Conca D'Oro Bridal Expo a big success

A big thank you to Lenny, Francesca, Orsi, and the whole team at the Conca D'Oro Event Centre. Not only for organising a very successful Bridal Expo which helped us showcase our new romantic perfume bottle ice sculptures, but also for the Sumptuous Banquet we attended afterwards. It was a rare treat to get to mingle with other suppliers in the wedding industry on a more casual setting. Normally we're all so busy bringing the elements together for a wedding that we don't really get to meet each other.

Champagne Luge helps make Complete Wedding Sydney relaunch a success

It isn't often that we get invited to stay for the whole function so we were very pleased to attend the Complete Wedding Sydney magazine relaunch last month. We arrived early and set up the Champagne Luge ready for the guests to enjoy a glass of bubbly on arrival. Bessie Bardot graciously posed for photos with the luge and we understand some footage was shot that may be used in an upcoming episode of The Wedding Show.
Anthony Del Col (event coordinator from Staging Connections), and Brianna Regel (magazine editor) both stepped up to say a few words, and guests toasted the new look magazine with icy cold champagne fresh from the luge. We had the chance to mingle with the guests and even try out the Napoleon Perdis makeup bars. What fun!

Blue Mountains Yulefest

This colder weather is reminding me, we just recently designed, made and delivered a piece for the Mountain Heritage Hotel's Yulefest in the Blue Mountains. It was a very simple outline shape block, with sprigs of holly inserted behind the Yulefest design engraved on the front.

Ice Tiger for Georges River Junior Soccer Club

So many sculptures these days are made either with a mould or with a CNC router (I wish we had one). We're still making our custom carvings by hand so it's great when we get a request for something fun like this tiger. He took a little over 3 hours to carve, but the time just flew by. I did the main ice removal with the chainsaw, touched him up with the chisels, and then used the die grinder to add his stripes and the detail in his face and paws. Once he was put on display the venue staff threw an orange spotlight on him which really brought him to life.

Expo stand with a difference

I was at an expo recently and had the chance to wander around and check out the other stands. It struck me how despite all the signage and logos everywhere, most stalls looked pretty much the same as each other. The most interesting ones had something special to really engage the people walking past. Some had samples (chocolate often works well with me!) and some had tasting glasses of bubbly (also a hit).
It reminded me of the stand we did a while back for the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, where they had us freeze two large colourful real fish into a large block of ice. They put the ice fish on display and it really caught the attention of the expo attendees. Afterwards they sent us a thank-you to let us know that the fish display worked a treat and really was a draw-card to their stand.

New look website launch

We just launched our new look website. I hope you like it! Check it out at www.icesculpture.com.au and let me know what you think.

Seventh Wonderland at RAFW

Yesterday we had the pleasure of seeing our work being appreciated by crowds of incredibly stylish onlookers - in the fashion industry no less. We carved two giant Art Deco fans with diamond cut bases. These were placed on the floor of the Seventh Wonderland catwalk for their swim-wear collection show.

We met Bonnie, the amazingly talented designer of the collection, and Carlos the director of Seventh Wonderland, before the show when we arrived to set up. I was amazed how down to earth and relaxed they both were when so much was riding for them on this show.
Rob and I carted in the pieces and set up the bases, which had to have a last minute adjustment with the chisel before they were declared perfect. Then we had to take a break while the models had a quick run-through of their parts - so we got to see the models in pre-show attire with all their hair and make up done. The wet look hair was unique, I've never seen anything like it.
Then we brought in the top pieces and Rob had to lift them into place by hand. That was pretty scary as we only had a contact area of 25cm x 12cm to place the fans on. It was a case of making sure they didn't get touched while they "welded" into place. Luckily with all the heat from the lights they went very clear very quickly and joined solidly.
Once they were in position it was a matter of waiting nervously for the show to start. I got to sit in and watch the whole thing. I've never seen so many cameras in once place, from hand-held phones right through to TV crew.
The swim-wear by Seventh Wonderland was everything you would expect, nothing short of sensational. The models strutted on heels studded with oversize Swarovksi crystals, their wet look hair and makeup giving a whole new look.
At the end Bonnie took a bow to well-deserved applause, and I even managed to snap a couple of pics of her with Carlos a couple of models and of course our gorgeous Art Deco Ice Fans.