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Hoults Yard Gobo Company marks Mexican Celebration

A TYNESIDE light stencil manufacturer in Newcastle has recently finished illuminating an international carnival in Mexico City, thanks to the internet giving it a global shop window.

Projected Image UK, based at Hoults Yard in Byker, received one of its largest gobo orders to date when it was commissioned to create 468 unique handmade light stencils for Mexico’s 200th anniversary of independence from Spain.

Called gobos (graphical optical black out) the stencils are laser cut images on glass or metal which create patterns when stage lighting or light projectors are shone through them.

The iconic image projections shone all over Zocalo Plaza in Mexico City, a mixture of Projected Image’s own catalogue designs and some unique Mayan artwork, were seen by millions of viewers during a national broadcast.

Projected Image - which is owned by Jim Douglas and Roger Scott and has provided gobos to Robbie Williams and the 2012 Olympics - relocated the gobo firm from London to a 1,500 sq ft office and manufacturing facility in Hoults Yard four years ago.

Hoults Yard managing director Charlie Hoult said: “It is great to see such interesting and exciting projects coming out of the yard. Who would have thought that the region would be home to Europe’s leading gobo manufacturer?

“It is very rare that a city can say that it is home to one of only two specialist companies in the country - but we can say this about Projected Image.

“Projected Image’s list of clients is testament to how the international market has been opened up due to internet presence and online marketing - the internet is brilliant for specialist markets.”

Projected Image director Jim Douglas said: “Our move from Hackney to Hoults Yard has been one of the best business decisions we have ever made.

“Orders such as this Mexican one come from all over the world via the internet, so our offices can be wherever we choose. And we are very much at home at the yard.

“We love the mix of companies here, and we work with some of them - onebestway designed our website and even our desks were made by a furniture company here.”

It took the Projected Image team just four days to create the required artwork and manufacture the gobos for the Mexican bicentennial project.

With a catalogue of 2,500 original designs, Projected Image has clients spanning the world including Australia, Japan, Canada, South Africa and Iceland.

And its extensive list of high profile clients includes - Mamma Mia The Musical, The Tate Modern, the Royal Shakespeare Society and Big Brother.

Projected Image has since received an order from the Mexican Embassy in London.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .

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