In the year 1910, the city of San Francisco was still in the process of rebuilding after the devastating earthquake and fire of 1906. At this time, a newly arrived Italian immigrant family began a small business using their skills in sculpting, woodcarving and mold making. Salvatore Barrango, the patriarch, became known for his work in restoring the statues of the saints in churches all over the Bay Area. As the city recovered and commerce thrived, the family went on to produce store mannequins of exceptional style and beauty. When fiberglass was invented, circa WWII, Barrango was one of the first companies to develop lightweight mannequins, reinforced with steel that could be “posed” to better display merchandise. Over the years the company prospered, expanding to include a division devoted entirely to the manufacturing of fully working carousels with whimsical fiberglass animals reproduced from genuine antiques as well as highly detailed crown panels, rounding boards and facades. These carousels are still entirely custom built at our facility in South San Francisco, CA and shipped all over the world! Some examples include the beautiful Venetian themed carousel at Fashion Island in Newport Beach, CA, the Spanish themed carousel at Irvine Spectrum in Irvine, CA, custom carousels such as a Wizard of Oz theme carousel for Universal Studios in Osaka, Japan and a Looney Tunes carousel at the Warner Bros. Theme Park in Germany, and even a beautiful classic carousel for the Sultan of Brunei.
Hegedusworld profiled Barrango for the Nightly Business Report on PBS.
In the late 1960s a dramatic shift in conventional visual merchandising occurred. Retail architecture changed almost overnight and store window displays and mannequins became virtually extinct. The new trend favored giant, temperature-controlled shopping environments with ambient lighting, live plants, fountains and music carefully orchestrated to create an enticing atmosphere to generate sales.
Barrango took these changes in stride and began to work directly with developers and marketing staff to design and build full scale custom seasonal decor programs tailored to both local demographics and architectural styles. Using years of experience in casting fiberglass, Barrango was able to produce larger than life decorative elements such as huge nutcrackers, toy soldiers, reindeer, sleighs and a myriad of iconic holiday ornamentation – all sturdy enough to withstand exposure to weather and indoor mall wear and tear. Barrango then invested in machinery to begin manufacturing high quality holiday foliage and began to include our own brand of holiday trees, wreaths, garlands and door sprays without having to resort to un-reliable, low quality foreign suppliers. Standout projects form an extensive list, including the Dallas Galleria with a 75 foot Barrango Christmas tree placed in the center of the ice skating rink; the King of Prussia in PA, featuring an elegant faux carousel with custom sculpted oversized reindeer as the Santa Claus photo area. The Court at King of Prussia followed with a 50 foot Barrango Christmas tree decorated with over 6000 lights and 160 individually motorized toys and ornaments. These elements were all wired to a digital program that produced a timed, synchronized live show with custom musical score to delight shoppers each hour throughout the holiday season. Bluewater in the United Kingdom displays their 25 foot tall Manzanita deer outside the center making it and the mall, visible from all surrounding highways. Barrango pioneered the use of Manzanita, a wild shrub that grows profusely all over Northern California. When the extremely strong and flexible branches are stripped and attached to wire frames, they can be teased into any shape imaginable! Adding lights to these pieces creates a magical effect that is sure to astonish. This natural material is perfect for long-lasting displays in a modern “green” world of decor.
