Walk of Wonders + Douglas Team Collab
This year we were delighted to be asked to support Walk of Wonders in fabricating large scale artworks as well as tents for Black Barn.
Walk of Wonders is an inspirational outdoor light, sound & fire event that takes place at Black Barn Vineyards each year. Pulling the large-scale artwork installations together requires a herculean effort for the organisers and artists involved, and each year it seems to elevate.
This year we were invited to help bring some of the pieces to life, using our industrial textile fabrication skillset.
The Douglas team worked with some of the people behind the event with Vesica Aotearoa & friends on another large scale project for Nest Fest in 2021. We were delighted to be remembered because of that relationship and the team were super keen for the creative challenge.
It took all of our team to achieve this one, with many putting in massive hours over a 2-week window to achieve everything you see here and more.
Those who attended Walk of Wonders will have experienced some of the artworks we had a hand in:
The Rotating Disc
It is not normal for us to work on a job that uses the entire width of our sail fabrication table! The disc involved 63 m of charcoal webbing, 85m of thread, and 400 eyelets.
It was a total team effort and a great test of our team’s skills to both fabricate and install. The effect was a fascinating giant disc which looked rather extra terrestrial at night!
“The execution of Rotating Disc is almost flawless.” – Ant, Vessica Aotearoa
The Lighthouse
At the same time as doing the Rotating Disc, we were also busy making a whopping 22 Market Tents for Black Barn’s outdoor market area. All jobs were on the same timeline – get it done before people start walking through the gates of Walk of Wonders!
Supply chain issues meant we only had 12 days to make the Market Tents, so in order to achieve the Lighthouse at the same time, we called in some help. Our friends at Canvasland in Levin have been award winners for large-scale fabrication before, so we knew we were putting it in good hands.
Their quick turn-around enabled us to install the Light House alongside the rest of the creations.
“The hand over and project management involved with Lighthouse was so smooth it’s inspirational.” – Ant, Vessica Aotearoa
Hope Voyager (Repairs)
The magical hot air balloon had arrived but the organisers had to pull some last minute repairs out of the bag.
Naturally we had to help!
“The immediacy shown by Mark & Georgie to repair Hope Voyager was literally a ‘save the day’ scenario.” – Ant, Vesica Aotearoa
We are so grateful!
At the end of the day, our thanks go to Ant and Isaac at Vesica for trusting Douglas to bring their ideas to life, and having incredibly clear plans and process around the desired result. We love the innovative relationship we are building and have been overwhelmed by your kind words, some of which we have shared in this article. THANK YOU.
Also to Canvasland for jumping in on the fabrication of the Lighthouse at short notice, and nailing it!
With the commitment of our team here at Douglas we managed to get the Rotating Disc fabricated and installed, the Lighthouse fabricated (Canvasland) and installed and met the deadline for Black Barn’s Market Tents with a repair on the Hope Voyager hot air balloon at the last minute.
You guys rock!
“Words can no longer express the gratitude Isaac & I have for the level of support, attention to detail and professionalism you had for our wild projects.” – Ant, Vesica Aotearoa
