Creating holiday magic at Bloomingdale’s

The next time you visit Bloomingdale’s flagship store on Lexington Ave., and admire its beautifully decorated windows and interiors, make sure you tip your hat to Malvernite Bob Oliva.

Oliva, in addition to being chief of the Malverne Police Reserve, where he’s volunteered for 25 years, is also the operations manager of visual merchandising for the iconic Manhattan store, a position he has held for the past 28 years. Oliva, 64, is responsible for creating the frames, the platforms, and all the other foundation elements necessary to facilitate Bloomingdale’s ever-changing store windows and interior displays. He also designed of the store’s holiday shop on the sixth floor.

“This is the busiest time of year,” said Oliva of the holiday season. This installation started in October and finished by the second week of November.” Oliva was referring to the store’s “Lights up a Young Mind” effort, where artists worked with Bloomingdale’s to create the elaborate chandeliers you’ll find hanging in the store’s Lexington Avenue entrance and elsewhere during the holiday shopping season. After the season is over, the chandeliers will be auctioned off to benefit The Child Mind Institute. Prices for the chandeliers start at $2,000, Oliva said.

To meet the time-sensitive demands of preparing the store for the holidays — like hanging several dozen Christmas balls weighing up to 150 lbs. each, for example — Oliva works both day and evening hours during the busy seasons. Once leaving the flagship store after his day shift, he’ll return at 8:30 p.m. and work into the wee morning hours when the store is closed. Thankfully, he has a staff of eight men who help him get the job done.

When they build Bloomingdale’s holiday magic behind the scenes, Oliva and his men can be found in their workshop on the store’s lower level, where they construct counters, platforms, and other furniture pieces that showcase the store’s décor. Sometimes they build specialty items, like a wooden replica of a Volkswagon Thing, which was used as a prop displayed in the men’s department.

When asked how he manages to juggle the demanding schedules of his job and being chief of the Malverne Police Reserve, Oliva responded, “I have really good people working for me — both here and in the reserve. I’m very lucky.”