Last year, we had some interesting Christmas trees inhabiting the windows of 79 New Montgomery in San Francisco. This year, visual merchandising students went bigger (literally and figuratively) with another popular holiday decorations: wreaths.
Check out the slideshow of the students arduously working on the wreaths:
Here’s a little bit more about the project headed by Russell Clower, Assistant Director of Visual Merchandising:
- The Wreath Project represents the efforts of students of visual merchandising, levels 2 & 3, to address a seasonal window theme for the Academy of Art University represented in a series of iconic, large scale symbols around the perimeter of the 79 NM building
- The concept of the holiday wreath is a symbol throughout the world, even from ancient times, of celebration, hope, unity, oneness.
- Students were challenged to find ways to ‘re-purpose’ common materials, readily available, and to conceive of designs that would transform these into holiday statements, expressing elegance, humor, and warmth.
- A wide variety of materials utilized – including, inflatable pool toys; cast-off sweaters and winter scarves; thrift store finds of tableware and household detritus; wood scraps from the school of architecture’s wood shop; the contents of an entire recycling bin; old CD’s and mother-of-pearl buttons; used containers of paint mixing cups, from school of fashion’s textile studios; white paper coffee cups; found and gathered twigs and tree limbs; fabric remnants; maps.
- The wreaths are all 6 feet or 8 feet in diameter – each wreath was designed and built in two parts (for access into the window space), then joined in the window.
Follow the jump to see a gallery of the wreaths in the 79 windows!
Believe us, they look really cool in person — so if you’re in the neighborhood, take a gander.
