We had a wonderful time hosting Canterbury’s second Christmas Window Competition, and the judges had so much fun soaking up the festive atmosphere. Judging took place on Saturday 3rd December with a panel of 5 judges. The windows were judged on three criteria: Festivity, Creativity/Originality and Merchandising; and each one was measured against a set standard and awarded Gold, Silver Gilt or Silver against that. See the results below!

Many thanks to our judges: Councillor Rosemary Doyle, Sheriff of Canterbury; Paula Gillespie, General Manager at The Marlowe Theatre; Beth Cuenco, Creative Director at Workers of Art/Wise Words Festival; Rachel Phipps, Writer/Blogger; and Bill Hutton, Creative Director, Hutton Design.

There was also a “People’s Choice” award via social media for small, independents. The first part of this ran from Saturday 3rd to Saturday 11th December. All small, independent businesses were offered a window poster inviting the public to vote by taking a photo of their window and posting it to Twitter, Instagram or Facebook using the hashtag #CanterburyChristmas.

The second part of People’s Choice ran from 16-19 December. All the photos we have for windows from independent businesses are on a MyCanterbury Facebook Album. The general public were invited to like and share their favourite photo. Anyone who liked and/or shared was entered into a prize draw. The idea was to raise more awareness of Canterbury’s independents and encourage more customers to take a closer look.

The results

Gold

Queen Bee Home	Fenwick	Ortwin Thyssen	The Living Lounge

Canterbury Pottery	Toni & Guy	Angels	Dumbrell’s Shop

Marlowe’s Restaurant	Cath Kidston	Luke Goldsmith Jewellers	Sowley UK

Silver Gilt

Chaucer Bookshop	Steamer Trading	Espression Arts Café	Lakeland

925 Silver	Café St Pierre	Crabtree & Evelyn	Lullah

Cosmo China	Fat Face	Burgate Coffeehouse	Kitch

The Bishop’s Finger Pub	Teokath of London	Tiny Tim’s Tearoom	Canterbury Cathedral Shop

The Pound	Zink Studios	Fitzgerald Jewellers	Oscar & Bentleys

Anthony W Pearce Jewellers	Biketart	Jack Wills	The Three Tuns Pub

Hotel Chocolat	Nasons	The Falstaff	Refectory Kitchen

Iconic	tReds	Holistic Health Clinic	Conquest House

The Running Outlet	Jigsaw	Frocks ‘N’ Stock	Teatros Bar

Cotswold Outdoor	Jessica Kennedy	Vodafone	Dems Brasserie

Justin Richardson Designer Jeweller	Doo-Daas Hair Salon	Age UK

Silver 

Hotter Shoes	La Trappiste	Café des Amis	Herringbone Kitchens

Hardy’s Sweet Shop	Lady Penelope’s Florist	Level Up Games	Curtain Call

People’s Choice Awards

1. Espression Arts Café
2. Ortwin Thyssen Jewellery Maker
3. Teokath of London
4. The Bishop’s Finger Pub
5. Burgate Coffeehouse

You can browse a selection of photos on our Flickr Album and read Rachel Phipp’s Blog here.