Christmas Specialists

Fresh Christmas Tree- buyer beware

2012-02-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

Fresh Christmas trees are still popular with a lot of our customers; we install approximately 50/50 fresh and artificial trees during the Christmas season. As professional decorators we do prefer artificial trees because they allow the finished product to look uniform and they are easier to install (but you didn't hear me say that :) ). There is a lot more work involved with a fresh tree; but with a quality fresh tree the end result is stunning.
{this article is written with the commercial client in mind}

FRESH TREE TIPS
* A noble fir or turkish fir tree has sturdier branches and holds the weight of ornaments better.
* the tree should have a sturdy base that is securely fastened and not wobbly
* the tree should be strapped depending on the size
* the needles should be flexible and bounce back when crimped
* there should be needles on the inside of the tree and NOT gaps
* if you are having your tree delivered be sure to inspect it upon delivery and have the delivery men place it where you want it to go
* inspect the tree to make sure it is not wobbly, missing branches or broken branches and that it has a fire retardant tag on it; if needed, as well as the water bowl is placed under the tree
* having your tree sprayed with fire retardant is a MUST for commercial spaces; local Fire Departments are known for stopping into businesses during Christmas to specifically inspect the trees and the tag; NOT having one on your tree is NOT an option; they will have you remove the tree

I have seen my fair share of bad trees ordered by clients who "knew someone" or "had a friend at a tree lot" the problem with that is that most "corner" tree lots do not stock a lot of top quality large trees. When a tree is purchased at a place like this things can start to go wrong very quickly. One or all of the following can happen:
A) they might send you the wrong type of tree hoping you won't notice.
B) they might send you a large tree with an unsafe base
C) they might send you a tree with a fire retardant tag on it; but the tree hasn't been sprayed with fire retardant and hope you don't notice
D) they drop off the tree and leave before you have a chance to tell them where you want it; you don't want to try to move a large tree especially if it has the type of base that has a nail in the center of the trunk, you don't know how many times they tried to make that hole before they got it right; simply dragging it could split the trunk.
E) they send you a tree that has been sitting in the sun on their lot.

Any of these things are a recipe for disaster and all of them together MUST = a phone call to please come and get the tree NOW!! 99% of the time I order all the trees for my clients from a grower who specializes in large fresh trees for commercial installations, these are high quality trees from a vendor that I trust. Fresh trees are dying and it is important to start with a quality cut tree so that the tree will hold up for the season. BUT there is always that 1% who "know someone" and this is what happens......

Sorry for the poor picture quality I only had my cell phone with me.

Well here it is and it covered all the BAD possibilities that happen when you "know" someone who doesn't understand commercial trees. (referring to the above line items for what can go wrong)

A) this was supposed to be a noble fir tree - they delivered a douglas fir tree (douglas fir trees do not work well for heavier ornaments, the branches are not strong enough)

B) the base on this tree was for a maybe 8 ft. tree - this tree is 13 ft. tall and when I barely touched the tree the top of it wiggled, really wiggled SO NOT GOOD

C) it had a fire retardant tag on it - it had not been sprayed with fire retardant; fire retardant spray leaves a sticky residue on the tree and also a slight scent of chemical on it

D) they were supposed to find me when the tree was delivered so I could tell them where to put it - no one came to find me I discovered the tree after I turned the corner and they were long gone

E) this tree had been sitting in the sun - it was dry and brittle already plus 3 ft. of the 13 ft. tree had NO branches..... REALLY???

THEN I have the unfortunate job of telling the client I WON'T decorate the tree; I WON'T move the tree; and I NEED the phone number of the "friend" to come and secure the tree and move it if they even want to keep it. Often times people think its just a tree whats the big deal? Well the big deal is it is in your place of business and should someone bump into the tree or pull on it it can become quite dangerous. The trunks of these large trees are extremely heavy and can do a lot of damage. The client may not think its important but I know its important and will NEVER install anything that is not safe and secure as humanly possible. For this particular client he should have been concerned they were going to be moving Cadillacs back onto the showroom floor, kind of expensive acident if we were to keep the tree not to mention any bodily harm that might have occurred to anyone who was around when it toppled over.

This tree was replaced and I had a 13 ft. noble fir tree delivered within hours and of course it was fresh, sprayed with fire retardant and had a secure base on it. That was all we really needed.

Just another reason why it is so important to hire a company that specializes in Christmas installations and is licensed and insured. There are many fly by night companies during the holidays that think Christmas decorating is a quick way to make a buck, they have no insurance and not enough experience to understand all the aspects of correctly installing Christmas decor.

Peacock Christmas Tree

2012-02-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

Another fun and unique un-Christmas tree. This Client requested we used a metal tree frame to create a Christmas tree. We used peacocks, peacock feathers and an assortment of Christmas ornaments. The tree was decorated and then placed on the homes elevator shaft in the entry where it was perfectly visible from the front entrance~ a little sneak peek if you will of what was to come.

Candy Cane Christmas Tree

2012-01-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

A fun and whimsical Candy Cane Christmas tree.

Un-Christmas Tree

2012-01-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

This Christmas season we had the pleasure of creating an un-Christmas tree for a Client. The Client wanted a "tree" on a landing of her home but didn't want a traditional tree that would block the view. We came up with the idea of an un-Christmas tree. A round wooden disc with small eye hooks was built and mounted to the ceiling. A range of traditional and non-traditional ornaments were hung with fishing line from the eye hooks to create a un-Christmas tree. Great Christmas impact without blocking the view from the landing. If I do say so myself the color combination was fantastic and really created the pop she was looking for.

Harley Davidson Christmas Tree

2012-01-12T07:58:00.000-08:00

For one of our residential installations this year we had the fun task of creating a small Harley Davidson Christmas tree display in a client's home. The tree had to be small since it was to be placed between 2 motorcycles on display in the home. We went with a small flocked tree on a mirrored table the client had and used fun black and silver ornaments with orange Harley Davidson ornaments and 2 different fun patterned ribbons; a snazzy silver & black stripe ribbon and a black and white harlequin patterned ribbon.

Holiday Installation

2011-07-11T13:27:00.000-07:00

Holiday Installation Services are perfect for the residential client that is not looking for a new look or design but just wants some professional help installing their Christmas decorations. You can be your own Christmas Design Director wth our Holiday Installers on site to assist you with your Christmas decorating. What might have taken you a week installing it yourself can be achieved in one day or less and leave you more relaxed and with more time to enjoy the Christmas season with your friends and family.

What takes 1,500 + hours to assemble?

2011-07-11T13:22:00.001-07:00

Holiday decor at Commerce Casino!
Our biggest job so far and we knocked it out of the park! If I do say so myself I was impressed by how great it all came together and it would have never been possible without my great staff of holiday helpers. They call Commerce Casino the "Friendliest Casino" and they are!!!!!!!! It was an absolute pleasure working there and we are looking forward to 2009 holiday decorating.

I used a color palette of purples, golds and blue that matched the existing decor of the Casino and it looked Fabulous! I am so proud of my team for creating my vision. I must say I had looked at so much purple, gold and blue that I was getting worried I had made a HUGE mistake, but to my relief it worked.

Holiday Cheer

2011-07-11T13:21:00.004-07:00

We are finally getting through all our holiday decorating photos and since I'm playing blog catch up I thought I'd share some of my holiday favorites with you. This was Commerce Casino for the 2009 holiday season, if I must say so myself it turned out fabulous this year. It is always great when the vision is only exceeded by the end result.

We spent the 5 days before Thanksgiving executing this installation. We decorated 15 large Christmas trees, 1,000's of feet of garland, 45 large wreaths, centerpieces and lets not forget all the packages that were wrapped so beautifully. It doesn't seem like much if you say it fast, except for the fact that every ornament, ribbon and flower is wired on; that's a lot of wiring.

We also time lapsed the installation of a large tree and I'm hoping that I will have it back to share with you, I can't wait to see it.

I hope you have a great Monday and a wonderful week.

Above and Beyond

2011-07-11T13:21:00.002-07:00

Still going through holiday photos while working on the new website design, sheesh its beginning to feel like deja vu this whole website thing. But it is getting there and I am quite happy with how its turning out.

Looking at these photos makes me smile, I remember the fun times and how great my staff are that they go above and beyond to get the job done! They are the BEST!!!!

Los Angeles Zoo Holiday Decorations

2011-07-11T13:21:00.000-07:00

This year we had the privelege of decorating the Los Angeles Zoo again and we had a great time doing it. This is the front entrance which is kind of hard to photograph because it is sooooo BIGGGG! But I think I did ok.

We did a lot of decorating at the Zoo but with holiday decorating the photos can start to get redundant because the decor is all the same just in different places. It doesn't look like it but the wreath is BIGGG it is 7 ft. round and it still doesnt look that big on the front entrance. I got a crick in my neck taking these photos, not to mention bumping into a few people while I was walking and looking up. But luckily no one was hurt in the taking of these photos, which is great. Since you see I am the clumsiest of all the CHS employees, I am the one who always needs the First Aid kit. Did I mention how BIGGGGG this entrance is?? The Los Angeles Zoo is the only outside installation we do. I mean who could resist right? Its the Zoo, animals, children and Christmas sheesh {oops didn't mean to use the word Christmas that is a no no in my business}. Plus we are spoiled we like to be inside.Doing outside installations is COLD! We were lucky with the Zoo installation this year, it threatened to rain all day, but held off thank goodness! Did I mention we are spoiled we don't like to be COLD or wet. Starting work at the break of dawn and being wet and cold is just not fun and while we take our job seriously we like to have fun during installations. We installed a lot of wreaths and swags at the Zoo and NO we DO NOT decorate in the animal pens. We only decorate at the front entrance and in the marketplace. So if my insurance carrier is reading this I want to re-iterate " WE DO NOT DECORATE THE ANIMAL PENS!"

Ouch see those bushes/ferns to the left of the picture, I do believe they are pre-historic attack bushes. They have got to be the meanest, prickliest, sharpest bushes/ferns I have ever had the pleasure of walking through. They are nasty, sharp, prickly and painful.

Ahhh, the ATM tree, my nemisis. For 45 days I am thankful not get a phone call that this tree has blown off the building. I know that it is strapped down, weighted down and all kinds of tied down but that still doesn't make me rest any easier until we have taken it down. It especially doesn't help when I hear a man say, large trees fall over all the time here so if it gets windy enough that tree doesn't stand a chance. Sheesh the things a man says so non-chalantly.

{Side note: it stayed up, of course because we are professional decorators}

And speaking of men and the things they say, see that garland below now there is another story. For some reason this garland was a pain and that just happens. My job on installations is to ask a lot of questions, what are you doing, why is it taking so long, is everything okay? Thats my job to keep installations on track and on-budget and to trouble shoot any problems. Well that garland seemed to be taking longer than I THOUGHT IT SHOULD, so I asked "whats the problem?" and was answered with a full range of explectives, which I won't share with you. So I walked away quietly, humbly and quickly because you see sometimes things don't always go the way I THINK THEY SHOULD and let my guys get on with it. And as I am walking away I hear another man say "She must be the coordinator." ah funny men always have something to say.

Behind The Scenes Holiday Decorating~ Part 2

2011-07-11T13:20:00.001-07:00

Behind the Scenes Part 2. (part 1 here) Behind the scenes is always interesting, we work wherever there is room.

Pop Up tents are especially nice when working outdoors!

Just some of my awesome team!!!

Flying trees................

Me supervising, just can't take anyones word that its installed ok, I have to have a look myself.

Now they are re-fixing it, because things like trees on buildings just make me nervous.

All done and ready to come down.

Ready to go up.

Some locations are always just more difficult than others, one to hold, one to watch and one to tighten.

One down and two more to go.

Yeah its up, that ~~sucker~~ wreath is heavy!

Setting up camp again.

Thats right camping chairs LOL.

Lovely shade from the pop up, our dear friend on installations.

Behind The Scenes, Holiday Decorating~Part 1

2011-07-11T13:19:00.001-07:00

A little behind the scenes peek into holiday decorating, well two peaks into the behind the scenes, so stay posted for the next one. People often say how do you keep track of it all? I don't know really I just do, but when I see photos like these I sometimes wonder the same thing. Of course to remember things like this you, you forget other things. Which is why I keep LISTS lots and lots of LISTS and I love to check things off my lists.

Covering the carpet before we load in. Holiday decorating is messy, glitter, glue, wires. Glitter is the worst culprit, no matter how many times you vacuum or bathe it just sticks around.

Carpet covered and tables stacked ready to receive product.

The first truck arrives and its time to unload, all hands on deck.

Now its unloaded, the dreaded next step, getting it all in and up to our work room. They are all waiting for me to tell them what to do next, because I like to supervise don't you know. And also, because my staff knows that if there is anything I hate more it is doing double work; they know I am going to tell them what to take first, where to put it and what order it goes in. Plus believe it or not as it all goes by me I can tell if I have everything just by looking at the boxes.

And in it comes everything to the appropriate area. Wreaths to the wreath assembly area stacked and waiting to be decorated.

Ornaments to the ornament area. All of these boxes have to be broken down and ornament counting and sorting begins. This is the most important part of the process, mistakes here can cause problems later.

More loaded in, it looks chaotic but really it isn't.

Ok, so maybe to me it doesn't look chaotic but it does look like I have confused a few other people.

Ribbon making area and centerpiece assembly. Boxes of ribbon ready to be made into bows, lots and lots of bows.

Garland to be fluffed, lights checked and sorted.

{me, my daughter Jessica and my Mom}

One of the nice perks of working for yourself is I get to work with my daughter and my Mom can come by, take photos, visit with my staff and take in all the ~~chaos~~ fun.

Me supervising or as I like to phrase it orchestrating the whole process. Besides someone has to be in charge, and that would be me.

Once I know everyone knows what to do for the time being, I am off to find a quiet spot to return calls and finalize details for more jobs and checking on other jobs.

Then I must return to ~~supervise~~ orchestrate.

This was one holiday decorating installation, it wasn't all the product and it wasn't my warehouse, it is a job site. The above is why we like to fondly refer to what we do as camping. We bring it all, set it up, do the work, break it down and move on to the next installation. Part 2 will show us "camping" outside, that is always a lot of fun.

Black, Sliver and Red Decor

2011-07-11T13:09:00.000-07:00

Still catching up on some Holiday Decorating photos. This was a fun combination of colors, red, black and silver a little different from all the traditional colors that were requested for 2010.

Extra Large swags for the elevator lobby.

One of my favorite ornaments this season was this black damask looking and bejeweled ornament. In the right setting this ornament would look good as decor for a party..........hmmmm it would look great with all the damask fabric I just got. I'll have to file that away in my memory.

Somehow managed to get a photo without the awesome packages under the tree, these things happen I guess. Still not happy about that one.

The Christmas Holiday Specialists

2011-07-11T12:26:00.000-07:00

Since 1996 the Christmas Holiday Specialists at CHS Creative Productions have been providing upscale Christmas decorations for businesses, banks, car dealerships, casinos, zoos, hotels, corporate offices, restaurants and private homes.

We offer full service interior custom Christmas decorating services that include custom design, installation and takedown of all types of holiday decorations. From large trees, fresh trees, wreaths, swags, garland, displays, centerpieces, fresh greens and fresh florals. Our team of talented and professional designers and installers have the skills and experience to create a professional holiday display for your business or home.

Christmas decorating is a specialty market and we work at it 365 days a year. Don't risk your busiest season to a fly by night company looking to make a quick buck. We take pride in our work and our gratification comes from hearing our clients tell us how much their customers loved the decorations.