Celebrated department store Fortnum & Mason is worId-renowned for its magical storytelling. As one of our first brand partners, our Five Questions are for Sallie Smith, Head of Visual Presentation who reveals how a sustainable approach is influencing her designs and her delight in creating the dancing Christmas puddings.
Vitruvium: Heading up the visual presentation for one of London’s most prestigious heritage stores sounds both challenging and thrilling. What do you love about your job?
Sallie Smith: I have worked for Fortnum’s for over 17 years now and have headed the department for the last five. I think one reason I love the role so much is because the opportunity to be creative is endless. I love how varied the role can be. We have a small team but manage to be involved in anything from window and atrium design, to the visual look of the Christmas shop, events and pop ups. Every day really is different and I love that.
V: Fortnums is celebrated for its wonderful creative displays with a very clear visual handwriting. How do you remain true to the brand while innovating and sustaining customer interest?
SS: Fortnum’s has always taken pride in having wit and charm running through window and interior designs. I love how playful we can be. The ultimate goal is always to bring joy to the customer, and the VM has to play a huge part of that. I work hard to not fall into the trap of being a ‘one trick pony’, and try to ensure each scheme is very different from the last, to ensure that we keep the anticipation of a new installation. I try to have a signature standard as opposed to a signature look, as to not let our scheme become too predictable.
"We are constantly evolving in ways to improve and be more sustainable in our projects, but sustainability has also inspired some design."
V: How do you bring sustainable elements into your designs and what impact has this had on your output?
SS: Like most companies, we are constantly evolving in ways to improve and be more sustainable in our projects, but sustainability has also inspired some design. The giant peacock I commissioned last year to celebrate the coronation, was seven meters tall and wide and was attached to the front of the building. It was made from hundreds of Fortnum’s tea tins that would otherwise would have been unusable due to small defects. It was interesting to look at materials that would normally go to be recycled and then look at what I could create from them, as opposed to designing the concept first and materiality second.
V: What is your most memorable installation or creative moment that you have worked on?
SS: This is a tough question. There have been so many incredible projects that I have been privileged to say I have designed or worked on. I suppose a recent project would have been the dancing Christmas puddings that we installed in the atrium in November. I was so excited about the concept and remember saying to my team “I can just imagine, people saying, We have to go to Fortnum’s and see the dancing Christmas puddings!”. I was beyond delighted when that became the reality. They became so popular that our footfall was record breaking this year.
V: And the one prop you wish you had kept?
SS: I know exactly what work goes into every prop that starts as a simple pencil drawing through to a hand-carved piece is a work of art, so there have been so many props across the years that I have wished we could have kept hold of. This is one of the reasons I am delighted that we are now able to work with Vitruvium. I think the one prop that I wish I’d been able to keep would be oversized book that was created for our Time for Tea book launch. With all of its beautiful hand-crafted characters spilling out of its pages, it took hours to create, but was such fun for our customers to enjoy and pose with.
