Archive for the ‘Spring displays’ Category

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

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.

Store display ideas and Visual Merchandising trends

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

Bikes. Trikes. Full size or miniature – vintage or new - bicycles make great display props.

Crush Boutique bicycle display - Retail Details blog

Crush Boutique - Boston, MA

Inspiring a store revamp, this antiqued iron bicycle is quite a statement piece at the Beacon Hill area shop, Crush Boutique, in Boston, Mass. Shown here, sporting scarves, sweaters and shoes, a bicycle can fit in as a display piece in most any type of retail environment. One of my favorites was suspended from the ceiling in a men’s department (click here).

Wandering Wardrobe - Retail Details blog

The Wandering Wardrobe - Springville, UT

Trellis, arbors, planters and other such garden display elements serve nicely as spring store displays.  At the Wandering Wardrobe in Springville, Utah, they use a life-size metal bike prop, shown here in an outdoor display at their shop. These metal display pieces are two sided and usually have a basket area, ideal for holding products. They can be easily spray painted, as well.

Green Oaks Antiques - Retail Details blogI found several garden art display ideas where I found this trike at Green Oaks Antiques in Rochester, Indiana.

Seraphim Kids - Retail Details blogI don’t think this piece is from a garden department, but this baby bootie and headband display at Seraphim Kids in Troy, Alabama, reminds me of the tomato cages frequently used as Christmas tree displays. The wire is the perfect diameter for the small hooks. I’ve seen a similar piece as a displayer of men’s ties. It makes a full-round display and adds height to a countertop or table merchandising story.

Mixing old and new. 

Santoro and Co., Bridgeton, NJ, Retail Details blog

Santoro and Company - Bridgeton, NJ

Santoro & Co. in Bridgeton, NJ, merges antiques, gifts and home decor. Shown here, you can see how well they incorporate the popular Ugly Dolls as part of their merchandise mix. I especially like the doll that is hanging from the chandelier, watching over the “uglyverse”, which is a universe where ugly means unique and special. I wonder what kind of tea you serve at an Ugly Doll tea party.

Jewelry is frequently displayed in glass-front showcases with adjustable glass shelves, like the one shown below.  This can be challenging due to height limitations.

Poppy and Stella, Retail Details blog

Poppy and Stella - Baltimore, MD

Poppy and Stella in Baltimore, Maryland, creates visual interest by using picture frames and old books as anchors for the necklaces in their glass case. Clear acrylic and white earring stands balance the display without creating a cluttered look. More jewelry displays:

Instant Karma Boutique - Retail Details blog

Instant Karma Boutique - Cave Creek, Arizona

Instant Karma in Cave Creek, AZ, mixes metallics with wood in this jewelry display that sits atop a lovely old trunk.

Hands made of metal and wood are a recurring theme in jewelry displays of late. Shown here is a ring

Apple Tree Gifts, Retail Details blog

Apple Tree Gifts - Carbondale, IL

display from Apple Tree Gifts in Carbondale, IL and a wall hand-hook from the Pink Mascara Accessory Store in Halifax, NS.

Pink Mascara, Retail Details blog

Pink Mascara, Halifax, NS

Previous blog post shows my favorite hand hooks ever, click here.

Sometimes I stumble on clever ways that retailers have managed to feature hard-to-display items. Here are a few ideas to share:

Baglady Boutique, Retail Details blog

Baglady Boutique - Springfield, MO

The Baglady Boutique in Springfield, MO, uses smiley face balloons to display stretch cloth baby head bands.

I found this wetsuit cap display and I think it could be used for a  hat or head band display. It is simply a clear head form that is filled with shredded color magazine pages.

Retail Details blogChicky Bella in Chandler, Arizona, took a divider screen that would normally be used to show photos and filled each frame with paper or cloth and a vertical ribbon. The ribbon holds hair bows and the frames spin for two-sided display.

Chicky Bella, Chandler, Retail Details blog
Chicky Bella, Chandler, AZ

Upcoming blog topics: I’m looking for signage ideas to share. Send in your pictures of cute open/closed signs, store hours signs and I’d love to see how you designate a store sale or sale area. Here’s one to inspire…

SALE mannequin

 

Until next time, stay display inspired!

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

Retail Details blog – store display ideas go viral!

Saturday, March 27th, 2010

Viral in a good way, that is. Who would have thought that a blog about visual merchandising would be viewed over 680,000 times? Obviously, you are kindly sharing it with your colleagues and the new reader “unique” numbers just keep doubling month to month. And Facebook – wow!  Thousands of retailers are getting to the blog via FB. What an incredible response. Thanks! Many more inspirations to come – starting now…

LaDifference, La Difference, Retail Details blog 3-27-10

LaDIFFERENCE - Richmond, VA

LaDifference  is celebrating their 30th year in the home furnishings and decor business in Richmond, Virginia.  La Diff is well known for their wonderful window displays and are especially elaborate considering they are a single store, independent retailer. They currently have this colorful, “sweet” store window to feature their kids department. I’ve included a close-up picture so you can see the intricate details of the candy pieces.

 
Collier West store, Columbus Ohio, Retail Details blog 3-27-10

Collier West - Columbus, Ohio

Collier West, in Columbus, Ohio, has the coolest big red letters in their store, but that’s only the beginning. For years, Suzy West worked in the visual merchandising field with a national retail brand and now puts her skills to use creating displays using a unique collection of home decor and gifts from local artisans and from around the world. I especially love the gorgeous peacock placed on a shelf up high. It may seem that pretty merchandise makes it easy display, but when you have one of a kind and hand-crafted items, it can be quite a challenge. Thanks, Suzy, for sharing and inspiring.

Hugs and Hissy Fits, Angel's Toy Barn, Retail Details blog 3-27-10

Angel's Toy Barn - Greensburg, PA (left) Hugs and Hissy Fits - Ft. Walton Beach and Destin, FL (right)

Beetlebugs and butterflies are there to greet you when enter Angel’s Toy Barn in the Westmoreland Mall in Greensburg, PA.  Toy stores frequently look cluttered and over-stocked.  The displays get “touched” alot and it’s an added challenge to keep them neat, so toy retailers don’t always make the effort to create table groupings like the one pictured above. The happy umbrella catches your attention and creates some height (and some smiles). The picture on the right, above, shows a twin size, painted, wrought iron headboard mounted on the wall of Hugs and Hissy Fits in Florida.  The scrolling details serve as hooks for the infant clothing. The display piece is large, but it is delicate enough not to overwhelm the itsy, bitsy, teeny, tiny little outfits.

Dedrick's - New Paltz, Vignettes - Yorkville, Retail Details blog 3-27-10

Dedrick's Pharmacy and Gifts - New Paltz, NY (left & center) Vignettes Decor - Yorkville, IL (right)

Spring displays are refreshing, as they usually mean the end of cold weather is approaching.  A few weeks ago we examined old suitcases as display props and above you can see how Dedrick’s Pharmacy and Gifts, in New Paltz, NY, uses new suitcases in a spring pillow display. The center picture, also from Dedrick’s, is a spring grouping that can serve as an Easter display, yet remains current after the holiday passes, since they show bird eggs. A simple, but effective grouping. On the right, above, Vignettes Decor, in Yorkville, IL, created a swan pond in an old footed bathtub. I am sure that the hand-painted swans sell better floating in the tub than they would stacked on a shelf or sitting on the floor. I suspect there are no ugly ducklings at Vignettes.

The Cottage - Beresford, ReInvent Store - Auburn, Retail Details blog 3-27-10

The Cottage - Beresford, SD (left) ReInvent - Auburn, AL (right)

Single color simplicity. The Cottage, in Beresford, SD, sells antiques, gifts and home decor items - old and new. They manage to integrate the pleasures with the treasures, as exampled above, in the picture of the dresser. The reason this picture caught my eye, though, was due to the purple scarf draped unobtrusively amidst the merchandise. Subtle. Nice touch.  On the right,  shows a bolder use of color at ReInvent, a new store in Auburn, AL.  By adding the bright color to the back walls of the hutch, it creates depth and draws attention to the small items that are for sale there.  This display also shows an example of using multiples and the technique of showing only one type of product/packaging per shelf. This is a textbook display example. Take note.

Retail Details blog 3-27-10

Inspiration display idea of the month

For my American readers, I am providing this next picture to inspire an Independence Day – 4th of July window. If you find the concept useful, I hope you will submit pictures of your display creation. No hints, but good luck finding newspaper pages with no color ads.

Thanks for your time and as always, stay display inspired! You can submit display pictures to Becky@SwirlMarketing.com

Retail Details blog, Becky Tyre, Swirl Marketing~Becky