By comparison, there are now 20 lines." Then, in her ninth year running the company, her brother Tyler Doherty came on board. He became general manager of Cal West Rentals and took over the heavy equipment rentals. She purchased a small event company in Healdsburg, merged it with her dad's event rental division and became general manager of the rebranded company, Encore Events Rentals. Today, her company operates out of the original Petaluma showroom, a St. Helena design studio and the Healdsburg showroom with a 1500 square-foot warehouse. Each location has samples of available pieces. "The warehouse is what surprises people the most," she says with a laugh. "When I give warehouse tours and let them see what goes on behind the scenes, they're amazed. They see the whole process from how we wash 10,000 wine glasses a week to the rows and rows of linens and the stacks upon stacks of chairs." A workshop was established at the Petaluma location to produce custom farm tables, bars and additional furnishings to add to the inventory. "As we've grown, so has our custom furniture division," Doherty says. "It's high-end and we're known for our farm line." The farm look, she notes, has been a consistently popular style. "For us, here in the Wine Country and the North Bay, the farm look is never going to go away," she says. "It will evolve this year because even the farm look is going to go more formal." But for those who prefer the polar opposite of rustic, she offers modern. "While it won't be the choice of the majority, we are adding modern pieces," she says. "Some really talented designers who come in with their clients have mixed the two for a unique look,' she reveals. Having a well-stocked inventory with multiple choices of Left: Encore Events Rentals worked with A Savvy Event event planners to design this wedding in Glen Ellen using custom made farm tables and bistro chairs, amberwater goblets and crystal glassware. – Photo by Melanie Duerkopp Photography. Above: Encore Events Rentals warehouse in Healdsburg has rows of linens in every size and color to match your event scheme. – Photo by Stuart Lirette. >> – Photo by Allyson Wiley Photography.

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