ALBANY, N.Y. -- Even though the glitz and glamour of the 85th Academy awards will be held on the west coast, a pair of local businesses have bragging rights and ties to all the Oscar excitement.
The big show is Sunday but preparations and parties for the academy awards have already begun. On Thursday, Hollywood stars attended the red carpet celebrity retreat.
A highlight of the event - party favors. Some of the items in the so-called 'swag bag' came from a Schenectady business called The Pink Orange.
Rebecca Ashby created the company seven years ago and says she was surprised in January when she got the call.
"When I got the call, I actually got the email first -- and to be honest, when I got it I thought it was spam," said Ashby.
But then she jumped at the opportunity-- and within ten days she shipped 1000 gold 'dotty collection' coasters and stir sticks to accompany the vacations, watches, skin care and clothing handed out in the gift bag.
"I still quite haven't wrapped my head around that, maybe when Bradley Cooper calls me!" said Ashby.
The Pink Orange isn't the only area business with ties to the academy awards; Cohoes company The Aquatic Development Group is also making waves in this year's Oscar nominated Life of Pi.
Life of pi has received nine Oscar nominations.
With decades of experience manufacturing and engineering waterparks, the aquatic development group was tapped to create the scenic ocean backdrop for the latest Ang Lee movie.
We spoke with president and CEO Ken Ellis in the fall about being part of an epic project.
"There isn't anybody in our organization here that didn't have something to do with it, whether it was sending the invoice to get paid to actually building the equipment or engineering it, so it's nice to get a project that everybody can have a good sense of pride in," said Ellis.
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