Tag Archives: stilt walker

Ever Seen A Tree That Can Walk?

Stilt Walking Tree Person

Living Tree ( Stilt walker )

We were asked to provide a stilt walker for an RHS event with “Nature” as the theme. The inspiration for the stilt walking tree came from a visit we had made to Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida. One of the attractions they have is a lady on stilts wrapped in vines. She is called “Devine” if my memory serves me correctly. We were fascinated by her and she sprang to mind when this particular job came along.

Blending in with nature

We wanted to make the costume so that Daniella ( our youngest daughter ) would blend in with the background. Hazel and I searched round the material shops and an army surplus store to find cloth with plenty of browns and greens in it. The stilt trousers were made from brown corduroy, the jacket was an ex army camouflage smock and then we attached pieces of hessian and lots of plastic imitation leaves. We thought the end result was quite effective.

Surprising results

The stilt walking tree was a great success and it was very entertaining to watch Daniella at work. She would position herself next to a tree or tall shrubs and stand motionless until someone walked past. She would then slowly start to move. The reaction from the public was brilliant. I wish I could have captured the look of surprise on people’s faces as they suddenly realised the tree was alive.

Stilt Walking in parks and gardens

Themed events are popular and the stilt walking tree is perfect for any event taking place in a park, garden or woodland. Also great for themes such as nature or the environment.

Animal Kingdom (steadilyskippingstones.wordpress.com)
Tree of Life vs. The tree from Avatar (mymobileadventures.com)
Birds at Disney (photographysnap.wordpress.com)
Tutorial Thurs – Kids Can Stilts (artycrafty.wordpress.com)

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How To Draw Attention To Your Store Opening

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When you are opening a brand new store you want to get noticed and make a big impact so that everyone knows you are there. There are lots of things you can do to draw attention to your Grand Opening.

Stilt walkers in colourful costumes

Use promo staff to give out leaflets in the local area.
Have a DJ playing middle of the road popular music outside the store and making announcements to passers by.
Decorate the store front. Balloon displays are a great way to grab attention.
Have competitions and dicount vouchers / free gifts to hand out to customers throughout the day.
Hire a children’s entertainer to ammuse and delight the youngsters. Face painting is always good for pulling a crowd too.
Use stilt walkers in bright, colourful costumes to assist in attracting attention, engaging with the public and helping to give out leaflets and entertain the kids.
Have a greeter at the entrance to welcome people as they come in.
Put on extra staff to ensure you can cope with increased foot fall. If people have to wait in long queues at the check outs they will get fed up and may leave with a bad impression.
Brief all staff to be happy and cheerful. People coming into your premises will appreciate a friendly atmosphere.

Making a good impression with your customers on the first day of trading counts for a lot. Its always worth spending a little bit more of your budget to get the right people working for you on the big day. Don’t rely on an agency to book people in. This is the easy option but remember they are taking a cut and may be shopping round to get the cheapest entertainers / suppliers they can find whilst still charging you full whack. It’s better to book direct if you can.

I have worked on store promotions and store openings all over the UK for most of the big high street names. I have also worked for many independent retailers too. Please contact me if you would like any advice or suggestions. Jolly Good Productions are not an agency but we do have a lot of experience in this type of work and would be delighted to advise or help if we can.

Share your ideas on store openings below. You can also use the comments box to post questions to me if you wish.