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This is where the Designer looks at a piece and says- “We have to have that for the New Zealand Garden”, or “This will look superb in the Rose Garden in light rain”, “That will look amazing at mid-afternoon in the Hidden Garden”. Designers see and understand these things. The Manager is too busy nodding wisely, looking superior and fiddling frantically with the spreadsheets.
Finally, exhausted, we have our selection of around 90 pieces to fit a trail with spaces for 65 sculptures. The Designer sits back glowing in artistic triumph. The Manager’s highly skilled finger presses “Send”. And the chosen images are transferred to The Crown Estate. Job done, smug faces and virtual cups of tea all round.
Waiting to receive our selection is a large team at The Savill Garden consisting of members of the Garden Team, members of the Sales Team and the marketing professionals. It’s a great idea to have this mix of people as they all have their own tastes to bring to the selection table.
Time passes and eventually Designer and Manager are invited to the Big Reveal. We sit with the Savill Team (Zoom, alas, last year), and look at each image in turn to hear whether it’s a "yes" or a "no".
Do we have any room to negotiate on behalf of a particular piece? Yes, but bear in mind that there are only 65 places; so one gain may cause a hit elsewhere.
The staff at The Savill Garden are amazingly friendly and helpful. So although this process may sound stressful, it really isn’t. It’s exciting and fun and the most stressful part is the dodgy internet connections and the Zoom Confuse. Imagine will you:
Us: Sorry didn’t catch that. Can you hear me? Was that a Yes?”
Savill: No, it’s a No
Us: No, you can’t hear me? or No, it wasn’t a Yes?
Savill: Sorry, can only one of you talk at once? Could we possibly go with thumbs up or down?
Blue Shard by Denise Jaques
Hugo by Dawn Conn