Working closely with Hamilton to create a bespoke ice sculpture is unlikely any other commission you’ll make for an event.
You’re not simply adding a one-size-fits-all decoration; instead, you’re hiring a team of set designers, lighting and sound designers, a building team, refrigeration engineers, insulated structure contractors, structural engineers, and health and safety consultants.
And, of course, a dedicated sculpting team who will help to nurture an initial idea, provide drawings and quotations, and ultimately deliver everything you need for your event to be a success.
So, if you’re thinking about collaborating with us, here’s a useful insight into what happens between sending an initial email and the moment a finished ice sculpture is revealed.
Discovery
Every project starts with a conversation, and whether you’ve come to us with a fully formed brief or you’re open to new concepts, we’re happy to spend time understanding what you’re after.
From product launches to film shoots, weddings to public installations; we’ve done it all.
Our team will seek to understand your target audience, the venue, any brand guidelines, and the themes or stories your sculpture needs to support.
The discovery phase is where the fun, creative and strategic thinking happens, and our 50 years of experience across thousands of ice projects means we can quickly spot opportunities as well as identify potential challenges.
Concept and design
Once we’ve a thorough understanding of the brief, our team will get to work on initial sketches.
We’ll present a range of options, and then work with you to refine your chosen direction.
During this stage, we also identify the right materials for your sculpture, including coloured ice, LEDs, embedded objects, and other additions.
Want to know what’s possible? Explore our previous ice projects on our bespoke ice sculpture page.
Pre-production
Before production begins, we work closely with our engineering and health and safety teams.
Anything that guests will touch, walk on, sit on, or slide down has to be reviewed for structural integrity, fire safety, and crowd flow long before a single block of ice is carved.
It’s not the most glamorous part of the process, admittedly, but it’s a big reason clients trust us with the most ambitious briefs.
The build
This is where the magic happens!
Our sculptors get to work in our London-based studio, using a combination of chainsaws, chisels, ice picks, and other specialist tools to transform crystal-clear blocks of ice into a finished piece.
If you’d like to learn more about this process, why not take a read of our guide ‘Everything you need to know about ice carving’?
Throughout the build, our team regularly reviews and quality-checks every aspect of the design to ensure it comes together exactly as intended.
Logistics
It’s no secret that ice doesn’t travel like other materials, and this is where our decades of experience comes into play.
Our team plans everything ahead of time, from transport routes and access points to lifting equipment and timings.
On the day, we’ll arrive early to set up the ice installation safely before your guests start to arrive.
We work alongside venue teams to ensure everyone is briefed on care and handling so that you feel supported throughout the day.
If you’re interested in diving deeper into the craft and how our team works day to day, why not check out our previous article titled ‘Everything you need to know about ice sculptures?’
Ice project examples
Winter Wonderland: The Magical Ice Kingdom
Our annual commission for Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland is one of the best examples of how our process scales to match even the most extensive briefs.
For close to 15 years, our team has designed, carved, and installed the Magical Ice Kingdom, a fully immersive frozen visitor experience chilled to -10°C and seen by hundreds of thousands of paying guests each season.
It involves more than 500 tonnes of ice and snow, around 200 individual sculptures, and a rolling timeline that begins as soon as the last Ice Kingdom is dismantled.
Concepts are agreed by Spring, and sculpting begins in June across our freezer facilities in London and Belgium.
Some individual blocks of ice weigh as much as 1.5 tonnes, roughly the weight of a large hippo and need to be stored, transported, and installed with absolute precision.
Our 6m snow sculptures, ice castles, tunnels and slides are then built entirely on site during a build window of just over two weeks, with a team of around 30 people spending three intensive weeks installing on site in October, ready for opening day in November.
It’s one of our favourite projects, one we’re immensely proud to be part of, but like any project of this scale, it simply couldn’t happen without meticulous project management.
The Polar Ice Bar in Edinburgh
To help celebrate the festive season in Edinburgh, we designed and built the city’s first-ever ice bar in association with Cîroc Vodka.
Our team drew inspiration from a magical forest intertwined with gothic architecture, a nod to Scottish novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott.
We created an immersive ice environment kept at a constant -8 °C, surrounded by watchful owls, howling wolves, illuminated bars, and a grand ice throne.
Guests were greeted at the bar with pre-carved ice glasses to fully immerse themselves in this incredible wintry world.
As with any brief, our team takes the same disciplined approach to the discovery, design, build, and installation processes.
If you’d like to explore more examples of ice projects, take a look at our Case Studies page.
Ready to work together?
Then talk to us today! We’d love to hear from you.
Ask us any question that comes to mind, or request a quote.
Contact a team member, and they’ll be happy to oblige.