Grand Auction

The Grand Auction will take place at STEAM Museum in Swindon on Tuesday 19th September. The auction starts at 6.30pm, with live bidding from 7.30pm. Tickets cost £10 per person.

Book tickets via the link above and at the Julia’s House website www.juliashouse.org/event/big-dog-auction

We have 28 Swindog sculptures that are 1.54m tall, 0.68m wide, 1.75m long, weighing around 45kg.

Two of our Swindogs – Papillion and Tails of Swindon – are slightly bigger at 2.17m tall, 0.85m wide, 1.92m long, weighing 50kg.

We also have four Swinpups in the auction, which are 0.79m tall, 0.35m wide, 0.9m long, weighing 10kg.

The Balloon Dogs are made from a mixture of class II fire retardant laminating resin and chopped roving fibreglass over an initial brushed–on layer of gel coat.

Yes, each sculpture is completely unique and has been created by a professional artist.

The Auction Catalogue will be available to download (pdf) via the online auction from 5 September at www.bigdogarttrail.co.uk

You can preview the auction lots at the Big Dog Art Trail Farewell Weekend on the 16th and 17th September at STEAM Museum, Swindon. Alternatively, if you are interested in bidding at auction and would like to preview lots, please contact big.dog@juliashouse.org

The auctioneer is Charles Hanson of HANSONS AUCTIONEERS and BIDPATH LTD.

All interested bidders aged 18+ are welcome to our auction. We hope to fill the auction room with people who are going to bid so that we can raise as much money as we can for Julia’s House Children’s Hospice.

For families, or for people who are not able to bid but are interested in seeing the Balloon Dogs all together, we advise that our Farewell Weekend is more suitable.

If you wish to bid on a balloon dog sculpture, you will need to complete a Bidder Registration Form in advance and provide proof of identity. This will be sent to you if you have bought an event ticket and/or registered your interest to bid.

Please return your Bidder Registration Form to big.dog@juliashouse.org or bring it with you on the night along with your ID. This will make the process easier on the night and you will be allocated a paddle.

If you don’t plan to make a bid but change your mind on the night, that’s okay too! Please refer to our Guide for Bidders and Terms and Conditions for more information.

You must bring one form of ID which must include government-issued photo identification. If this does not state your current address, proof of address will also be required.

If you are bidding on behalf of an organisation, you must provide a copy of the certificate of incorporation, or, in the case of unregistered entities, other evidence satisfactory to big.dog@juliashouse.org. Please contact us at big.dog@juliashouse.org for confirmation of what will be acceptable.

Yes, we’ll be running the auction live online. You can bid online or place an absentee bid.

Before the auction you will need to create an online bidding account with Wild in Art and register for the Big Dog Auction. Visit our auction website at https://bdt.wildinartauctions.com

You can have a look through the auction lots and choose the Balloon Dog that you would like to bid on.

Participating in the auction on 19th September is easy. Make sure you are registered and approved to bid in advance so that you are ready to go.

If you would like to place an online bid in advance, just enter the maximum amount you would be happy to pay for the lot. Your bid will be automatically executed for you as other bidders bid against you. You will be notified by email if your bid is outbid. If you want to increase your bid just enter your new bid and click the bid button.

Bids placed online in advance of the auction will then be executed on the night as part of the live auction so don’t forget to log in and watch the action on the night. If you are outbid by a bidder in the room, you will be able to increase you online bid as part of the live bidding on the night.

Yes, we have a selection of sculptures that will be available to purchase online at a special Buy It Now price, from 12.00 on 4th September until 23.59 on 11th September. You can browse these sculptures at our auction website: https://bdt.wildinartauctions.com

If bought, these items will not be available at auction.

Any sculptures not sold at the Buy It Now price will go forward to the auction on 19th September.

The sculptures which will have a special Buy It Now price are:

• Papillon
• Patches – Julia’s Hound
• Penny for your Thoughts
• Pill Bull Terrier
• PUP ART
• Puppy Love
• Running with the Dogs
• Verbal Camouflage (Splosh)
• Writing on the Wall, 2023
• Cosmo the Space Dog
• Verbal Camouflage (Wheee!)

If you can’t attend the auction, you can still take part in the bidding by completing the Bidder Registration and Absentee Bid form available by emailing big.dog@juliashouse.org. Please ensure this is returned to us at least 24 hours prior to the start of the auction.

You will need to pre-select which lots you would like to bid for and the amount you would like to bid. You will also be required to provide a copy of your passport/ driving license and proof of address. A member of the auction team will be authorised to bid on your behalf to your specified limit. If you are successful with your bid, you will be contacted after your chosen lot has closed to confirm your preferred payment method. Written bids will be executed at the lowest possible price.

We can facilitate telephone bids. Please complete the Bidder Registration and Absentee Bid form available by emailing big.dog@juliashouse.org. Please ensure this is returned to us at least 24 hours prior to the start of the auction.

Make sure you are logged in and ready to go before the auction starts.

When the auction starts you will be able to see a live stream of the auctioneer selling the lots as well as seeing a real-time feed of the current bid. When your lot comes up online, get ready to click the bid button! Auctions are fast paced, so make sure you don’t miss out.

No commission is added to the hammer price.

No, it is not gift aid-able.

There is no way of knowing how much each sculpture will achieve. However, bidding for most sculptures will start at £1,000 and if you are saving up for a Balloon Dog, based on previous similar trails, we expect (and hope) them to sell for at least £3,000 and upwards.

Julia’s House will contact each successful bidder and discuss their payment options. We do accept card payments made over the phone or paid in person at the payment desk. Julia’s House will raise invoices for each successful bid and these will be sent to the successful Bidders by hand/email. The invoice will show the Hammer Price to be to be paid, and identify the Lot purchased. Payments will need to be paid within 24 hours.

We will have the facility to take payment on the night using all major debit and credit cards.

All Balloon Dogs must be collected or delivery can be arranged by M4 Storage and Haulage. Please ask for a quote for delivery cost.

If you would like to collect your Balloon Dog, you can do so from Wednesday 20th September until 22nd September – please email us at big.dog@juliashouse.org to book a time slot. Other dates are available on application.

You can arrange delivery via our shipping partner M4 Storage and Haulage. The team will be available on the night to confirm delivery costs and take bookings.

A small selection concrete and wooden plinths are available, please contact big.dog@juliashouse.org for further details.

All lots are covered by Julia’s House Children’s Hospice insurance until you have signed a collection notice. Once this has been signed our insurance will cease and you will become the owner of the Balloon Dog and therefore responsible for any insurance cover.

Proceeds from the Big Dog Art Trail auction will go to Julia’s House Children’s Hospice.

Blank Balloon Dog sculptures, both large and small, are not currently available to buy. This is to protect the value of the Balloon Dog sculptures that will be auctioned to help raise funds for Julia’s House Children’s Hospice.

All large Swindogs and four Swinpups, created by artists, are included in the auction.

The 38 remaining Swinpups created by young people and community groups will not be auctioned and will be returned to the schools and groups that created them, as a legacy of the summer that the Big Dog Art Trail took over Swindon.