As a broke student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1979, Bill Heffernan started handing out flowers on Michigan Avenue to promote his fledgling flower delivery service. That business eventually blossomed into HMR Designs, an event design company. Today, Heffernan, 58, orchestrates swank soirees such as the opening of Millennium Park and the unveiling of Soldier Field’s recent renovation. He continues to innovate, lately incorporating video into his productions. “I want to transform the environment and create the space as art,” says the Connecticut native, who also constructs artful spaces at the Georgian-style home in Old Irving Park that he shares with his cocker spaniel, Charlie. Here are some of his favorite things.