The Harry Potter-themed alley was unveiled for Epic’s annual meeting in August.
Pamela Price and her crew at F5 Theming have added a bit more magic to Verona’s Epic Systems campus. An expert at creating the world of a certain boy wizard, she has fashioned an alley of storefronts where you might see shopkeepers selling wands, witches’ cauldrons, spells and wizards’ robes. This whimsical addition — built between two existing, themed buildings and based on J.K. Rowling’s Diagon Alley — served as a welcoming surprise for thousands of visitors to the company’s annual user meeting, held the last week of August.
Where would someone learn how to transform the normal world to a magical one? Price honed this skill working as senior art director for building and theming the Wizarding World of Harry Potter attraction at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. “It was 18 months, working around the clock, directing 300 artists to get the magical doors of Hogwarts open on time,” says Price, speaking to Isthmus via email.
As a professional scenic artist, Price has a background in commercial art and a thorough knowledge of paints and solvents. She can also create fine art, from large-scale murals to portraits. Sculpting, carving, carpentry and building construction are all in her bailiwick. She can also read architectural drawings and design plans, and interact knowledgeably with designers. And she has experience working outside in extreme conditions — from scorching hot to frigid temps. Since a lot of her work is done on ladders, scaffolds, and lifts, she’s also fine with heights.
F5 Theming redesigned the exterior of Duncan Edward European Hair Design.
Price is currently the master designer and executive art director at F5 Theming, which set up shop in Verona starting in May. Price got her start in the late 1980s, working in Florida creating original, fantastical environments for a variety of tourist attractions. In addition to working on amusement parks, she has provided settings for museums, aquariums, government buildings, sports teams, stadiums, theaters, waterparks, restaurants, casinos, resorts, corporate campuses and even private homes. “One of my former neighbors asked me to design and build a big sea serpent for their front yard,” Price says, grinning.
Although Wisconsin is a big change from sunny Florida, Price fell in love with the state after she worked on several projects at Epic, beginning in 2013. “Epic will hire an architectural firm to design a project, then they work with companies like J.H. Findorff or J.P. Cullen to build the project, and then they call us in for the theming work,” Price explains. “We take the basic construction of the job and fine-tune it with our skills to make it match the vision that Epic and the design team had. One of the architects once told us that the reason he loves F5 is because when he walks onto a job site, the vision that he had when he designed it is there, right in front of him, just like he saw it in his head. We delivered his vision for him.”
Although it is now rooted in Madison, F5 Theming is busy outside of Wisconsin as well. Price is currently working on a large mural project in Naples, Florida, and the company is negotiating with several attractions in Orlando for theming jobs that will keep them busy all winter. “The biggest drawback to being based in Wisconsin is that we can’t paint outdoors in January,” says Price. “As F5 grows, we will have multiple crews working at several locations simultaneously.”
Outside of the Epic campus, you can see the company’s work on display at Duncan Edward European Hair Design on Madison’s west side. The company transformed the salon’s exterior from a typical 1960s split-level home to a modern, steampunk, metallic look. “The salon was invisible from the street and people just drove by,” says Price. “So, we built a façade for the house and now it’s got a completely different, more dramatic look.”
F5 Theming was named for the “fabulous five” artists who made up the core company. Recently that number dropped to four full-time employees, and Price is eager to hire more artisans. “We outgrew our shop the day we moved in,” she says. “Our hope is to double the staff within two years and build our own custom facility in Verona.”
Reflecting on her choice to make Wisconsin her business’s new home, Price says, “I spent time in the region, and got to know the landscape, the seasons, the people. It’s a great place to put down roots and start building my dream.”
Editor's note: This story was amended to reflect the fact that Pamela Price communicated with Isthmus via email.
