Supermarket tree

place." In addition to the tree, Pearlmart Shoprite commissioned Custom Creations to build a faux hot air balloon rising through the ceiling above the florist shop.

For the tree, which he built with carved foam and a hot plastic coating, Calabrese contracted with Gilderfluke & Co., of Burbank, California, to provide the animatronic programming. Such a venue was not new for Gilderfluke; some of the company's early-generation control systems provided the thunder and lightning that signals a pending rain showering vegetables in produce departments.

"We're doing a lot of controls for other applications other than the entertainment industry," said Dru Smith, Gilderfluke's technical salesman. That breadth ranges from Hollywood movies to airport information kiosks. Nevertheless, Smith said he was intrigued by the animatronic tree in a supermarket. "The ultimate destination of our equipment doesn't matter to us much," he said. "Gio said he was building a tree and told me what he wanted to do with it. I gave him pointers on building the animation. I had no idea this was going to a supermarket. I can see something like this being a really cool advertising product."

From the time it signed the contract Custom Creations had only two months to sculpt and install both the tree and balloon. Even as the store, two days before opening to the public, was entertaining vendors and staff with a pre-opening party, Calabrese was doing some final pruning and tuning. "I was watching the food trays going by saying, 'I hope you save some for us,'" He said. "He finished the tree up and had a couple of sandwiches," Haslett said. "He was a lot of fun, a great guy. He's a real piece of work."

So was his tree, Haslett said. "We're happy with Giovanni, we're happy with the tree, we're happy with the balloon. But people don't notice the balloon; they're looking at the tree instead." Meanwhile, Calabrese plans to retrofit the library tree with a Gilderfluke animation program. And, he takes a different approach to food shopping. "I've been in other supermarkets around here that have absolutely nothing, and it starts the wheels going in my head: 'Hey, I should suggest something.'"

Eric Minton

by Eric Minton www.gettheloop.com 888-902-LOOP 937-296-9796 ©2002, Minton Enterprises LLC. All rights reserved Terms and Conditions	Talking Tree Pearlmart Shoprite Jackson, New Jersey Brought to you by
	www.custom-creations.com	www.gilderfluke.com
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	A tree grows The notion is preposterous: make food shopping so fun, people want to come back for more. The result of that notion, a tree that talks to customers, makes sense, and in blurring the lines between retail and entertainment even further, the project brought together three disparate entities for the first time. Jim Haslett, vice president of operations and a partner in Pearlmart Shoprite, a chain of New Jersey supermarkets, was the catalyst, looking to put something interactively entertaining in the company's new store in Jackson. He saw a picture in a magazine about a talking tree, thought about doing a Keebler Elf tree, then decided to do a Pearlmart Shoprite original. The store's interior designer, after some research, contacted Giovanni Calabrese, the owner of Custom Creations in Weehawken, New Jersey. Calabrese started his career in visual merchandising, doing displays for department stores and a high-end supermarket in New York City. He has also done work for movies and the television series "The Sopranos," and a couple of years ago brought his sculpturing skills to the theming side of the amusement industry. It happened that just when Pearlmart Shoprite contacted him Calabrese had built a tree for last November's IAAPA Trade Show, where he won Best New Product honorable mention for Displays and Sets for his theming of a tower ride at Funtown Splashtown U.S.A.in Saco, Maine (THE LOOP, May 4, 2001). He also had already done a rudimentary talking tree for the Weehawken Public Library. Both of these helped secure the deal for Custom Creations. Despite his experience with store displays, Calabrese was curious about the notion of putting an animatronic character in a supermarket. "I've never seen anything like that in a supermarket," he said. "The way they set it up, it's just an entertaining thing. Theming is a definite key for that supermarket. It's a great	place." In addition to the tree, Pearlmart Shoprite commissioned Custom Creations to build a faux hot air balloon rising through the ceiling above the florist shop. For the tree, which he built with carved foam and a hot plastic coating, Calabrese contracted with Gilderfluke & Co., of Burbank, California, to provide the animatronic programming. Such a venue was not new for Gilderfluke; some of the company's early-generation control systems provided the thunder and lightning that signals a pending rain showering vegetables in produce departments. "We're doing a lot of controls for other applications other than the entertainment industry," said Dru Smith, Gilderfluke's technical salesman. That breadth ranges from Hollywood movies to airport information kiosks. Nevertheless, Smith said he was intrigued by the animatronic tree in a supermarket. "The ultimate destination of our equipment doesn't matter to us much," he said. "Gio said he was building a tree and told me what he wanted to do with it. I gave him pointers on building the animation. I had no idea this was going to a supermarket. I can see something like this being a really cool advertising product." From the time it signed the contract Custom Creations had only two months to sculpt and install both the tree and balloon. Even as the store, two days before opening to the public, was entertaining vendors and staff with a pre-opening party, Calabrese was doing some final pruning and tuning. "I was watching the food trays going by saying, 'I hope you save some for us,'" He said. "He finished the tree up and had a couple of sandwiches," Haslett said. "He was a lot of fun, a great guy. He's a real piece of work." So was his tree, Haslett said. "We're happy with Giovanni, we're happy with the tree, we're happy with the balloon. But people don't notice the balloon; they're looking at the tree instead." Meanwhile, Calabrese plans to retrofit the library tree with a Gilderfluke animation program. And, he takes a different approach to food shopping. "I've been in other supermarkets around here that have absolutely nothing, and it starts the wheels going in my head: 'Hey, I should suggest something.'" Eric Minton
	Photos by Giovanni Calabrese, Custom Creations
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