The Alan Shearer Statue at St James Park - Commissioned by Freddie Shepherd

We often get requests to go the extra mile and cover things that are not what you might call the usual. One such day came in 2016 when we got a call from Shepherd Offshore, asking if we did covers for anything? "Can you explain a bit further?" we asked, "no, not really, you need to come down to the office and meet Freddie (Shepherd) , he will tell you what you need to know". So off we went. Well, it soon became apparent, when you walk through the doors of Shepherd Offshore, you come into contact with a stunning bronze statue of Alan Shearer, scoring a goal, with customary hand in the air, or in this case, the finger in the air. We did wonder if it might be a rather larger version that needed covering, or unveiled in pretty much the same way a car reveal would work, but with a giant awkward shaped statue and the worlds press in front of you. Anyway, after discussions with Freddie and his team, we visited the tribute statue to Alan Shearer in one of Freddie's lockups and it was truly magnificent. Around 5m high on a huge pedistal. Then Freddie commented, "there it is, the cover has to come off in 2 seconds, or you are the story!!!". No pressure then.

So we set about fully measuring the sizes required and the ergonomics of the statue and what might happen on the day with wind, rain, and awkward shapes that do not want to let you pull a cover off, cleanly. We had two seconds, say it to yourself, the time it takes to say it, the time has gone. So you cant use one of our usual silky reveal covers as they have lycra in them and if they get wet, would cling to the statue. We had to manufacture a bespoke sized cover, in a mixture of silk and satin weave with anti crease and waterproofing treatments to keep the cover up to the job. The key when revealing difficult shapes is to allow the lustre of the fabric to glide easily over what you are displaying. Sounds easy? Try it on a statue of Alan shearer with the wind blowing in from the front and his hand stuck in the air. If you do not get the angle of reveal correct then, as Freddie said to us earlier, "you become the story".

So we had access to the statue and as many trial runs as a busy schedule will permit and on the day, with the lady mayoress of Newcastle, Freddie and his team, Alan Shearer & family, thousands of Geordies and the worlds press filming and taking photographs, we went for it.

It was a great day and all concerned loved the reveal. We did our job brilliantly and everyone was happy. If you are thinking of a reveal of note, or something a bit out of the ordinary, give us a call on 0191 4862686 and chat it through. We promise you, we have heard virtually everything. We have a can do attitude and will add our experience into the mix and help you build a fantastic day for whatever it is you are trying to achieve. We can do a full event planning and delivery service or just provide you with a cover and help. Its up to you but all starts with a phone call. We look forward to hearing from you.