We are very pleased to announce that our engraving skills have been taken to a whole new level. We have a new CNC ice carving machine that can precision cut writing and logos into the ice. Wow! The accuracy is stunning and the writing comes out so crisp and clear it’s hard to believe.

A huge heartfelt THANK YOU to Ron Roberts who designed and built our new CNC ice carving machine.

Watch this space for new photos of precision cut ice sculptures as we start to make use of this amazing new capability.

When Ultra refrigeration wanted to throw a party to celebrate 10 years of course they had to have a Fire and Ice theme event. And what else but ice sculptures would you use to decorate a fire and ice party? Table centrepieces with flames lit orange from underneath topped each table. 4 gorgeous square pillars with shard details topped with flame shaped floral arrangements defined the space in the room.

And the piece de resistance was the Ultra Refrigeration coloured logo champagne display. Set front and centre, the logo was coloured in orange and lit from below with orange lights. On either side the bottles of vintage bubbly were set off with blue lights.

It’s worth clicking on the thumbnails to see the larger versions.

We do most of our orders via phone or email and we don’t often get to meet our lovely brides. On this occasion we met Victoria in person at a bridal fair, a week before her wedding. We were just thrilled to be able to pull together this custom design champagne luge for her wedding in only 6 days. Of course, we didn’t get to see the look on the groom’s face when he saw his surprise ice sculpture but I’m sure he was delighted.

Wow, we just loved last night’s episode of Junior Masterchef Australia, with the amazing Ice Palace pantry set featuring our sculptures. It was just awesome watching the looks on the faces of those kids when they saw what was in store for them in the Ice Cream Challenge as the Ice Palace Pantry was revealed.
For anyone who missed it, the episode was Top 50 -Heats 2 and 3. Our contribution was seen in the second half of the show in the Ice Palace Pantry for Heat 3 – the Ice Cream Challenge. Channel 10 have put links up to the video and you can watch it at http://www.masterchef.com.au/video.htm?movideo_p=45843&movideo_m=132148.

We’re very excited about this season of Junior Masterchef Australia. And at this stage all I can say is – watch it!

In 1967, pop artist Robert Indiana produced his now-iconic LOVE sculpture, which has been installed in dozens of places around the world, mostly in English but also in Hebrew and Italian. It has been appropriated by a range of artists to draw attention to many different issues. It was originally installed in New York City, here’s our version of the famous LOVE sculpture, with a backdrop of Sydney Harbour.

When we get asked how we carve our ice sculptures the answer is usually “chainsaws, chisels, die grinders and other sharp instruments.” Generally speaking, a guitar string doesn’t spring to mind.
That’s why, when we had a phone call from a Sydney-based science lecturer who wanted a block of ice to test cutting it with a guitar string, we just had to help out.
The idea was to take a large, strong, clear block of ice (that’s where we came in) and pass a guitar string over the top of it, weighed down on either side. Then watch what happens as the string cuts through the ice. The expectation was to see the ice re-freeze and reform again behind the string as it passed through.
We sent the ice off yesterday afternoon and will post a link to the results as soon as they are available. In the meantime, check out all the other interesting experiments conducted at Veritasium. It looks like a cool site.

For those interested in some behind the scenes discussion, action shots, and a bunch of really cool photos of awesome ice luges, this new facebook group Ice Luges and Drink Slides is definitely the place to be.
It’s an open group with over 90 members last time I looked, many of them premium ice carvers from around the world. Watch out for awesome shots. Be warned, some of the pictures (and discussion) are suitable for adults only.

The direct link to the video from the Kerri-Anne show is now available. There isn’t any footage of the actual carving taking place in this video, but you can see the polar bear, the classic swan, and of course watch Kerri-Anne enjoy a toast of champagne poured through her champagne luge.

Yesterday we carved a custom Champange Luge for Kerri-Anne Kennerly on Channel 9′s Mornings with Kerri-Anne show. Designed with her initials “KAK”, the luge was described as “elegant and sophisticated, yet approachable” to reflect Kerri-Anne’s style.
Kerri-Anne had a look at our sculptures of a Polar Bear and Large Classic Swan, and our ice carving tools, and asked a few general questions about us and about ice carving. She left us to carve the luge for about 20 minutes while she went to look at the Siberian Huskis, Alaskan Malamute, and other gorgeous snow-dogs.
When she returned, we had a bottle of champagne chilling in the back of our Large Classic Swan, and were delighted to offer Kerri-Anne a toast poured through her very own Champagne Luge. Cheers Kerri-Anne!