SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Williams Sonoma, a member of the Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE: WSM) portfolio of brands, today announced a partnership with StreetEasy® (a member of Zillow Group, NASDAQ: Z and ZG), New York City's leading real estate marketplace, and Beatriz Muller of the Gingerneers. Muller, an award-winning gingerbread architect considered to be one of the best in the world at her craft, has created a scaled gingerbread replica of the New York City skyline.
“Gingerbread City” was built entirely of real gingerbread (not construction gingerbread) and is supported by pastillage posts and beams glued with royal icing. To complete the project, Muller baked more than 200 pounds of her signature gingerbread and made more than 60 pounds of royal icing and 10 pounds of gum paste and pastillage. In total, construction of Gingerbread City took more than two months. Weighing in at a little over 300 pounds and standing more than six feet tall, Gingerbread City is now on display in the window of Williams Sonoma Columbus Circle.
Visitors to the store will be able to see Gingerbread City’s five iconic New York buildings, including the Empire State Building, One World Trade Center, the Chrysler Building, the Woolworth Building and the Statue of Liberty. The middle of the gingerbread structure features the Time Warner Center, and also includes two apartment buildings and one townhouse. Muller spent many hours referencing images of classic New York City architecture and the designs of iconic buildings to complete the cityscape and to make sure measurements were completely to scale.
A gingerbread replica of New York City would not be complete without a gingerbread subway, sugar taxis and gum paste people, all of which are featured prominently in Gingerbread City. Muller took it a step further with details like a New York building under construction, garbage bags on the sidewalks, kids playing in Central Park, and tourists taking pictures. There are also details special to New York City during the holidays, such as a person selling Christmas trees and Santas wandering the sidewalks. Gingerbread City’s streets are covered with icing sugar to represent snow and slush, and the trees are made with dried dill and rosemary herbs. The tree in the middle of Gingerbread City was hand-piped using royal icing.
Describing the construction process of Gingerbread City, Muller explains, “Most gingerbread artists would not dare making structures like this using real gingerbread cookies. A lot of the structures you see in North America are made with construction gingerbread or alternative doughs that have some gingerbread spices or gingerbread flour. They are technically edible but are no different than building with cardboard or wood — you have to use carpenter's tools and big sanders to work and shape these doughs. The only tools I use to work the gingerbread cookies are a small X-Acto knife and a ruler. I have mastered the skills of making gingerbread structures using real edible gingerbread cookies, and I am very proud of that. I am a strong believer that edible art should be exactly that: edible.”
Visitors to Gingerbread City are encouraged to share photos using the hashtag #GingerbreadCity and tagging @williamssonoma and @streeteasy.
ABOUT WILLIAMS SONOMA
Since its founding by Chuck Williams in 1956, the Williams Sonoma brand has been bringing people together around food. A member of the Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE: WSM) portfolio of brands, Williams Sonoma is a leading specialty retailer of high-quality products for the kitchen and home, providing world-class service and an engaging customer experience. Products include cookware, cooks’ tools, cutlery, electrics, bakeware, food, tabletop and bar, outdoor, cookbooks, as well as furniture, lighting and decorative accessories. Each store offers cooking classes and tastings conducted by expert culinary staff. A comprehensive gift registry program for weddings and other special events is available in stores and online. On williams-sonoma.com and the Williams Sonoma blog, Taste, customers can find recipes, tips, and techniques that help them create delicious meals and wonderful memories. Williams Sonoma is also part of an active community on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ and YouTube.
ABOUT STREETEASY
StreetEasy is New York City's leading local real estate marketplace on mobile and the web, providing accurate and comprehensive for-sale and for-rent listings from hundreds of real estate brokerages throughout New York City and the NYC metropolitan area. StreetEasy adds layers of proprietary data and useful search tools to help home shoppers and real estate professionals navigate the complex real estate markets within the five boroughs of New York City, as well as Northern New Jersey.
Launched in 2006, StreetEasy is based in the Flatiron neighborhood of Manhattan. StreetEasy is owned and operated by Zillow Group (NASDAQ: Z and ZG).
StreetEasy is a registered trademark of Zillow, Inc.
