Archive for the ‘Display Ideas’ Category

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Simple summer props – Retail Details Blog

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

It’s been a while since I featured a menswear display, so I’ll start with an excellent example. At Wm. King Clothiers in Bristol, Tennessee, they take a classic approach with their merchandising. It works! This display is perfectly propped and precisely posed.

Wm. King Clothiers - Bristol, TN

Screens come in a variety of  fabrications and sizes and are useful as window props and interior displays. This one fits nicely in this summer window at Kathleen Sommers in San Antonio, Texas. Screens are extremely versatile in visual merchandising. The designs on this screen can easily be used later as hooks for handbags, hats, scarves and can even be used to display jewelry.

Kathleen Sommers - San Antonio, TX

Adding flowers, produce boxes and mason jars gives this store window a farmers market feel.  At Kennedy & Kate in Bainbridge Island, WA, they rolled up tank tops and grouped them by color in aluminum tubs.

Kennedy & Kate - Bainbridge Island, WA

I appreciate window backdrops that don’t totally block the light. At Ella & Rae’s Summer Boutique in Cape May, New Jersey, they use a rattan window blind. They added star fish to give the window a beachy feel.

Ella & Rae's Summer Boutique - Cape May, NJ

Using grass on the base of the store window display is a nice touch for spring and summer displays. At Azura Boutique in Peoria, Illinois, they also placed some foliage in the head area of their body forms which enhances the light fabrics of the summer apparel.

Azura Boutique - Peoria, IL

Gift store displays are frequently created by grouping similar colors or choosing a theme.  Marcie-N-Me in Mobile, Alabama, chose a crab theme for a summer display of food serving pieces that included mixing wood, pewter, plastic and pottery.

Marcie 'n Me - Mobile, AL

I’m a fan of bike displays – in case you haven’t noticed. Apparently, my brother noticed and took this picture while on vacation in Tennessee last week.  Social Graces in the Hillsboro Village area of Nashville, created this picnic scene in their window and I especially like their use of monogram notes to spell out the word “summer” in the spokes.

Social Graces - Nashville, TN

Thanks for all your comments and emails. You can submit your unique store displays for consideration for use in upcoming blogs. Send them to the email address below.

Stay display inspired!

Retail Details blog, Becky Tyre, Swirl Marketing~Becky Tyre, Retail Details blog

SwirlMarketing(at)comcast.net

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Posted in Display Ideas, Retail Display, Store Displays, Store Windows, Summer displays, Uncategorized, Unique Displays, visual merchandising | 2 Comments »

Fabulous fitting rooms and summer store displays

Sunday, July 11th, 2010

I’m looking at the summer gift show calendar and it looks like there’s no way to avoid the heat.  Dallas, Atlanta, Orlando, Los Angeles, Ft. Lauderdale, Las Vegas and with the recent heat in the northeast, it looks like New York City may not be any cooler. I can’t wait to visit some stores in Connecticut in October! For now, here are a few summer inspired displays:

Naples Soap Company, Retail Details blog, store displayWhen your original store is located in a beach town, especially in Southwest Florida, you can use star fish, sea grass, shells and sand as display props all year round. I love the mix of white glass vase-style containers and the natural-colored boxes. I’ll bet it smells good, too! The Naples Soap Company has expanded to Georgia, Massachusetts and most recently, South Carolina. It’s encouraging to see a retail business growing. 

Ants Display, Don Mechanic Showroom, Retail Details blog
Don Mechanic Showroom, Dallas Mart, Dallas TX

If you were at the gift show in Dallas last month, you likely saw this cute little picnic scene in the window at the Don Mechanic Showroom. It was right by the escalator and every day it made me smile. I was “prop shopping” for fall and holiday displays, but I’ll bet these ants were used in more than a few 4th of July retail window displays. I’m planning to peek in their Atlanta showroom next week and see what other fun display ideas I can find.

Retail Details blog, store window, visual merchandising, retail display ideas

This window is a follow-up to prior blogs where I featured bikes as visual merchandising props. One of my favorite features of using a bike prop is that it functions as a 2-sided display. I always appreciate a store window that is also an interior display. I understand that the store in this picture is no longer in business. I hope the wonderful old bike found a good retail home.

Fusion Home Fashion, Retail Details blog, belt display idea

I look for display inspirations wherever I go. Every once in a while, I get stopped in my tracks by a simple idea that I wish I could claim as my own. Belts are a challenge to display in a tidy and eye-catching way. Fusion Home Fashion solves that problem with this wall-mounted belt display currently in their store at the Legacy Shops in Plano, TX. They mounted basic cabinet door handles and spaced them so that the belts could be positioned to display five belts in a very interesting configuration. Note the sectioned shelf at the bottom and you have a very clever, effective display.

I’m adding these to my favorite fabulous fitting room file!
Confederacy Boutique, Retail Details blog, fitting rooms
Shop Confederacy – Hollywood, CA

 These vintage telephone booths serve as the fitting rooms at Shop Confederacy in Los Angeles, CA. Inspired by the 1940’s, each fitting room has an antique telephone that dials the front desk in case you need a different size. They also have a tea room you can book ahead for private fittings.

Lynn Steven Boutique, Retail Details blog, Fitting roomsThe Lynn Steven Boutique in Vancouver, British Columbia has a circular structure in the center of the store. When you get close, you can see

Lynn Steven Boutique, Retail Details blog, Fitting rooms

Lynn Steven Boutique - Vancouver, Canada

that the round walls are constructed by stacking used paperback books. The local architecture firm, McFarlane Green Biggar, have been widely recognized for this design and how it fits with a sustainable philosophy.

Thanks for taking the time to read the Retail Details store display blog. You can submit your unique store displays for consideration for use in upcoming blogs. Send them to the email address below.

Stay display inspired!

Retail Details blog, Becky Tyre, Swirl Marketing~Becky Tyre, Retail Details blog

SwirlMarketing(at)comcast.net

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Posted in Alternative Displays, Boutique Display, Display Ideas, Display Props, Retail Display, Spring displays, Store Displays, Store Windows, Summer displays, Uncategorized, belt display, visual merchandising | 6 Comments »

Cheese Puffs, July 4th and jewelry displays

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

The Retail Details blog celebrates unique store displays and visual merchandising examples. It is written for retailers, showrooms and merchandisers to inspire effective store displays, better utilize display space and increase sales.

Retail Details blog, 4th of July displayNeed last-minute 4th of July display ideas?

Homespun Cottage, Retail Details blog, 4th of July display

Homespun Cottage - Austin, TX

Homespun Cottage is a quaint little shop in Austin, TX. They offer a mixture of traditional, cottage and primitive furnishings and home decor items. In this 4th of July display, they placed dalmations and a picket fence to add more white contrast to the red, white and blue flag display table. I’m not sure if the flag table runner is a prop or for sale (or both), but it is a nice piece to have for holiday displays and year-round for Americana merchandise.

Salisbury Gifts, Retail Details blog, 4th of July display

Salisbury Gifts - Easton, MD

Salisbury Gifts in Easton, MD, features a blue and white, crab-themed stoneware set by adding touches of red and blue using a few carefully placed candles and a red based sailboat prop.

Dedricks Pharmacy and Gifts, Retail Details blog, 4th of July display

Dedricks Pharmacy and Gifts - New Paltz, NY

Dedricks Pharmacy and Gifts invites you to step inside their gift area stocked with jewelry, housewares, collectibles, gourmet products and candles. In this 4th of July display, it’s a country theme, complete with country colored stars and a teddy bear. Happy Independence Day!

Global Views Showroom, Retail Details blog, store display

Global Views Showroom

As retailers enter the trade show season, I continue to remind you that some of the best visual merchandising ideas can be spotted at the wholesale showrooms during markets. I took this one from my collection of “wow” displays. To spotlight clear glass domes, the Global Views Showroom merchandisers chose to fill them with cheese puffs. This complemented their theme of orange home decor. I plan to visit their showroom in Dallas at the Total Home and Gift Show next week. I can’t wait to see their use of color for this season’s displays. And perhaps, have a snack ;-)

Busy B, Retail Details blog, mosaic fruit

Busy B - LaGrande, TX

The Busy B in La Grange, TX, sells mosaic fruit and vegetables. The colorful glass tomatoes, oranges, peppers, lemons, pears and eggplants  are lovely, but it’s the display that sets these items apart from the other gifts, home accents and garden decor in the shop. Made to look like a farmers market stand, the items are placed in wooden boxes with straw. A crate box lid turns into a sign and they added a farmer tray to complete the scene.

Parkleigh, Retail Details blog, store display

Parkleigh - Rochester, NY

Parkleigh in Rochester, NY, is one of the oldest sellers of the Mackenzie-Childs whimsical glassware and home accessories line. In this store display, they suspended a tilted floral pitcher above a table setting and used ribbons to represent the liquid pouring from the spout. This is an excellent example of how to get your customers’ attention, drawing them to a specific area of your store.

Hi Ho Home, Retail Details blog, jewelry display

Hi Ho Home - Hudson Valley, NY

Awaiting delivery of some new jewelry, Heidi at Hi Ho Home decided to prepare an old china cabinet to be her jewelry display. In keeping with her store theme of mixing old and new, she used old bottles, tattered books and stark white busts to hang the new jewels on. She placed them precisely on each shelf of the cabinet. I frequently check the blog, website and facebook albums for Hi Ho Home, as she creates many inspiring displays within the numerous rooms of this two-story home market and antique center in Gardiner, NY.

Collier West, Retail Details blog, jewelry display

Collier West - Columbus, OH

Another store that mixes old and new, is Collier West in Columbus, OH. Their product mix includes many one of a kind items that are produced by artisans locally and from around the globe. Chandelier earrings, handcrafted in Brazil, are displayed on large pricing tickets. Displayed simply this way, the earrings stand out and the product display fits nicely with the branding of the shop.

Sirens & Sailors, Retail Details blog, jewelry display

Sirens & Sailors - Echo Park, CA

Glasses and vases are often used for jewelry displays. Pictured here, you see a colored wine glass displaying a single pair of earrings at Sirens and Sailors in Echo Park, CA.  The earrings are neutral in color, so they stand out against the bold color of the glass. They would otherwise be difficult to display effectively.

Sassy Peacock, Retail Details blog, jewelry display

Sassy Peacock - Toronto

Sassy Peacock in Toronto uses a clear, brandy snifter to merchandise some pendants on a glass shelf in their store. Behind the glass, a purple multi-cylinder vase, provides a nice contrast for the matching earrings.

3 Wishes Cards and Gifts, Retail Details blog, jewelry display

3 Wishes Cards and Gifts - Alameda, CA

3 Wishes Cards and Gifts in Alameda, CA, drapes their Scrabble pendant necklaces from a low, round, green vase. The fact that the vase is rounded, emphasizes that the pendants are hung on ball chains. The placement of a Scrabble letter rack in front, provides information and interest, as the customers can clearly see that the pendants are made from the game pieces.

Next week, I will be covering the Dallas Total Home & Gift show for the Retail Details blog. I will also have the pleasure of joining several retailers to assist them in purchasing props and displays for their stores. I should have lots to share in the next few blogs. I truly have the best job in the world!

You can submit your store display pictures for blog consideration to the email address below. Stay display inspired!

Retail Details blog, Becky Tyre, Swirl Marketing~Becky

Swirlmarketing@comcast.net

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Posted in Display Ideas, Holiday Displays, Jewelry Display, Necklace Display, Retail Ideas, Store Displays, Uncategorized, Unique Displays, visual merchandising | 11 Comments »

Taming the Tulle and Inspired Store Displays

Thursday, May 27th, 2010
Alice Supply Co. - Retail Details blog 5-27-10

Alice Supply Company

It takes alot to get from my blog photo files to my pinboard. After all, my job is to look at hundreds of pictures everyday. I reserve one side of my pinboard for WOW pictures and the other for items that inspire store display ideas. This mannequin picture has been on the WOW side for weeks. Taken at the New York Int’l Gift Fair, it’s from the Alice Supply Company booth.  The products, which include common household items that have been given a personality, are cute, fun and colorful and generally easy to show. This display takes it to the next level by creating a top out of a garden hose and a skirt of dust pans. Once again, trade shows prove to be a great place for visual merchandising ideas. 

Vintage, antique and thrift stores have a selection of salt and pepper shakers. Unless you are a collector, you probably seldom notice them.  

Retail Details blog, Relish, store display

RELISH - Healdsburg, CA

That’s about to change! At Relish in Healdsburg, CA, the bottles are filled with pearls, sparkly star beads and shiny buttons. Elegant. Inspired. Upcycled. They even come with printed “pearls of wisdom”. 

Retail Details blog, Swiss Flower and Gift, store display

Swiss Flower and Gift Cottage - Wheat Ridge, CO

Floral shops have the luxury of having beautiful merchandise that essentially becomes it’s own display. You may think that merchandising in a floral shop is easy, but it has it’s challenges. For instance, how to display boutonnieres and corsages, other than in those clear “take-out” type boxes.  At Swiss Flower and Gift Cottage, in Wheat Ridge, CO, they utilize a few props. Problem solved! 

Retail Details blog, Cupcake, Petit Lavish, store display

(Left) Lavish - Crested Butte, CO and (Right)Cupcake - Santa Rosa, CA

Tutus. Now here’s a fashion trend that I did not see coming. But, it’s here and they are a mess… to display, that is. I found these pictures of two displays that seem to tame the tulle. Lavish in Crested Butte, CO, features one skirt on a hanger and rolls the others, neatly hanging them on what could easily be a towel rack. On the right, a quilt rack seems to be the ideal size to become a designated tutu fixture at Cupcake in Santa Rosa, CA.

Retail Details blog, Green Oak Antiques, Rochester, store display

Green Oak Antiques - Rochester, IN

When Green Oak Antiques, of Rochester, Indiana, received a large shipment of  a new line of plaques, they didn’t want to place them in a cabinet or on a busy wall. They had a bunch of fence pieces, already painted white, so they nailed them to the wall, placed a bench below and voila  a feature display!

Pantone’s color of the year for 2010 is turquoise. Stark white display pieces are ideal to spotlight this color in a spring window display.

Retail Details blog, Lilac Bijoux, store display

Lilac Bijoux - Annapolis, MD

For these store windows, above, the ladies at Lilac Bijoux in Annapolis, MD, chose clothing with the turquoise color in common. They added accessories that match and suspended large paper flowers to complete the spring motif.

Retail Details blog, Sabella Couture, store display

Sabella Couture - Boston, MA

Ideally, your store windows also look good from the inside of your shop. This is not so easy to do. If you have a backdrop, you can create an additional in-store display on the back of it. When you don’t have a backdrop, you may choose props that are two-sided or round help to create an attractive interior display. Sabella Couture, in Boston, MA, uses paper lanterns, parasols and flowers to achieve this.

Inspiration display of the week:

Retail Details blog, Bits & Pieces, Richmond, store displays
Bits & Pieces Boutique – Richmond, VA

These two window displays were from last fall and holiday season at Bits & Pieces Boutique in Richmond, VA. When looking for display props, it helps to plan ahead in case you need to locate and assemble items into displays as creative as these mannequins with chandeliers on their heads.  I particularly like the gourds that almost look like flames in the fall picture on the left. Such lighting fixtures are not hard to find, especially since you do not need them to actually work. With a little spray paint and some decorative crystals, you could create similar chandeliers to fit most any theme. The trick to successful prop shopping is to plan ahead and to always be looking for display pieces, wherever you go.

Next month, I’ll be prop shopping with some retailers at the Dallas Total Home & Gift show.  I’m sure I’ll have lots of ideas to share on the blog. I hope the Retail Details blog inspires you to create great displays. Thanks to all the retailers and showrooms who continue to send me so many display pictures to share.

Stay display inspired!

Retail Details blog, Becky Tyre, Swirl Marketing~Becky

Click “comments“, below, to leave a message about the blog or email me: SwirlMarketing(at)Comcast.net  This is the email to submit pictures for blog consideration, as well. You can also visit the Retail Details Facebook Page.

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Posted in Children's Store Displays, Display Ideas, Display Props, Holiday Displays, Holiday Windows, Props, Retail Blog, Retail Display, Spring displays, Store Displays, Store Fixtures, Store Windows, Uncategorized, Unique Displays, visual merchandising | 6 Comments »

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