In fashion, you hear about wardrobe staples or must-haves in your closet. In retail, there are a number of such visual merchandising essentials. I’d like to add red and white striped ANYTHING to the list. Case in point: this holiday display at Little Paper Lane in Mona Vale, Australia.
The red and white striped bowls fit nicely into this Christmas display, but can also be used for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, nautical displays and whimsical displays with a cartoon or circus theme. In the US, they would be brought out for 4th of July, Memorial Day and various other patriotic celebrations. Can you think of other versatile display staples?
Holiday gift idea windows for…
…girls (above) and for boys (below). Both pictures are from Fiddlesticks in San Francisco, CA, and are fun examples of December store windows without traditional holiday color schemes.
Music for your eyes!
My favorite part of this display are the music books used as place mats, but if you look closely you will see a number of unique display element examples. HiHo Home Market in Gardiner, NY has been featured in the blog before and we always look forward to what the HiHo elves come up with for the holidays!
Where do you get your display inspirations?
Many of the display ideas that I share on the blog and on the Retail Details blog facebook page, come from catalogs and websites of vendors. This charming display idea comes from the Kringle Candle Company. Staged for a photo shoot, a few simple props set the tone for a cozy display.
Bold shapes and letters catch the attention of the passersby at Roost in Salem, MA. Good lighting adds to the effectiveness of displays. I recommend checking your window lighting during the day and at night.
Planning ahead: If you are attending the gift show in Atlanta in January 2012 and would like to schedule a consultation or display tour, please email Becky at SwirlMarketing@comcast.net
~Becky
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Becky Tyre is a visual merchandising consultant and the owner of the Retail Details blog at SwirlMarketing.com . Becky is the Trends Editor at GIFT SHOP Magazine. You can also join Becky for discussions about trends in retail, products and displays as one of the contributors on the GIFT SHOP Magazine facebook page.
On Christopher Street in the West Village area of New York City, the owners of Sockerbit designed a clean, open, white retail space where the center of attention would be the sweets – their colors and shapes. The store has all white cabinetry and the candies are in clear bins allowing the product to be the primary focus. 
The 
Black electrical tape was used to simulate shelves in the booth of 
It looked even more 3-D in person. This booth was as eye-catching as many of the booths that had much more elaborate displays. Once again, the focus is on featuring the product.
It was not the first NYIGF show for 
I first found this booth and didn’t even realize it was a re-purposed door. The door was used not only to create a display surface by attaching a shelf to the door, but also as a wall separating the area into different segments. How fun would this be for a storefront window display? I envision a cute sign hanging within the walls of the white frame, “Come in and stay awhile.”
There are so many possibilities for layering this door/shelf combo with other little tables and elevators to display purses, shoes, holiday décor, and the list goes on. This door/shelf display could even be stationed in a shop as a little floating jewelry play station with a mirror hanging for customers to try on pieces to see what they like best. Display from 
I want to try this in our shop: attaching various sizes together to form floating display walls for merchandise. This could be a creative way for a shop with little wall space to create different dimensions and resourceful use of space. The wire baskets add a whimsical touch yet it keeps the display light and crisp keeping the attention more so on the merchandise. Display from 
Oars are used as hang rails in this summer display at 
Porter Square Books
Rice
This display at 
This scarf display is in the 
Some displays use props and some are products on traditional fixtures. At the 
They used sachet packets for the scent Velvet Woods, adding feathers to construct these colorful peacocks in their showroom windows. They turned out great and caused quite a buzz around the marts.
