Summer has arrived at Magnolia Market, and we are so excited to share how it’s coming to life through our displays, products, and the stories we tell. Inspired by Jo’s reflections in the summer issue of Magnolia JournalOpens in new tab, we wanted the Market to feel like a sunny, seaside escape. Our team brought that vision to life with large displays of lemon trees, hand-painted tiles, and an amazing handmade, wooden scooter.
Take a look at the planning and details from this season’s install:
Lemons
Vibrant, summer citrus was a driving visual theme throughout the new issue of Magnolia JournalOpens in new tab, and our team wanted those same visuals represented in the Market. As soon as you walk in, you’re greeted by a beautiful lemon tree, and you’ll see various citrus displays throughout the shop.
The team started by shaping Styrofoam eggs into the shape of lemons. Then, they covered the foam in yellow-dyed cheesecloth and glued it in place. After that, the lemon was spray painted for added dimension. Finally, each lemon was dipped in melted wax to give it a glossy finish and porous texture to resemble a real lemon.
Lemon Trees
While some of the lemons are displayed together in baskets, others are hanging from trees. To create the lemon trees, the team sourced real, dried lemon leaves and attached them to larger branches by drilling holes and attaching each stem with glue. Once the leaves were attached, they added the lemons to look as if they were growing from the tree.
Scooter
initial digital sketch of the scooter:
pieces of the scooter coming together:
To add to the light and breezy atmosphere, our team custom-built a scooter to sit along the center display at the front entrance. The scooter’s model was sketched out and designed as multiple pieces, then cut from plywood with a computer-controlled cutting machine. Once the individual pieces were cut, they were assembled together according to the original digital model—which felt like putting together a big, to-scale puzzle. Once assembled, the team sanded and stained the scooter to complete the look.
Garlic
Each bulb of garlic was made by crumpling paper into a ball and covering it with masking tape to create the bulb-like shape. Then it was covered in a glossy tracing paper and adhered with a clear papier-mâché type material. This gave each bulb a transparent, garlic-like appearance.
The team assembled the bulbs of garlic together by drilling a small hole in each piece and tying sisal rope through the hole. This not only grouped the bulbs into bundles, but the rope also frays out of the bottom of the garlic to resemble roots.
To create displays that resembled real tile but were lighter in weight, each of the tile shapes were cut from thin plexiglass and then incorporated together on the wall.
Each piece was covered in a thick layer of acrylic primer called Gesso. Then, a design was hand-painted on each tile using a mixture of paint, dye, and clear-leveling gel. Once the paint dried, the tile was covered in a self-leveling gel to resemble glazed ceramic. After making the tile look aged with spray paint, each piece was arranged on the wall and put into place with grout. Once assembled, the letters were treated with the same material as the tile to highlight the blue details in the wall.
If you’re in Waco this summer, we hope that you’ll come see what’s new at Magnolia! Here are a few more of our favorite scenes from the Market:
