Bilston Carnival Heritage Trophies: Design, Heritage & Fabrication
Updated: Oct 10
City of Wolverhampton Council Events · Bilston Carnival
By Charlotte Webb
Designing the Bilston Carnival Heritage Trophies was one of those rare commissions where heritage, celebration, and contemporary design came together seamlessly. Bilston’s identity is rich — metalworking, enamel artistry, civic pride, and a long tradition of craft — and the brief asked for trophies that honoured that history while feeling fresh, joyful, and unmistakably “Bilston Carnival.”
This project became a deep exploration of local symbolism, material culture, and fabrication, resulting in three distinct trophy concepts that formed a spectrum of identity: civic, decorative, and sculptural.
The Brief: Heritage Meets Celebration
The City Events Team wanted trophies that felt rooted in Bilston’s past but vibrant enough to represent the carnival’s present.
They needed to be:
Heritage‑led
Contemporary in silhouette
Distinct from generic off‑the‑shelf awards
Visually bold enough to become recognisable carnival icons
Feasible for fabrication by local makers
The design process involved studying Bilston's civic symbolism, enamelware collections, historic metalwork, and examples of local manufacturing history. The trophies would be awarded across multiple categories during Bilston Carnival, becoming part of the event’s visual identity for years to come.
Concept One: The Bilston Heritage Trophy
This design drew directly from Bilston’s civic architecture and heraldic motifs. Inspired by the Bilston Coat of Arms, carved stone flourishes, and Art Deco geometry, the trophy blended clean lines with subtle ornamentation.
Key features included:
A shield‑inspired silhouette
A sunburst crest symbolising celebration
Feather‑like detailing echoing historic civic carvings
A contemporary front plane for annual inscriptions
This design represented Bilston’s civic pride — modern, architectural, and quietly powerful.
Explore more about Bilston’s civic history.
Concept Two: The Enameled Bilston Trophy
Bilston’s enamelware is world‑renowned, and this trophy celebrated that legacy. Drawing from classical urn motifs, rococo scrollwork, and the pastel palettes of historic Bilston enamels, this design was joyful, decorative, and rooted in the town’s artistic heritage.
Key features:
A sculptural urn silhouette
Pastel enamel‑inspired colourways
Gold accents referencing traditional enamel detailing
Ornamental scrollwork balanced with modern restraint
This design embodied Bilston’s artistic soul — expressive, colourful, and full of character.
Learn more about Bilston enamel history.
Concept Three: The Beldray Vessel Trophy
This design honoured Bilston’s metalworking heritage, particularly the Arts & Crafts‑era Beldray copper vases. With flowing handles, Art Nouveau curves, and a central emblem inspired by carnival plumes, this trophy felt premium and sculptural.
Key features:
A vessel silhouette based on historic Beldray forms
Flowing handles symbolising movement and celebration
A subtle carnival mask integrated into the plume motif
Clean surfaces for modern fabrication
This design represented Bilston’s craft lineage — elegant, tactile, and rooted in making.
Explore Art Metalware
Fabrication: Bringing the Trophies to Life with Gaudio
Once the designs were approved, the project moved into a detailed fabrication phase with Gaudio Awards, an award‑winning UK studio specialising in bespoke trophies, plaques, and high‑end recognition pieces. Their expertise in combining traditional craftsmanship with modern manufacturing made them the perfect partner for a heritage‑led commission like Bilston Carnival.
Working with Gaudio was a genuinely collaborative process. Together, we explored multiple fabrication routes to ensure each trophy could be produced safely, beautifully, and within the council’s budget. This meant refining the artwork repeatedly — adjusting scale, simplifying certain details, strengthening others, and ensuring every motif translated cleanly into a manufacturable form.
Key parts of the fabrication process included:
Material exploration — cast metal, resin, acrylic, hybrid builds
Colour matching to official Bilston Carnival branding
Size and proportion refinement through prototype reviews
Detail optimisation for durability and clarity
Cost balancing to find the sweet spot between heritage detail and feasibility
Gaudio provided CAD proposals, technical notes, and prototype visuals. I reviewed each iteration carefully, ensuring the final trophies remained faithful to Bilston’s heritage while being fully manufacturable.
The result was a set of trophies that felt premium, meaningful, and deeply rooted in Bilston’s identity — a perfect fusion of design, craft, and community pride.
Presentation Day: Seeing the Trophies in the Hands of the Winners
All the heritage research, colour matching, fabrication trials, and late‑night refinements led to one unforgettable moment — seeing the trophies presented to the winners at Bilston Carnival.
Hickman Park was alive with music, colour, and community pride. When the awards ceremony began, the trophies looked absolutely at home: vibrant against the carnival backdrop, gleaming in the summer light, and unmistakably “Bilston.” Watching each winner step forward — dancers, float makers, walking groups, performers — and hold a trophy crafted with such care was genuinely moving.
The way winners turned the trophies over in their hands, pointing out details, smiling at the colours, posing for photos — it was a reminder that design isn’t just about objects. It’s about moments, memories, and community connection.
Seeing the trophies out in the world, fulfilling their purpose, was the perfect culmination of the project. A celebration decades in the making — and one I’ll always treasure.
Credit: Wolverhampton Today (Bilston Carnival 2026)
Reflections
Working on the Bilston Carnival Heritage Trophies was a joy from start to finish. It allowed me to explore Bilston’s history, collaborate with the council’s events team, and create designs that will become part of the carnival’s visual language for years to come.
I’m proud of these concepts — and proud to contribute to a celebration that means so much to the community.
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