At Sand In Your Eye, we pride ourselves on creating unforgettable experiences, and our recent project for Cardiff’s Winter Wonderland was no exception. For the fourth consecutive year, we had the pleasure of working with Norman from Sayers, the group behind this festive event to design, carve, and install their show-stopping Ice Bar.
Our Head of Design, Dave, had the idea of bringing together some of the most iconic jungle and rainforest creatures to bring to life a tropical Tiki Bar made entirely of ice.. Norman LOVED IT!
Crafting a Jungle in Ice
The jungle theme was an exciting challenge for our team, designing and sculpting animals not usually associated with sub-zero temperatures. Together with Norman, we worked closely to develop a concept that would not only amaze visitors but also bring an unusual twist to the Winter Wonderland experience.
Our design process began with sketches and plans, mapping out the layout of the bar followed by the team getting together to discuss the potential animals and scenes that would fit each zone. The theme called for a wide range of animal sculptures, from elephants and hippos to parrots, a crocodile, monkeys, and a HUGE tiger center peace. It was decided early on that this year we would create some of the sculptures here in the studio so we were able to combined CNC precision carving for intricate details with the skills and expertise of our sculptors who would be carving onsite.
5 Days, 9 Artists, and a Jungle Brought to Life
Installing an Ice Bar event of this scale is a big undertaking. It took our dedicated team of our talented ice artists five full days to install the Ice Bar. Jamie, Dave, Peter, Mark, Jonathan and Jocasta James and Toby spent the first 2 days stacking and fusing each of the 135 ice blocks ready to be sculpted, finished cleaned ready for the bar lighting to be installed in time for the big opening day of November 14th. Each block was carefully cut, positioned and fused on-site, creating an untamed frosty Jungle experance.
Assembling the CNC carved sculptures was momentous for Jonathan, our CNC expert. After spending countless days and weeks crafting the 3D designs for the CNC machines to run, then many more hours actually in the freezer here in the studio, setting up each block of ice, carefully monitoring and cleaning them as the machines unveiled individual animal block one by one. It was almost like creating a huge jigsaw, only instead of small cardboard shapes, we were working with 120kg blocks of ice!
The sculptures themselves were designed not only to bring the fun and excitement of more tropical climate but also to withstand the sub-zero temperatures of the bar and the steady flow of curious and joyful visitors who came in groups of 20+ for their 30 minute session inside the frosty forest, after all, who can resist touching a giant tiger made from ice!
The Tiki bar, built by Jocasta, Mark and James and then sculpted almost exclusively by Jocasta was made up of 25 ice block, some carved in advance with tiki head designs, and then others that were sculpted on site. With its tropical theme, it brought a real wow moment to visitors as they enter the ice bar.
Building on Tradition
Our relationship with Cardiff’s Winter Wonderland over the past four years has been an incredible journey. Each year, we’ve been tasked with creating a new, innovative Ice Bar theme, and each project has been a rewarding opportunity to push the boundaries of what’s possible with ice.
The themes so far have been :
- ‘Glistening Under Water’ theme where we created a HUGE ice shark sculpture as a center piece surrounded by mythical mermaids, a giant octopus, and an Ice Ship, all carved on site.
- ‘The Arctic’ with a giant polar bear and her cub in the center of the bar, a penguin and chick, as well as an Ice wall with Killer whales carved in the back.
- ‘Welsh Wonderland’ whish saw our sculptors creating an entirely Welsh themed bar, complete with an ice portrait of Gareth Bale.
Past visitors to Cardiff’s Winter Wonderland Ice Bar have taken to TikTok, Instagram and other online media leaving glistening reviews of their experience at the bars
For the past four years the Cardiff ice bar instillation starts as we complete installing an ice bar of a similar size but with a very different theme each time in Nottingham.
This year was no different, the team had travel directly from Nottingham Winter Wonderland, already chilled to the bone, the day before the instillation was due to start. This year was Jocasta’s first time at ice bars and so lots of conversations were had on the run up about how many fleeces, socks and jumpers it is appropriate to wear when you’re working at -15. Very soon into the whole project she came to the conclusion it was MANY!
We are always thrilled to be part of these big ice projects. Each year the team have been able to bring something new and exciting to the winter events that we offer.
Our experience in large scale ice events demonstrate how collaboration and creativity can transform an idea into a truly memorable attraction. From the initial brainstorming sessions to the final frosty finishing touches, we’re with our clients every step of the way to ensure their Ice Bar is a spectacular success.
