Working with us
How an illumination project comes together
Ordering illuminations rarely happens in a single step. Between the first question about what should stand in a particular place and the decision about where the decorations will be stored over the summer, there are several stages and several dates dictated by the season. We set them out here in order, with the timings that follow from it.
Step by step
From enquiry to storage
- 1
Enquiry and site discussion
The first question is about the site rather than the decoration itself: what is going up, where, and by when. The details of the site are usually already with you, and that is where we start. The season sets the dates: standard orders should reach us by mid-November at the latest, while for larger projects the summer is a better time to get in touch. Exactly how much earlier depends on the scale of the project and how busy our production is at the time.
- 2
Design, visualisation and quote
Once the details are settled, we respond with an image: the decoration placed into a photograph of that square or that street, a render or a drawing — often in several variants. You can ask for changes and choose the variant we take forward. Visualisation is free of charge and usually takes between one day and a week to prepare, depending on the size of the order and how much work is already in the queue. The quotation follows the approved design and covers the products themselves; installation and removal are quoted on request.
- 3
Production ahead of the season
We build every structure at our own production facility — both the catalogue designs from our range and one-off shapes drawn for a single location. The production season starts in spring, which is why ordering early makes sense: components bought in good time can help limit the impact of later price rises.
- 4
Dispatch from our workshop
We match the vehicle to the scale of the project — a van or a lorry, depending on how much there is to move. Where transport alone is ordered, unloading is the customer’s responsibility; where delivery comes with installation, our team unloads. Times are often fixed in advance — at shopping centres, work is frequently carried out at night, outside the centre’s opening hours.
- 5
Installation on site
Decorations that leave our workshop on a given day are usually up on site the same day — provided the installation has been ordered from us as well; on larger projects the work may be spread over several days. Installation includes connecting the decorations to the power supply, and once the work is finished we sign an installation report. The timings are tight: shopping centres often begin installations as early as October, local authorities usually not until November, and December is the busiest month of all.
- 6
The season and call-outs on site
Decorations are out in the open throughout the season, so faults do happen. Minor repairs can be carried out on site where their scope allows; the team on site does not carry every part, so anything more serious means bringing the piece back to the workshop.
- 7
Removal and off-season storage
Removal work is concentrated in January, with the occasional job running into February. That leaves one question: where the decorations spend the rest of the year. They can stay with us — our storage hall is dry, unheated and closed to unauthorised access, and the lack of heating makes no difference here, because these structures are built to work outdoors anyway. Before the next season we check what condition they are in and tell the client what needs repairing.
Choosing your model
Buy or rent
The same process works for both arrangements, and you decide which one applies before we prepare the quote. If you buy, the decoration becomes your property: after the season it either returns to you or stays with us in storage. If you rent, the shortest billing period is a full season — even if the decoration is only up for a week — the terms are set out in an individual agreement, and you can buy the decoration once the rental period ends. The difference between the two is who keeps the decoration out of season and who is responsible for its condition.