So this was Oxenwood’s first year at the RHS Chelsea Flowers Show with our own stand. Although we had previously displayed our tables on other company’s stands, we had no real ideas or pre-conceptions, although we did have many sleepless nights! We assembled a great and enthusiastic team who did a wonderful job in producing a stand which so many visitors said was “the best stand at the Show”. I am sure if there was an award for most photographed tradestand we would have won – it quickly became “selfie central” due, in part, to our wonderful table settings and flower arrangements.
As one Chelsea veteran said to me on the Friday evening before the Show opened “Chelsea is series of disasters!” So what were our disasters?
Disaster One – The flowerbeds on the Oxenwood stand were made from Corton steel with a rust finish, which also had to be sealed as much of it abutted our oak decking. We had finished the Corton a few weeks before Chelsea and packed it for Chelsea shortly before the build started; when we unpacked it at Chelsea on the Sunday evening, horror – all the “rust” had simply peeled off leaving shiny metal sheets – for a few brief seconds total panic set in! Fortunately, the wider team pulled together very quickly and we had the Corton picked up from Chelsea, taken back to our workshops in Hampshire, the Corton was then sandblasted early the next morning, treated to rust overnight, then sealed and returned to Chelsea so we were only 24 hours behind schedule. Many thanks to Ian Gill (as in Ian Gill Sculpture) for his invaluable advice and help!
Disaster Two – I was finally starting to relax on the Thursday afternoon and decided to walk down the Kings Road to see one of our corporate clients who would be entertaining their clients on the Oxenwood stand during the Show; I thought through “what was left that could bite us”. Literally, 10 minutes later our logistics company called me to tell me they had dropped the pallet holding our 360 x 100cm statement Bluestone tabletop and it had smashed! Another few seconds of total panic! Again, great teamwork enabled us to source another Bluestone tabletop on very short notice for delivery to Chelsea on the Friday morning.
Being an exhibitor at RHS Chelsea is very hard work but very rewarding. The standard of workmanship and attention to detail by all exhibitors is second to none and a joy to see. Although all exhibitors are focused on producing the highest quality stands, all exhibitors are super helpful and friendly. The atmosphere on site is very harmonious; quite a feat given the complexity of the site, short lead times and 2000 perfectionists at work at the same time.
The RHS do an amazing job in staging the Chelsea Flower Show; everything is built from scratch in 3 weeks, the site is small and complex, access both outside and inside the site is difficult, there are so many moving parts and designers have a reputation for being “high maintenance”. The RHS stage the number one horticultural show in the world and they do an amazing job. Who is the most important person on site? Answer – the head traffic marshal!
At Oxenwood we had a great week. Our Oxenwood Jonas Breakfast Table was shortlisted for RHS Chelsea Product of the Year, we had so many wonderfully positive and happy people onto the Oxenwood Stand, Mary Berry presented the BBC Chelsea Flower Show Highlights programme on the Friday of Chelsea from the Oxenwood Stand and we had an amazing level of interest in Oxenwood, our tables and our Homeware both at the Show and since the Show.
However, the greatest success was the level of teamwork involved. I am sure this applies to all the exhibitors at RHS Chelsea. Given my previous career in corporate law, I was so impressed that, at least around the Oxenwood Stand, there was not a single raised or angry voice. It is possible to operate under great stress and remain a pleasant person!
One of my most poignant memories will be how quickly the wildlife moved into the Show. Literally within hours of our plants arriving on site the bees moved in. As we had a very strong horticultural content on the Oxenwood stand we had plentiful bees on the stand all week. We also had fox prints over our decking most mornings and a squirrel was seen burrowing away in one of our beds late one evening. All this in Central London!
Moonwalk for BreastCancer Now
At Oxenwood we are super proud that on the same day on which we started the Chelsea build on site, Charlie’s wife, Camilla, and daughter, Emily, walked the 22nd Moonwalk to raise money for breast cancer research. The Moonwalk is a 26.2 mile walk (taking approximately eight hours) through Central London during the night. We are super proud that Camilla and Emily raised over £ 7,000 for Breast Cancer Now research. Super proud husband and father!
