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 - 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 - 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.

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 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, 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.

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

~Becky