Christmas with Paddington was designed and created on license exclusively for The Mall at Cribbs Causeway by Bakehouse. Each element was lovingly crafted by a team of artisan makers, scenic designers, script writers and costumiers from Bakehouse HQ in Fishponds, Bristol. During the experience, visitors were invited to enter the Christmas with Paddington entranceway full of exciting photo ops for all ages, before travelling through snowy festive trees and street scenes, including an interactive doll’s house and Paddington’s famous attic window. They got to tiptoe across the Christmas night-time rooftops, before being transported to the hallway of the Browns’ house to meet Paddington himself. After pausing for a photo with this friendly bear, families were guided in individual family groups to meet Santa in the armchair of the Browns’ cosy lounge.
I was part of 5 scenics on the team re-creating the scenes from the Paddington films as part of the experience. My role ranged from painting, to fabrication of props and set as well as final set dressing. Once the build for Paddington Christmas was complete I took on a new role as a performer/ workshop leader teaching craft workshops to children as an Elf!
I spray painted better texture on, over 500 fake orange for this project because they were not convincing enough. I then turned 200 of them into Christmas tree baubles that turned out to be a hit! Families even asked if they could buy them as merchandise in the gift shop!
Below is a few videos from the build to the final installation
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Below are some final images of the set:
Heres a few pictures of the prop marmalade jars and sandwiches I made for the project. The bread for the sandwiches is made from carved then painted foam. The marmalade in the sandwiches was made using clear silicone and food colouring, then I used orange jelly and candied orange peel to fill the jars with.
One of my jobs was to paint and dress the snowman. I painted him white, then added colour and texture to his carrot and coal, with a layer of fake snow glued on top to complete his snow texture. I made toggles to mimic Paddington’s coat using wooden dowel, wood stain and rope.
Another of my jobs was to create a light up magical plume of smoke coming from a chimney pot in the rooftop room of the installation. I made this with a formed chicken wire base to attach the LED lights to. Then covered t in wadding and net fabric.
Some pictures of the plume of smoke from process and final install
Craft Workshop taught by Elves!
Once the build for Paddington Christmas was complete I took on a new role as a performer/ workshop leader teaching children how to make origami Paddington Bears to take home and decorate their trees with!
I adore working as a performer on the front lines of a project! Interacting with the public and watching the world we create being brought to life by the enjoyment of its audience fills me with so much joy.