Susie Watson Designs crowned Winners of Chichester BID’s Christmas window competition

‘Christmas Creatures’ was the theme of this year’s competition, which was fittingly judged by Julie and Amanda of The Teddy Bear Ladies, known for their teddy bear and soft toy restoration work on BBC’s The Repair Shop. Over 25 businesses entered the competition in the city centre including independents and chains across various sectors.

Julie and Amanda commented: “Congratulations to Susie Watson Designs on the winning window display. We loved how they met the criteria by using their own branding of hares as the main theme enabling the decoration to blend seamlessly with the interior of the shop. The clever use of pre-loved textiles and the obvious thought and attention to detail helped this entrant to stand out in our minds.

We also wanted to give a special shout out to everyone at Crystals. We absolutely loved the passion and attention to detail that was demonstrated in the beautiful Narnia artwork – well done!

Thank you to everyone who made our afternoon in Chichester such a delight. It was lovely to see so many entries for the competition and to see so much passion and creativity on display. Everyone should be very proud of their contribution to the festive season. Chichester is a beautiful city made even more special by the variety and quality of the independent businesses it contains.”

Oliver Curran, Store Manager of Susie Watson Designs, commented: “Myself and my colleagues Isobel and Jemima came up with the window concept after receiving the competition brief. We knew we wanted to include hares and birds as they feature in our branding and fabrics. Everything in the window was handmade by us, using our own fabrics. We were really chuffed to win and it was fantastic to meet The Teddy Bear Ladies too.”

“Once again we were overwhelmed by the wealth of creative talent showcased by all the businesses involved in this year’s competition,” comments Helen Marshall, CEO and Chair of Chichester BID, "The standard was incredibly high and choosing a winner was a very hard task. Thank you to everyone involved for helping add to the magic of Christmas in Chichester and thank you also to our wonderful judges.”

Susie Watson Designs will receive a £50 Chichester Gift Card and tickets to see The Jungle Book at Chichester Festival Theatre.

Below is the full list of businesses that took part:

North Street:

Artisan Gallery

British Red Cross

Café Paradiso

Chestnut Tree

Gold Arts

Susie Watson Designs

The Sty in Chi

Winter’s Moon

Refilled

Crystals on Crane Street

South Street:

Creations

Hansford

Yarn

West Street:

Bunch Florist

Richard Tidlesley Practice

Chichester Library on Tower Street

East Street:

Alexander Jewellery

The Bazaar

East Walls Hotel on East Row

Good News Newsagent on St Martin’s Street

The Barn’s Larder on Little London

Whitby’s on Baffin’s Lane

The Hornet:

Almshouse Arcade

Buzby & Blue

Cloth Kits