Christmas Tree Base Development

A concept positioning phase to explore design direction across the full market spectrum - from accessible, practical mass-market design through to sculptural, design-led, high-value positioning.


Client: Gillan & Charlie Tighe | Date: 6th July 2026 |

Document Version: Proposal V1 | Status: Confidential - For Client Review.


Intro to FLYNN.

FLYNN is a uniquely positioned Product Development Consultancy given its ability to perform world class product styling, human factors integration, mechanical design and Design for Manufacture.

For us this fusion is key to our potency in supporting our clients. With an unrelenting focus on helping entrepreneurs bring meaningful products to market, we work closely with our clients to define, challenge and refine both product and proposition.

We combine creative direction with commercial awareness and engineering rigour. This allows us to not only design compelling products, but to ensure they are viable, manufacturable and positioned for success. Our experience spans consumer, lifestyle and connected products, with a consistent focus on helping businesses maximise their opportunity.

1

Project Background.

Christmas tree stands represent a vast, largely undisturbed market, an estimated 5 to 10 million units sold globally each year - yet the overwhelming majority are purely functional and visually unattractive. They solve stability but ignore aesthetics entirely, and consumers have responded by routinely covering them with a separate tree skirt: itself a commoditised, mass-produced category dominated by generic, often Chinese-manufactured product with little brand identity or design ambition.

Charlie's existing product already occupies a very different space. Handcrafted panels illuminated from within, it carries a genuine origin story: its roots lie in a family tradition going back to Charlie's grandfather, who improvised lighting and decoration around the tree base entirely by hand. That generational, artisan provenance is not something a mass-market competitor can easily manufacture or claim - it is a genuine and rare asset.

The opportunity identified is a combined, illuminated, decorative tree base that elevates the tree, creates usable space for presents, and renders a separate tree skirt entirely redundant. It is a product that does more, looks better, and tells a story. But the right level of design ambition, materiality, and price positioning for this product is still a genuinely open question - one that spans everything from a practical, accessible John Lewis-style product through to a sculptural Soho Home-style design object commanding a significant premium.

This is the question the concept positioning phase is designed to answer. Rather than committing to a direction prematurely, FLYNN will generate a broad, open range of design explorations across the full spectrum, so that Gillan and Charlie can make an informed, evidence-based decision on where this product should sit - and what that means for the brand and the business long term.

2

Project Brief.

FLYNN are being engaged to run an open concept exploration - Phase 1 of the overall product development - working within the fundamental product specification to generate a broad range of design directions across a defined spectrum: from John Lewis at one end (practical, accessible, lower price point, broad market) to Soho Home at the other (sculptural, design-led, £1000+ RRP, smaller but far more defensible market). The aim is to bring that range to life so Gillan and Charlie can make an informed, evidence-based positioning decision before committing further.

The central tension is harder than it first appears. Christmas is rooted in tradition, family, and natural authenticity - and Charlie's product already carries that spirit genuinely. But building a defensible, non-commoditised business requires strong Product Brand Fusion™ and a clear identity that customers seek out by name. Holding both of those truths together is the real design challenge of this phase.

There is also a moat problem that must be addressed directly. Without strong innovation, IP, and brand identity, this product is exposed to fast, cheap copycat manufacture. The higher end of the spectrum - sculptural materials such as bronze, concrete, and cast forms with integrated illumination - targets a smaller, more design-conscious audience that is considerably less exposed to that risk. The lower end presents a larger but far more commoditised market, where differentiation is harder to sustain.

Engaging in Phase 1 does not commit Gillan and Charlie to additional phases - but further phases will be required to take any chosen direction through to manufacture.

3

Working Product Spec - Must Have

  1. Must incorporate illumination as a core design feature.
  1. Must incorporate decorative artwork or visual design integrated with the light source.
  1. Must elevate the tree above the height of a standard/current tree stand (minimum elevation to be confirmed during concept phase).
  1. Must provide stable, secure support for a real Christmas tree.
  1. Must be easy to use and set up without specialist tools or assistance.
  1. Must hold water to sustain a real tree throughout the festive period.
  1. Must be aesthetically distinctive and "marvellous" - not merely functional - to justify a premium over commodity stands.
  1. Must accommodate real trees and be adapted for holding artificial trees.
  1. Must create usable space around the base for presents to be placed.

Could Have

  1. Personalisation options, to preserve some of the emotional, generational, handmade character of the original product without compromising brand identity.
  1. A space-saving or dual-purpose off-season storage solution (e.g. a robust box that doubles as storage, or a flat-pack/collapsible structure) to address the seasonality of use and typical home storage constraints.

4

Project roadmap

Draft Proposed Project Phases. Est. timeline = 3-4 weeks

This is a high-level linear representation of a process which can be cyclic.


1

1. Brief Confirmation & Research

Consolidate workshop findings, review market and competitor positioning across the full spectrum from John Lewis-style mass market through to Soho Home-style design-led luxury, and confirm the open brief parameters and key success criteria for the concept phase.

2

2. Concept Ideation Across the Spectrum

Develop a broad range of design directions spanning practical and accessible through to sculptural and high-value positioning. Explore materials, illumination integration approaches, and decorative visual language at each end of the spectrum - without prematurely narrowing toward a single direction.

3

3. Mood Boarding & Design Direction

Curate cohesive visual direction options with supporting rationale for each market position explored. Each direction will be presented with its own materiality, aesthetic language, and commercial positioning logic - giving Gillan and Charlie a genuinely comparable set of options.

4

4. Design Review Meeting

Present the full range of concepts to Gillan and Charlie so they can react, discuss, and gauge instinctive fit for each direction.

At this point Gillan and Charlie can review the full range of concepts and make a considered, evidence-based decision on which direction to carry into a future development phase.

5

5. Positioning Recommendation

Following the review meeting, FLYNN provides a recommendation on the most commercially viable and creatively compelling direction or directions to carry into a future development phase - with clear rationale covering market positioning, IP defensibility, and brand potential.

5

Scope of Work. - In Scope

  1. Project management.
  1. Consolidation of workshop findings and problem statement into a working brief.
  1. CAD model concepts.
  1. Visual product renders.
  1. Market and competitor positioning research, from John Lewis-style mass market through to Soho Home-style design-led luxury.
  1. A range of concept design directions spanning Mid to Boutique.
  1. Exploration of materials and finishes appropriate to each market position - eg. from practical timber and laser-cut through to sculptural materials such as cast concrete or bronze.
  1. Mood board and design direction development.
  1. Illumination and decorative integration concepts.
  1. Leading a design review meeting with Gillan and Charlie.
  1. A positioning recommendation to guide next-phase decision making.
  1. High-level initial consideration of IP and patentability angles to inform (not execute) an IP strategy.

Out of Scope

We can offer the below as add-on extras if required: ( with the exception of those marked * )

  1. *Patent draft / IP protection / application - via associate Attorney.
  1. Physical prototyping (this phase is concept and positioning only; no physical prototypes are produced).
  1. Engineering design / virtual prototyping.
  1. Design for Manufacture and production data pack.
  1. *Final production / manufacture.
  1. Video / motion graphics / CGI.
  1. Focus group or consumer research/testing.

6

EstimatesTimeline

Estimates & Timeline.

FLYNN is excited to help Gillan and Charlie answer the central question at the heart of this project: How to develop this into a product with a moat and strong market traction, where a beautifully illuminated, decorative Christmas tree base should sit between accessible mass-market design and sculptural, design-led luxury - and what that means for the product, the brand, and the business.

Deliverables:

  1. A range of concept work that meet the specification - from accessible, practical interpretations through to sculptural, high-value design objects.
  1. Positioning recommendation to guide the direction of any future development phase.
  1. Proposal for Phase 2 - The project beyond.

7

We are ready to take this to the next level, if you are?

Let's Talk 🚀

Book a call

8

10

11

12

Words from our Clients

13

14