I create live events that make people fall for food and travel brands.
Media and creator dinners, product launches, behind-the-scenes tours, press trips, and community gatherings that put your brand face to face with the people you want to reach. All planned by a writer and podcast host who knows how to make a room full of strangers feel like friends.
Based in San Francisco, with Sonoma County roots. Producing events from coast to coast.
How I work
What guides the studio
Analog at Heart
I grew up analog, and I still believe the best connections happen in person.
Director's Eye
Theater major turned producer. Every event is opening night, and I sweat every detail so you don't have to.
Your Loudest Cheerleader
I was a cheerleader long before I was a producer, and I never really stopped. When I believe in your brand, every guest in the room will know it.
Sonoma Roots
I grew up surrounded by the vineyards and family farms behind some of the best food and wine in the world. That's where I learned the real story starts with the people who grow it.
“When Shannon Gomes puts together an event you know it will be an extraordinary experience. She is so creative and always keyed into the latest trends — her events are always fun, different, informative and delicious!”
Why The Gomes Studio
Why The Gomes Studio
I'm the media, too.
I built The Gomes Guide, my travel newsletter and podcast, from a blank Substack page into a growing community of fellow Gen Xers. It's made Substack's "Rising in Travel" list several times. The podcast is my favorite part. Across more than 50 episodes, I've talked with everyone from food tour guides to travel industry insiders, and each conversation teaches me what makes a story stick. As a travel writer and a board member and Program Director of Bay Area Travel Writers, I'm on the guest list too, so I know what makes a writer reach for a notebook. I plan every event to give writers and creators a story they can't wait to tell.
The real people get the mic.
Your best storytellers are already on your team. The farmer, the winemaker, the chef, the founder. Anyone who lights up talking about what they make or the place they call home. I coach them to share their story like they're telling a friend, whether they're speaking to a room full of guests or sitting down in front of a mic or camera. A real face telling a real story builds the kind of trust no ad can buy.
Any size, anywhere.
I've produced events of every size, from intimate cocktail gatherings to two-day immersive farm tours and major brand launches. They've taken me coast to coast, from New York, Chicago, and Boston to L.A., Seattle, Denver, Dallas, Atlanta, and right here at home in San Francisco.
What I do
On the menu
Media & Creator Experiences
Journalists, editors, and creators remember the stories they lived, not the ones they read in a press release. I've spent 20+ years immersed in the food world, and today I'm a travel writer, podcast host, and Program Director of Bay Area Travel Writers. I know these folks, and I know what gets them to say yes.
Gatherings, Big and Small
Launches, intimate dinners, farm tours, destination showcases, and creator getaways. Your guests leave knowing your story and wanting to tell it to someone else.
Content From the Room
I bring in the photographers, videographers, and creators so you can enjoy the night. You walk away with photos and video you'll use for months after the last guest goes home.
Grow Your Own Community
A great event is a first date. Community is the long relationship. I help brands, destinations, and local businesses turn first-time guests into regulars who bring their friends. That might look like a monthly supper club, a members-only tasting night, a crew of local ambassadors, or a standing Saturday people plan their weekends around.
The B-Side
Every great record has a B-side, the smaller track the real fans love. Not every business needs a big event. For small food, wine, and travel brands, I'll help you make content, pick the social platforms worth your time, and get a newsletter or Substack off the ground. I'll also coach you until you're comfortable on camera and behind a mic.
About Shannon
Shannon Gomes
Founder, The Gomes Studio
20+ years of events, press trips, and brand partnerships. I know how to read a room and make everyone at the table feel like the most important person there.
Brands I've worked with
Some familiar names.
Past Work
A Few Favorites.
Camp Corto for Corto Olive Co.
Alongside the Dadascope team, I planned a two-day visit to Lodi, CA, for fifteen of the top female pizzaiolas in the U.S. After a welcome dinner the first night, they followed the olives from the grove to the mill, then learned to taste fresh olive oil like pros. Later, we pitched tents and rolled in a mobile cocktail bar to turn a property into "Camp Corto." Guests made olive branch wreaths to live music while an embroiderer customized scarves on the spot. Dinner at one long table was built around olive oil, right down to the cocktails, and the night ended with s'mores around the campfire while a stargazing expert pointed out the constellations.
Holiday Cookie Swap for HomeExchange
HomeExchange members swap homes to travel the world, so a cookie swap felt like a natural fit. I created the Holiday Cookie Swap, gave hosts the information they needed to throw one, and handed it over to the community. Members hosted 150 of them in kitchens and living rooms across the U.S. and Canada, inviting neighbors and friends to trade cookies and travel stories.
Moon Milk Launch for Clover Sonoma
To launch Clover Sonoma's new Moon Milk line in New York, I invited top food editors and influencers up to a hotel rooftop in SoHo. They started on yoga mats, stretching with the city spread out around them, then settled in for a tasting of the new line.
Artisan Ingredients Pasta Sauce Dinner for Mezzetta
To introduce Mezzetta's Artisan Ingredients pasta sauces, I invited New York media and influencers to an Italian dinner in Nolita. Every guest went home with a handmade pasta bowl I tracked down from a tiny town in Italy. People still bring those bowls up.
Kind words
Who's in the room
The editors and creators your audience already trust, and the customers who'd love you if they only knew you. I know a lot of them by name, and the ones I don't know yet, I find.
“A lot of people may be able to produce an event equivalent to two weddings in as many days, but Shannon is the only person I know who can do it all and never stop smiling. Her care for her clients and team and her joy for her work are infectious. But she's not just a gem of a human; she's also a meticulous project manager whose attention to detail puts all at ease.”
“Shannon Gomes orchestrates the best events! She loves bringing people together around food and always puts her creative, enthusiastic touch into every event detail to ensure guests walk away with new knowledge, connections, and inspiration. Shannon is fun to work with, uber organized, and a rare gem.”
“Shannon Gomes infuses events and activations with enormous creativity and fun, all the while providing useful educational takeaways. Each is unique and personalized to the client and targeted to attendees' interests and needs. I always come away with valuable ideas and connections.”
“Shannon is that rare combination in event management and experiential marketing. … She is able to pull off complex events flawlessly and always infuses a fun, convivial energy in the gathering.”
Is this a fit?
We'll get along if…
You think the best marketing is a room full of people who can't stop talking about you. You know a follower isn't the same as a fan, and the real fans are made face to face. You'd rather win over twenty-five guests for life than a hundred who grab the gift bag and forget your name by Tuesday. You want an event that could only be yours. And you're happy to hand the details to someone who loves them.
Let's talk
What do you want the world to know?
A product launch, a new experience, this year's harvest, a town worth the drive. Tell me what you're excited about, and I'll bring the right people to the table to hear it.
I'll set the stage and let them fall for you in person.