Christmas Installations Across Central London
Wonka-Themed Private School Installations
THE BRIEF“Creating a journey to pure imagination”
As the end of term and Christmas approached, a group of private London schools sought our expertise to create immersive displays that would evoke warm, fuzzy feelings for their pupils and parents. The goal was to generate a sense of magic and delight while staying true to the school’s ethos.
The Ethos: ‘Creating an environment where children feel free to explore their imagination’. This message sat at the forefront of our minds throughout our work.
Alongside this, our brief included phrases such as “forward-thinking”, “the weirder the better”, “inventive”, “oversized” and “sustainability conscious”. The client wanted to capture the attention of passersby and immerse the public in the magic of the moment, so we knew this installation had to be immense in both execution and size.
THE CREATIVE PROCESSMood Boards And Concept Development
Our team of experienced creatives developed mood boards and concepts for three, different themes to present to the client. To our excitement, they chose ‘Wonka’ for their three schools across central London.
With the new ‘Wonka’ film set to be released in the December, we studied the trailer intently, whilst also researching Willy Wonka’s portrayal through the years and in previous films. The design needed to be consistent across the three schools while featuring individual points of interest and unique ideas. Combining elements from Wonka—a film not traditionally associated with Christmas-with clear festive touches was challenging, but we worked diligently to overcome it.
View the mood boards, mock-ups and concepts below.
Re-claimed materials and vintage sourcingSustainability Within Christmas Installations
Working from our comprehensive mood boards, images and dimensions of the buildings, we began scoping out designs for each of the three schools. Our focus was on both the scale of the installation and also the materials used, ensuring a large, eye-catching yet sustainable visual display.
By using salvaged, reclaimed, reused, and vintage materials, we rescued a significant amount of waste from going to landfill, saving items that might otherwise have been deemed unusable for their original purpose and reinventing them. Additionally, we mixed old with new by incorporating bespoke, UK-manufactured neon signs with Wonka-inspired quotes, creating a photo opportunity within one of the installations.
Alongside the larger reclaimed pieces and our extensive collection of vintage items, we also sourced a variety of vintage accessories to create a classic sweet shop window display. Imagine vintage sweet tubs overflowing with faux foil sweets, copper reels, vintage globes, and magical test tubes.
Where possible, we chose to source locally. Whether that be exploring nearby antiques markets, or picking our large Christmas Trees from a local independent farm. We also collaborated closely with our florist team to create bespoke floral installations inspired by Wonka’s infamous chocolate trees, incorporating the deep purple and jewel tones associated with the factory. Each small, yet significant detail was meticulously crafted and designed by our team to create a truly unforgettable experience.
We were thrilled to repurpose the following items into our designs, giving them a new lease of life:
Used Copper Water Tanks: Transformed into machine-like sculptures
Vintage Pressure Gauges: Perfect for the ‘chocolate machinery’
Salvaged Drain Pipes: Painted in a patina effect, used to run along the buildings to emphasise the factory look
Copper Tanks, Sweet Carts, Control Panels, Wheels, Gauges and Test Tubes; all preloved and perfect additions to the sweet factory theme
Each school facade came to life, blending new and old concepts of Wonka and his chocolate factory. We created an installation that brought the streets of London to life with magic and wonder, surprising and delighting passersby.
The End Result
“Thank you for all your effort and creativity in bringing ideas to life for us. You are definitely a top elf! I actually saw Wonka last night and became quite emotional with all the sets and worlds he creates. I love this side and the Christmas installation you created for us this year was tip-top.
”
Did you know that our team can install the Wonka theme and other adaptations of it for your event or occasion? Get in touch to tell us more and have us build you a bespoke mood board based on these ideas.
*Please note that this installation was in no way affiliated with the new Wonka Film (2023) and was simply inspired by the new and previous adaptations.