It’s been a busy summer for Retail Details. From mid-June in Dallas to this past week in New York, gift shows filled my calendar. Between shows I was able to visit some lovely shops and as always, my inbox is full with the display pictures that you email to me from all over the world. Thanks. Enjoy. Stay display inspired!

At Stella and Sway, this fall brings the introduction of a shoe department to the boutique in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Owner, Karey Kapell shopped all over the city to locate interesting vintage boxes to create the shoe wall.

While in Central Florida for the Orlando Gift Show, I visited one of my favorite shopping destinations, Winter Park. Be On Park is a jewelry store along Park Avenue. Their collections incorporate elements and textures found in nature, just like their window display. The rope rug set the groundscape for rocks, starfish, grasses and branches, but they added a shadowbox painted turquoise and orange which created an eye-catching contrast. I stopped for a second look and crossed my fingers that the window glare would allow my photo to come out clearly, so I could share.

Just a few miles away, in Orlando, is a cute shop that I found on Facebook, The Pink Chalet. I already shared a few of their display pictures on the Retail Details Facebook Page, but saved this special one for the blog. This custom fixture is a shelving unit on the front and apparel rack on the back. It is the perfect height and scale for the shop. This fixture is designed to maximize display space and as you can see in these two pictures, it succeeds.

Front and center at the Orlando Gift Show was the booth of Exotic Recovery home fragrance products. It smelled terrific and the huge silver palm trees reflected light drawing me to the booth like a neon sign. The palm fronds appeared to be made from something between silver lame’ fabric and heavy-duty aluminum foil, only textured; almost quilted. The trunk of these trees were obviously made of coil tubing that contracts for easy storage and travel. Oversized props at trade shows always amaze me as I can only imagine the logistics of transporting and setting them up in a small area that usually has no fixed walls.

Molly Hannon knows the gift business, inside and out. She is a sales repre-sentative for Southeast Marketing. During markets, you can find her working in showrooms at the Americasmart in Atlanta. For over 20 years, though, Molly has been a retailer. She owns Potpourri Antiques and Molly’s Paperie in Lake Alfred, FL.  I was pleased to catch her in the shop on a recent Saturday morning and Molly graciously showed me around her shop. The two-room store is a lovely mix of old and new with beautiful woodwork. Antiques, like this scale, serve as display props for gifts, jewelry, home accessories and stationery.

Old suitcases cover the entire wall behind the reception desk at the Urbn Hotel in Shanghai, China. They are strategically placed, almost flush, except for some hinges and a few handles. This could be replicated to create a display wall in a retail store. The handles and hinges could serve as hooks. On a smaller scale (using train case lids, perhaps?) the handles would be ideal for displaying jewelry, belts and scarves. Briefcase handles for neckties? This, my friends, is what I mean by display inspired

Click here for some visual merchandising examples from the NYIGF.

~Becky

Becky Tyre is the owner of the Retail Details blog at SwirlMarketing.com and visual merchandising consultant, speaker and writer. Becky is also the Trends Editor at GIFT SHOP Magazine.