Desperate ApeWives, Hollywood’s newest starlet
I lived and worked in LA for years so when I heard Desperate ApeWives had the opportunity to have a presence at NFTLA I was thrilled at the exposure opportunity. LA has long been the heart of the entertainment industry but it’s now rapidly become a hotspot for the NFT world as well. Countless self proclaimed “degens” have made LA their home in search of the opportunities crypto has to offer. It’s like the gold rush meets the Wild West so perhaps California was always destined to be an NFT hotbed. We had to make sure DAW was on everyone’s radar!
As a team we had a lot of discussions leading up to LA about how we wanted to approach the conference and event. For the conference we wanted to get Desperate ApeWives in front of the wider NFT community and also place a heavy emphasis on networking.
We may be in Web3 but there is still tremendous value in face to face encounters. With industry leaders attending the conference we knew this was a valuable opportunity to share more insight with them on the DAW community and brand.
We also wanted to utilize our event to create more exposure for DAW. DAW knows how to throw a party as the community has seen through the VIP experiences in Miami and London but we wanted LA to be different.
We’d heard a lot of feedback from the community that holders wanted a chance to connect with each other more so we knew we had to structure our party differently and set it up for mingling but still capture the high end experience DAW is known for.
After weeks of planning and preparation by the team we couldn’t be happier with how everything turned out and are proud of the impression DAW left on Los Angeles!
It was incredible meeting so many holders in person but for those not able to make it to the event this time we wanted to share a journal about our trip.
NFTLA Travel Journal
Day 1
Day 1 at NFTLA was an incredible experience! We arrived in LA and checked into the conference. There was a fun surprise for everyone checking into the conference! When attendees opened up their conference goodie bags they found adorable DAW Marilyn Monroe stickers with QR codes to OpenSea to put on their computers or water bottles. Attendees loved them!
Pretty quickly we started noticing people walking around in DAW merch and everyone started connecting with each other. It was incredible to meet so many DAW holders and walk around looking at exhibits and listening to speakers. Having DAW tees and hoodies definitely made it easier to spot each other.
Archer created a custom Marilyn inspired shirt design for the trip and every DAW holder at the conference got one!
We really enjoyed listening to Mark Cuban speak and some surprise celeb guests including Charlie Sheen who hopped up on stage to share about his new interest in NFTs!
We also found our amazing friend Kelly who voices a DAW on the new TV show The Red Ape Family. She was impossible to miss! Kelly was decked out in an adorable tie dye shirt to match her DAW and even had a modified Apple Watch on a necklace showcasing her DAW. This creative spirit is what DAW is all about.
After attending the talks, the team spent time networking with brands interested in the NFT Space.
It was a busy day and we still had a lot of last minute details to finalize for the event later in the week but it was definitely a fantastic start to the conference!
Day 2
Day 2 was a fantastic day for DAW! Desperate ApeWives had the honor of being selected for a panel highlighting Women in the NFT space. Our very own Sophia was on a panel of incredible women discussing “Educating and Enhancing Opportunities for Women using NFTs”.
She was on stage with a team of amazing women working in the NFT space including our friend Gigi from Crypto Tech Women. We’ve done Spaces with her before so having our worlds collide for an NFTLA panel was a fun surprise.
There was a great audience turnout and everyone wished it had been even longer. The topic is so important and we definitely need to plan a follow up Spaces panel on it to continue the discussions. Our upcoming Fashion Mentorship program is something we are really excited about to help more talented designers enter the metaverse.
Assaf had the opportunity to meet with a number of people at the conference interested in Fashion 3.0 and also had a lot of people express interest in the mentorship program.
The rest of the team also met with more incredible people from across the NFT space and got more RSVPs for our Friday event. It’s all coming together and DAW is ready to shine.
Steve Aoki was the special guest of NFTLA nightlife for day 2 and The Gardener met with him backstage before his performance and shared about Desperate Apewives!
It may be Web3 but in person meetings and being able to communicate face to face is so valuable.
We also have some DAWs starting to pop up around downtown LA. I wonder how many people will find a Marilyn DAW?
Day 3
This morning we had a meeting with our LA Marketing agency. We have been busy building exposure plans with them for the event on Friday and beyond!
Part of our marketing strategy is finding key collaborations and they have helped us set some meetings in the LA fashion world and we are looking forward to exploring the opportunities that could get our DAWs in stores.
We also found out about more brand representatives coming to our event and can’t wait to show off the DAW brand and community .
We have loved having this opportunity to interact with our holders and others across the NFT space and can’t wait to meet even more at the event.
The Gardener attended a BAYC event and had the chance to meet other BAYC/MAYC holders and share about DAW. He even unknowingly spent awhile chatting with one of DAW’s first supporters Baron VonHustle and they didn’t realize who each other was until later in the conversation! Meeting people IRL who only know you as a pfp is an awesome experience.
It’s amazing that web3 gives us the unique opportunity to be judged for what we do and the value we provide and not what we look like. It has given so many people new confidence to pursue their dreams and the freedom to be whoever they want to be.
The conference wrapped up today but the biggest day is still yet to come for DAW!
Day 4
The conference may have wrapped up but for the DAW team the excitement continues! We have been all hands on deck for the past few weeks getting everything ready for this day.
We wanted to create a memorable event that highlights all the incredible things about the DAW brand so that anyone stepping into the party would instantly see what DAW is all about.
The community has had a blast at the incredible nightlife events DAW has thrown in Miami and London but we had a lot of requests for something a little different this time where people could spend time talking and getting to know each other more. Tackling an outdoor daytime event meant we got to really get creative with the design since we couldn’t just rely on screens like you can do at night.
Thankfully we have the incredible DAW artist extraordinaire Archer McCall who was able to create magical art murals for us featuring our DAWs in Hollywood.
From the moment you stepped through the gates of Lombardi House in Hollywood, DAW was everywhere.
Immediately as you entered you could walk down the red carpet to the Desperate ApeWives step and repeat and snap some pics next to two of our DAW stars — Marilyn and Wonderwoman. Talented DJ Storm hit it out of the park with the music and everyone was going bananas when the Ape Anthem played. Seriously — what other project has their own theme song! You couldn’t help feeling proud to be part of the DAW family with the anthem blasting.
Tons of young Hollywood influencers came by the party and snapped pics on the DAW red carpet. It’s exciting seeing how much interest and buzz the NFT space is getting. It definitely feels like it’s right on the edge of exploding and going completely mainstream. Once Instagram launches their NFT integration that’s coming soon I imagine the NFT space will see a huge wave of new adopters. The influencers we met at the event have been hearing all the NFT buzz and were eager to learn more. We were approached numerous times with questions on how to set up a wallet and get NFTs. It was definitely a reminder of how early we are still!
Some celebs are already active in the NFT space like DAW holder Ashley Greene who attended the party. She recently launched her own NFT project and said on her Instagram video after the party how excited she was to see the NFT space evolving to the point where projects are doing amazing events like DAW.
We also had conversations with several representatives for major brands that attended the event and the reception to DAW was incredible. We’re looking forward to the follow up discussions we have planned.
The DAW community is like no other in the NFT space and we definitely have the most incredible holders. Our DAW holders at the event ranged in age from a baby to retirees! The atmosphere was magical and there was something to do for everyone.
The 360 photo booth let people who stepped inside literally become part of the DAW world. Everyone had fun showing off their dance skills on DAWllywood blvd. A banana sweets bar filled with adorable DAW treats gave everyone their sugar fix. We even had some custom DAW donuts made as an inside joke for our holders who have passionately advocated for a DAW Donut collaboration on discord. So any Donut companies reading this — reach out for collabs. The donuts were a huge hit and I sense an opportunity here. There was also a chocolate dipped banana bar with every topping you could dream of.
Holders could also grab one of the signature DAW cocktails at the open bar before getting an Amkiri tattoo to show their DAW spirit!
And of course, we can’t forget the most important part of an NFT event (besides our incredible community) — the NFT’s themselves! We transformed the farmhouse building at Lombardi House into a state of the art gallery featuring 70” screens highlighting some of the incredible DAWs in the collection. It was a beautiful sight.
We also had an AR experience where attendees could become a DAW and get a sneak peek of the Decentraland skin airdrop for holders!
Our merch pop up shop was another mega hit. We showed off pieces from our first DAW merch drop and the beautiful custom beaded purses by Richclass Decor which influencers swooned over!
Everyone had to have some DAW fashion and the influencers have been flooding instagram with pics!
We also made sure everyone got to take home one of the LA Marilyn DAW tees and help themselves to our deluxe candy bar on the way out.
Last but certainly not least, one of the things we were most excited about at the event was our DAW banana wing wall because the meaning behind it is really important to us and what DAW is all about.
We believe web3 should be a place where everyone has the Freedom to Be whoever they want to be. We are committed to providing opportunities for self expression and creating a community where everyone feels welcome.
We wanted to create a collaborative art piece together with the community to celebrate self expression.
We worked with talented muralists to create a stunning wing wall made of bananas. Along the top it said “Freedom to Be” and the community was invited to fill in the rest and write on the bananas what that means to them. It was incredible seeing so many creative ideas fill the wall and beautiful how diverse and unique our community is.
Each banana was different and represented a member of our community and together they formed majestic wings.
We are all unique and special as we are and when we come together we SOAR!
The party may be over but the journey for DAW is just becoming!
