FRANCESCA KRANE
A LIFETIME OF GIVING STORIES FORM.
Story has always been the beginning.
THE FOUNDATION
Trained as a set designer at CalArts, Francesca learned early to shape story through space, atmosphere and the way an experience unfolds.
Her career carried that foundation into film and television, live events, exhibits, hospitality and immersive environments for some of the world’s most recognized brands. Across disciplines, she learned to see the experience as a whole — while understanding the small decisions that make it distinctive, human and memorable.
Today, Francesca brings that experience to more personal, place-based and community-centered work — meaningful gatherings, independent hospitality, organizations and places where story and human connection can make a genuine difference.
What should people feel — and what will they remember?
The whole experience.
The detail that makes it personal.
THE EXPERTISE
Francesca listens for what makes each story distinctive — the people, relationships, traditions, places and values that carry meaning. She turns those discoveries into a clear creative vision expressed through journey, space, atmosphere, storytelling and defining moments.
With decades of experience working alongside producers, architects, fabricators and creative specialists, she understands how to carry an idea from concept through development and realization — balancing imagination with feasibility, budget, operations and craft.
THE WHY
From shaping brand experiences to giving meaningful stories physical form.
For decades, Francesca shaped experiences for some of the world’s most recognized brands. Across that work, the part that mattered most was always human — understanding what people care about, shaping how they move through a place, and making meaning tangible.
Creating her daughter’s wedding brought that instinct into a deeply personal setting and clarified something larger: the same creative discipline used to shape global experiences could be applied to the gatherings, places and stories people hold closest.
House of Celebration grew from that realization — a lifetime of creative experience now devoted to meaningful gatherings, hospitality, places and organizations.
CREATIVE EXPLORATIONS
How a story becomes an experience.
Every experience begins with a different story. Francesca looks for what gives it meaning, then considers how people will encounter it, move through it, participate in it and carry something of it forward.
Concept studies are an early step in giving that story form. Through imagery, sketches, journey mapping, materials, spatial planning and defining moments, they establish a shared creative direction that can guide design, production and collaboration.
These illustrative studies explore that process across hospitality, organizational, retreat, family and remembrance settings — showing how a central idea can shape the experience that follows.
Under the Harvest Moon
A winery celebration of people, place, and possibility.
THE APPROACH
The winery’s land, craft, and people become the foundation for the experience. From a personal invitation to a walk through the vines, stories of past harvests, and dinner beneath the moon, each moment reveals another part of its character.
The study brings together the guest journey, site planning, lighting, materials, and hospitality to establish a shared creative direction—guiding the development of a celebration that deepens guests’ connection to the winery and its next chapter.
A community milestone celebration honoring the people behind the impact.
The Hands That Built This
THE APPROACH
The people who gave their time, expertise, and care become the heart of the experience. Personal stories, portraits, community voices, and moments of gratitude transform an organizational milestone from a program of speeches into something guests can see, feel, and participate in.
The study brings together storytelling, the guest journey, spatial planning, stage and media direction, interactive installations, hospitality, and fundraising moments—creating one cohesive experience that honors what has been built while inviting people into what comes next.
Woven Together
A multi-day retreat shaped by people, place, craft, and community.
THE APPROACH
The place itself becomes part of the experience — its landscape, local makers, traditions and rhythms shaping how people gather, reflect and reconnect. Across several days, guests move between shared meals, nature, conversation, creative work and moments of celebration.
The study brings together guest journey, site planning, hospitality, maker experiences, storytelling and retreat programming — creating a cohesive experience rooted in place and designed to help people reconnect with one another and what they want to carry forward.
Fifty Years Together
A multigenerational celebration of love, family, tradition, and place.
THE APPROACH
The story of the couple becomes the thread that connects the entire gathering—from the people they have brought together to the traditions, meals, places, and memories that have shaped fifty years of life.
The study brings together the guest journey, destination and site planning, meaningful family rituals, storytelling, shared meals, music, and intimate details—creating a celebration that honors the past while making space for new memories across generations.
What We Carry Forward
A celebration of life shaped by memory, place, and the people who remain.
THE APPROACH
The person’s life becomes the source material for the gathering—their garden, favorite foods, music, artwork, stories, and the relationships that gave their life meaning. Rather than focusing only on remembrance, the experience creates space for guests to share, connect, and carry something forward.
The study brings together the guest journey, spatial planning, storytelling, family traditions, food, music, creative expression, and personal keepsakes—shaping a gathering that feels specific to the person being honored and meaningful to the people who loved them.
Destination Hospitality
Creating a Sense of Place
THE APPROACH
Meaningful hospitality is more than a beautiful setting. It is the way arrival, environment, food, programming, wellness, art, landscape and thoughtful details come together to create a sense of belonging.
This concept explores a destination experience as a connected journey — from the first welcome through moments of discovery, gathering, restoration and departure. Seasonal programming, local storytelling, intuitive wayfinding, digital touchpoints and the physical character of place all work together to create something guests remember and want to return to.
Focus areas:
Arrival + orientation · Interiors + landscape · Food + beverage · Art + culture · Gathering + programming · Wellness · Discovery · Seasonal experience · Digital journey · Departure
A placemaking concept for a small town shaped by history, agriculture, art, food, local business and community.
A Town Worth Wandering
THE APPROACH
The idea begins with what is already there — the stories, buildings, landscape, people and traditions that give a town its character — and looks for thoughtful ways to make those qualities more visible and easier to discover.
The experience is imagined as a journey through the town: arrival moments that establish a sense of place, intuitive wayfinding, historic and cultural storytelling, local art, gathering spaces, seasonal planting, distinctive photo moments and small details that invite people to slow down and explore.
A digital layer extends that journey through self-guided walks, local stories, interactive maps, events, food and wine trails, art and history, and opportunities to discover places that might otherwise be missed.
Annual traditions — from harvest celebrations and community dinners to maker markets, art walks and winter gatherings — give residents and visitors new reasons to return while strengthening a sense of belonging.
The goal is not to make every storefront or street feel the same. It is to create enough continuity that the town feels connected while preserving the individuality of the people, businesses and places that make it special.
House of Celebration builds on decades of creative leadership across retail, hospitality, exhibits, live experience and immersive environments. Francesca has led multidisciplinary teams, developed global concepts, shaped physical experiences and worked alongside senior brand, design and production partners to carry ideas from early strategy through realization.
That experience informs every House of Celebration project — bringing a practiced understanding of story, space, audience, collaboration and execution to work that is more personal, place-based and meaningful.
The Experience Behind the Work
Nike · Adidas · Athleta · Apple · NFL · MTV · VH1 · CBS · ABC