It's REALLY a Small World After All...

First things first: Yes, that's ME and Yes, I AM wearing my very own set of 50th-anniversary Mouse Ears. There are some things a Disney kid can NOT do without, and that headwear was at the top of my list last spring. (A twelve hundred dollar pair of Golden Ears, by the time all of the vacation expenses were added up. Ouch!)
OKay, next: I have my photo taken in this exact spot every time I go to Disneyland. Why? Disneyland is a BIG thing in my family. Sure, we were lucky enough to grow up in So Cal and visit alot, but it's more than that.
My grandfather built the Small World ride for me. Yup, you heard that right. I heard all about it from him, and he took me on the ride when I was a weeee little Debby and explained all about how he had been the man who made sure the mouths of the dolls all moved in perfect time to the endlessly-playing theme song, 'It's a Small World After All' (which is not actually the song titled 'The Song That Never Ends' - but it could be!). My grandfather really HATED that song. I guess after hearing it for months on end, anyone would. Even if he was building this ride knowing that someday his grandkids (ME! Oh, and all the other ones, too....) would love it. I have taken all of my kids on that ride, told them this story, and wished with all my heart that my grandfather had met them. When my grandson is old enough, I'll take him on it, too. It's a tradition!
My uncle was a head electrician on both the Haunted Mansion AND the Pirates of the Caribbean. And he LOVED the music! (Who wouldn't love 'YoHoYoHo A Pirates' Life for Me' a hundred times a day?!!!!) He took me thru both of those rides and showed me all the secrets and visual effects. Very cool, especially to a visually-oriented little girl.
There's a LOT more that ties my family, and me, to Disneyland - but I won't bore you with it. I'll just get to my point: So many people I have met all over the country have great Disney memories to share. The subject comes up at the most bizarre times....
Like, for instance, on Wednesday of this week: I had a meeting with a celebrated winemaker and his charming wife, to discuss how I can work with them to create a branded visual presence in their new facility. We toured the site, we went thru my portfolio, we talked services and fees....and then they asked about my background. As I started talking, I mentioned Disney - and suddenly Mr. Wine Guru's eyes light up and he tells me HE worked at Disneyland! We spent a good ten minutes reminiscing about growing up in So Cal (tho we did so a few years apart!) and it just amazed me. {He even told me that he had met Fess Parker's son (Eli?), as they are both winemakers. Fess was Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett in old Disney movies & tv shows, remember? And the hottest selling item in his Foxen Vineyards gift shop is ...a coonskin cap.} The wine industry is small, really - this man was the winemaker at a winery I was employed at a while back - but to also have a Disney connection, well, it's just kind of freaky! Especially in Washington - for some reason, about 75 percent of the people I meet here have NEVER been to Disneyland. GASP!
The thing with Disney, from a business standpoint, is that they have managed to create some things that no other business ever has: a self-sustaining culture of innovation & growth that continues to follow the founder's vision, a sense of intense loyalty by guests and cast (employees, for you who don't know the lingo) alike that is based mostly on making memories, and the most recognized brand image on Earth. I think it's because of those ears. And a few simple musical notes....sing with me.....'It's a Small World After All.....'

Display One OH One

Ok, now, I don't want this to sound like I am bashing on someone's work....please know that. But there are some design principles that are oh-so-perfectly illustrated by the following 'before and after shots', and to discuss them means I have to critique the 'befores'. So while I point out all of the flaws in the design below, know that I realize someone worked hard putting it together...they just didn't know the most effective way to do so.

Take a peek at Columbia Winery, circa June, 2003:

This display ran front to back on the right side of the shop. The view is from the front. It was made up of approximately 17 different fixtures: shelves, tables, stands, racks, planters, etc. I don't have an exact accounting of how many different products were in it, but I beleive it was somewhere near 50. Not a quantity count of 50 products, but 50 different products in various quantities. From candles and soap to wine and food and linens and dishes and glassware and tchotchkes and florals and silver and glass.

The display from the rear of the shop. That one single display setup ran the entire length of one side of the shop - 2o feet, to be exact. Yes, the display was 2o feet long. The shop is approximately 35 feet deep at that point. You do the math.

Ok, so just what are the problems there?

*First off, in either view above, you just don't know where to look. There is no focal point in the display. No use of color or scale or theme in the product selection to draw your attention in....your eye just sort of bounces all over the place trying to find a place to land.

*The mix of fixture styles (oak & glass shelving, maple tables, dark wood shelving, mixed metal stands) is distracting. You tend to be overwhelmed by this cacophony of styles instead of looking at the products. And, putting this many fixtures together creates a wall in the middle of the space - very overwhelming and detrimental to traffic flow & visibility. (We now actually refer to this formation as 'the train'!)

*The mix of products is not a good example of 'cross merchandising'. This is a bunch of varied merchandise filling tables & shelves. Cross merchandising is judiciously choosing several lines of product that work together to create a story, mood, serve like purposes, etc. and arranging it purposefully to show it effectively.

*The props that were used are pretty small in comparison to the fixtures, and they disappear. (Did you even see the flowers & branches?) Scale is important, especially when you want to capture attention.

Allright....now let me show you some of the displays that have been placed in that same area of the shop over the past four years: Columbia Winery, circa Spring 2006:

This display is seen from the front of the shop. The fixtures/tables all match and are placed in a way that cascades forward and shows the products at their best, the props match and are large in scale (all black metal shelves & planters, with a large grapevine in one), the color is bright and coordinates with the merchandise so it draws your eye in while setting a mood, and the merchandise mix is all built around the main products: wine and the ceramic line. There are approximately 15 products in this display: ceramics (2 lines), wine, linens (2 lines), florals (2 types - hydrangeas and grapes), metal planters, glassware, metal plate pedestals, food (3 lines), books (2 titles), and candles. This display was approximately 10 feet deep, front to back, and eight feet wide.

Then there was a six foot pathway, and another display setup behind it (which you can see in the rear left of the photo above.....)

This display is smaller than the one in the front: About 6 foot square. Again, the fixtures/tables all match ( and they cascade to the rear of this display),the tower on top matches the black iron props/accents, the green shutters add color and coordinate with the merchandise (the ceramic plates have artwork of outdoor cafe's on them - with awnings and shuttered windows), the flowers add fresh spring interest, and by limiting the items to a sort of French Bistro theme, we keep the look simple and crisp. There are about 12 product lines in this display: ceramics (3 lines), glassware, linens, the iron bike pieces, wine, florals (2 lines), fondue pots, and food (2 lines).

Here is another display at the front of the shop, same location, different season: Columbia Winery, circa winter 2005:

Height is important, as is using color to pull a customer in closer. That being said, note that the height is in the center of the display area, not across the entire width of it - room is left for the eye to focus on this display, and then look beyond to see what else the space holds. The stepped placement of the tables helps create levels to hold products and entice the eye.

Summer, 2006:Wild vibrant color, fun props (sooooooo cheap) and you've got a fiesta.

Spring 2007: Two separate displays, on new fixtures. Two stories, different products, but the colors relate to one another so the effect is not jarring to the eye. (This is the principle of 'adjacencies' - coordinating factors when displays are close together.)

One other thing: Removing the old dead grapevines overhead and painting the walls a lovely sage green has made a major impact in the shop, and that helps all of the displays look better. Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and do the big jobs, but the visual impact will be well worth it. It's all about presentation, and effectiveness is in the details!

Play Space

Whether you own a shop, create a product, produce/design events or displays, you need to give yourself room to create. Create tangible things or just ideas, it doesn't matter really....the objective is to build a playground and then let your imagination run rampant in it. It needn't be huge - let me show you my office/studio, which is only an eight by ten room with a two and a half foot former-closet-space: Above is the view from the doorway. My husband is a dreamboat for building all of the shelves, cubbies, desks, and cabinets for me. That enamel top table is something I've had since my old mural-painting days - it's lightweight and travels well, and the top is easy to clean.

One wall is covered in bulletin boards (which are covered in cool papers and fabrics), and I use them as Inspiration Boards for the projects I am working on. Top right is an event for the Auction of Washington Wines in August, and since I took this photo I have filled up two more: One is a redesign of a winery in eastern Washington, the other is decor for a friends' wedding in July. I pin up colors, fabrics, photos, elements that spark my interest, and then as I progress in planning the project, I can discard what doesn't work and use the final choices to create a style sheet by gluing it all onto posterboard.


Yep, that's a chandelier painted green! I saw this idea on a blog belonging to Heather Bailey, fabric designer and creative spirit extraordinaire, and since I already had the chandelier I grabbed it and sprayed it Kermit Green for the perfect 'frou frou' touch in my office. A few added crystal beads and strands, ribbons, and a mini green velvet bird nestles into one of my NeSts make it 'over the top' perfect. Yes, my husband rolled his eyes when he saw it. But it's not just about working space & storage in here - it's about inspiration. I added crazy touches just to catch my eye and make me smile, like this:

Sure, it's storage - but it looks like candy (admittedly, some of it IS candy - a girl has to keep her strength up when creating). I also dressed my wire mannequin (you may remember seeing her as 'Miss Holly Daze' in my holiday seminar photos) in a glamorous pink silk ballgown...ummmm...actually swaths of fabric, since I hate sewing....and gave her a head of giant roses. It's wacky, yes, okay, I admit it. But remember my motto: 'It's not called Dis-WORK, it's called Dis-PLAY!' The black sweater on the back of the chair was my grandmothers', and having it there is like having her peer over my shoulder to see what I'm 'up to'....which she did ALOT!

There IS serious storage in there -

Fab shelving from IKEA, that I found on Craigs List for 75 bucks (and then we had to transport assembled and remove the office door to fit into the room...but it's perfect!) This holds works in process, reference books, office supplies, etc.

And these cubbies, which I have been hauling around since 1989, when I bought them at a garage sale in Truckee/Tahoe for ten bucks. They used to hold all of my magazines, now they hold boxes of small things. They are mounted to the wall in the closet, and a desktop is mounted to the bottom of them...perfect for the small parts of projects. Along with the other desktops and the enamel table, I can simultaneously work on three or four projects....and then there is the seven-foot-long dining room table and the three foot diameter library table and the four foot square kitchen island table.....I'm like a hurricane when I get going!
So my advice to you is, take a bit of time and find a space that you can organize and spiff up, and let yourself get creative. Amazing things happen - to us AND to our businesses - when we allow ourselves to think without limits!

Edited to add: Someone just emailed to ask me where all my STUFF is for displays & event decor?! All of the furniture, bikes, fabrics, silk flowers, vases, containers, baskets, trellises, christmas trees & ornaments, crates, barrels, boxes, silver champagne stands, and other props that I use are stored up in the attic, in my section of the garage, and some are stored at client's locations. No WAY all of that (over 50 Rubbermaid containers plus bagged trees) would ever fit in my office!

Reel 'Em In....

I had the pleasure of spending a few days up in the San Juan Islands last week, shopping, browsing, relaxing, visiting with my mom. We are both retail mavens, so our trips anywhere manage to include a tour of the local shopping scene! Check out the sunny skies and charming street scene above. So if your shop is on a street like this, in darling buildings like this, under blue skies like this, in a tourist-draw town like this, well, you may think you can sit back and relax because the customers will beat a path to your door. Alot of people DO think that, even in this town. But a few...well, a few earn bright, shining gold stars for extra effort:

Pelindaba Lavender Farms, Creme Brulee, and Robins' Nest are all shops located in Friday Harbor, on San Juan Island in Washington state. Gorgeous setting, an overflow of touristas allllllll summer long. In a word, retail paradise. But these three shops have managed to do the impossible: draw in customers even on rainy winter days, when visitors to the islands are few and far between. How do they do it?

Creme Brulee buys fresh flowers for the shop every week. Usually roses. They put them in a vase on the counter by the register. The previous week's roses get sprinkled outside the door (a few each day) on the steps leading from the sidewalk to the shop. This simple and free touch was what caught my eye and drew me inside. Seriously.

I saw the petals, looked at the window, and made a beeline inside.

Simple, easy, fast, effective. SMART girls! Charming and darling girls, too, and I plan to go back up and do a proper interview of them soon and get photos of the sweet Shabby shop with marvelously lavish displays of body, bath, bed, and baby products, and baubles galore.

Robin's Nest is filled with all things garden and garden style, and they have wisely chosen a Tiffany-box blue as the wall & ceiling color. Seeing it thru the windows pulls you right in the door. When you walk in, it feels like a perfect sunny summer day. The sound of birdsong (not sure if it was a real bird or a cd!) greets you and makes the illusion of being in a garden complete.

Outdoors, Robin's Nest has a fabulous entry with potted plants on pillars framing the door, and arching branches under the eaves hold hanging tealights and other whimsies to draw you closer. You know from the name, the image on the sign, the plants & trees that this is a garden-style shop.

This gentleman was pulling this cart along the sidewalk, stopping at each shop along the way to sell them fresh flowers. What a great idea! Positively an 'old world' touch. How could you not grab a bunch of daffies from him?!

I didn't take photos at Pelandaba Lavender Farms' shop, but I can tell you that this company has got the branding thing DOWN. Incredible color, displays, product mix, information, etc. I was blown away! And the best thing? As you walk near this shop, you can smell the lavender outside. I don't know if they pump it through an exhaust fan or what, but that scent just pulls you like a magnet into the shop! (The scent is not overwhelming inside, either). But what a perfect understanding of how to maximixe the impact of their product...it's all about the relaxing scent, and they utilize it very well. Their farm is located out of town, and there is a shop there too - but in the winter, when the farm is closed, this shop in town gives you a similar experience. I really think these people are marketing geniuses, and they are poised for expansion off-island.

Okay, so, what do all of these shops have in common? They work every inch of space they have outside the front door to grab your attention and pull you in. Sight, sound, smell...they market to your senses, as well as to your emotions, to interest you. They differentiate themselves from others around them by expressing their style all the way out the door. The result? Our impression is 'Well, if they have this much cool stuff outside, I can't wait to see what they have inside!' ... and in we go, buying it hook, line, and sinker!

The Wearin' of the Green...?

Well, this may not be your typical St.Paddy's Day fare, but I did manage to find something green for you! This is a spring merchandise display with a clean, contemporary style and a bit of an Oriental feel to it. Note the lines of the black iron tables & wine rack, which connect to the black metal lanterns/baskets hung overhead. Inside those baskets are faux moss balls, in a verdant shade of green that tied into the display. The large metal container holding tall faux grass on the tabletop catches your eye and starts a theme.

The main merchandise in the display is a line of ceramic dinner & serveware with a phototransfer of grass on the front. The square shapes of the plates, platters, and vases are crisp and clean and the look is very fresh for spring. To take this in an Oriental direction, I added bamboo table runners, a line of trays, bowls, plates, wine accessories and utensils made from bamboo, and bunches of faux grass. Some simply patterned & solid linen napkins rolled up and placed on platters have the subtle look of sushi....hey, you always have to add a touch of whimsey to displays!!!

White ceramic casserole & serving dishes coordinate with the look, as do rustic white clay votive holders. Some props like bowls, chairs, and troughs painted green carry the color thru - and I found the green zinnias in the stockroom at the last minute! This is a freestanding display, so there are three 'viewing points' to it...I created a coordinated but slightily different look for each side. You can't see it here, but I included all of the famous Copper River Salmon food line on one side of this display - 3 sizes of boxed smoked fish, as well as some pretty glass jars of it. (In the first photo, you can see one of the large copper-colored boxes on the wine rack shelf). And what goes better with Copper River Salmon than a lovely buttery Columbia Chardonnay wine?!!!! A perfect pairing of merchandise, theme, and execution, just in time for spring.

Now, that being the approach to this merchandise for Columbia Winery, let me say that it would be just as easy to take the grass-print plates and build any other kind of display around them. Here are three ideas:
*Ready to jump-start summer and focus on the garden? Bring in a small wheelbarrow or old hand mower and sit it up on a table, sit silk flowers and fake grass in terra cotta pots, use more pots as risers to sit the dishes on, and find some flower/herb/grass print linens or dishtowels (like, um, Mary Lake Thompson's spring lines, for example) to round it all out.
*Looking for a way to bring Dad's Day to the forefront? Fill some tall glass containers with baseballs & softballs and then sit leather fielders' gloves on top of each vase (grab 'em cheap at the thrift shop), put a big piece of astroturf on the table and sit the dishes in stacks on it, and
display barbeque accessories or foods alongside.
*Wanna' get teed off?! Get your hands on old golf clubs, balls, tees, and do the tall glass vase thing. Set up a place setting and stick a tee into a tin cup filled with fake grass - glue a golf ball onto the tee and write a name on it like a placemarker. Include some snazzy bright napkins & tablecloths in argyle patterns. Show people how to put a look together!

Lots of shops will have seen and ordered those great plates at gift shows - it's all about how you put it together with other things and present it to your customers in your own inimitable style that will SELL it!

Winter Spring Summer....Fall?

Let me show you a bit about retail display, and how a few fixtures or props can change a mood...



These are photos of one of the displays at Columbia Winery that was installed in January. The accent tables, made from wonderfully rustic grapevines, add levels to the large table surface and set the mood for the merchandise. Silver & pewter accessories, table linens in refined khaki, dark wood bowls & platters, and glassware in an abstract pattern are all presented together in a masculine style. Dark wine bottles add to the mood, and bunches of long pine needles in brown are casually tossed in to evoke the forest floor.

For the spring display installation, I decided to use the same tables in this location, as well as a few of the same products. Usually I will totally change all of the fixtures in an area - but this long dark table is the only one that fits here. (There is an elevator to the right of the display, and clear access to it is necessary. We can't 'stick out' too far into the walkway.) When the merchandise for this area was chosen, I knew that the grapevine tables would be perfect, so I left them - just rearranged the placement a bit. Then I added the 'new stuff'!



WOW! Quite a change, yes?!
With the addition of the new aqua ceramics, a different wine, and some seagrass props, the mood has changed from dark and wintry to a sunny day that feels like summer is finally on it's way to the Northwest! We have moved our scene from the deep woods to the sandy beaches....still indicative of the Pacific Northwest, still telling our 'story' of our terrior (place of origin) and style - but in a different mood. This is a guiding principle in the merchandising at Columbia: telling customers who we are, where we come from, what we offer. Branding one-oh-one.

Now, when the first of May rolls around and I install the summer merchandise, there is some AMAZING product that will be added to this aqua blue (that is, if there is any of the aqua left in the shop!!!). What I will do is relocate the grapevine tables to a freestanding location closer to the front entry, like this:

Then I'll add those large props shown above (trellises made from local driftwood - very cool!) and add in all of the new glass items, some seashells, and white ceramics to compliment the aqua blue. It will be a complete summer beach scene, perfect for the lengthening, warming days of the changing season.

If we tried to install the full blown summer look right now, nothing would sell....it's still in the fifties here and raining like crazy. (Heck, we had a BLIZZARD last week!) No one is quite ready for the beach yet! However, by presenting the aqua with just a hint of summer, it is more likely to appeal to someone who needs a gift or just a fresh touch of color for their home. Also, by presenting this merchandise in the rear of the shop, we are drawing traffic back through the space - the display is visible from the entry, and since aqua is a HOT color right now, people notice it and are drawn to it. This is a great method to direct traffic in a retail space: don't place your top sellers front and center - make them the visual vanishing point (think perspective in art class!!!) nearer the back of the space.

While some retailers can push the season by several months, the wineries are different...people come in to taste & buy wine, and to purchase gifts and items for entertaining. Their purchases are made when they need something, or as a souvenir of their trip, so keeping abreast of the current season actually increases sales. While this approach doesn't work for every shop, it certainly does for this type.

And when summer is over, (and all of the glass and aqua ceramics have sold out!), I'll move those grapevine tables to a new location and install new merchandise, and they will help to create another perfect mood for fall. Right now, I'm thinking that it will be purple ceramics, linens & dinnerware with grapes on them, and some silk grapevines climbing up the legs of the tables...almost like they are growing out of the ground.

Hey, like Roseanne RosannaDanna said, "It's always Something...If it ain't one thing, it's another."
I love making one thing look like another.....

The 'Not a Wedding' wedding planner chronicles

I've shared about my creative process starting point before: The Inspiration Board. That one above was created for a Wine Club party at Columbia Winery, when my friend Tracy was the club director. She's tapped me to help her pull another party together...

Tracy calls them 'Mood Boards', and we planned a get-together last week to make one, to act as a guiding resource as Tracy plans her nuptual celebration (which her man refers to as 'the Party'...yup). SO she shipped him off to faraway Florida and I went down to her place to spend an evening drinking fine wine, tearing magazines to shreds, and searching thru the house for any and everything that could be used as decor for the wedding. Um, Party. A party held at a charming little French chateau-style winery, in the summer, just screams for a South of France feel to it. And so that is what she is planning: Bistro tables outdoors, a homey un-decorated look, a very "welcome to our celebration - it could be a birthday, an anniversary, or just Sunday dinner, but it happens to be a wedding" style. Linen pants on the men, floaty dresses on the women, sandals and straw chapeax on all. Beautiful music and food and candlelight and flowers from the garden. And a slight touch of the seashore - Sur Mer - in the colors and small touches. Really, a Renoir painting come to life - which is SO appropos for my lovely friend the artist and former art teacher.

Here's what we ended up with:

Over fifty pages torn from Victoria, Country Living, Country Home, La Vie Claire, Simple Living and a few others I can't remember. (No, there was NOT that much wine! We did, however, stay up until 3 AM. And it gets remarkably harder to do so the older you get......) They actually look neat here, but for awhile they were tossed all over the couches and floor and ottoman. The next day, they all got pasted onto posterboard in a very artistic arrangement.

Some Tiffany-blue tags that were unearthed in a tin shoved waaaaaay back on a shelf, and incredible antique velvet leaves that Tracy found on one of our 'creative day' jaunts to thrift shops & art supply stores. We get each other into LOTS of trouble there....and those leaves will likely end up in the bride's 'not-a-bouquet-bouquet'.

To prove how non-traditional they are, here is a copy of the email-ONLY invitation graphic. This theme will recur throughout the decor. It's already on the champagne bottles!

We began our evening at the fabric store - where she had discovered this awesome fabric for the tabletops. It didn't photograph well, but there is a khaki-color thread and a light grayed aqua thread, woven like linen and with a very subtle sheen in them. This fabric catches the light but not in a sparkly way. (May I say I REALLY REALLY love my friend. I braved snowy roads and white-out conditions to get to that fabric store a few miles from her house, steeling myself for a horrific fortyfive mile drive in a freak snowstorm to get to her. What I didn't know was that said blizzard was centered on my house, so fifteen minutes later I was on dry roads. Gotta' love Seattle....)

Above those tabletops, there will be umbrellas. These khaki ones are so pretty! The winery's stucco walls are this color, so it will look very 'old world'.

Flowers (blue & white hydrangeas, lavender, possibly blue & white stock) will be in an unmatched assortment of blue glass jars. Some big clear vases will hold blue seaglass and tall white pillar candles on each table.

I just found the faded aqua enamel pot yesterday at Goodwill...it's French Le Creuset, and quite old. Filled with some shells and an assortment of photos of the happy couple & family, it will sit on a table with the guest book & a large white enamel bucket filled with huge blue hydrangeas.

And isn't that photo FUN? It's from Anne Taintors' book, "I can't be good ALL the time" by Chronicle Books. Not exactly the South of France, but very beachy! Speaking of which, as we sat by the fire warming our tootsies in the midst of the last-gasp-of-winter snowfall(that had by then made it's way away from my house and toward hers), le fiance' called Tracy to report that he was poolside with a tropical drink in his paws, enjoying the warm weather in Florida. You can just imagine the looks we exchanged....

Spring Has Sprung!

Spring lends itself to some pretty fresh and fun display ideas....case in point, these darling floral hats on mannequins. These are made from inexpensive fresh flowers and leaves, simply pinned into place in styro heads that have been covered with torn paper.

Nestled into a bed of wheat grass (available at the local grocer), these ladies evoke a lovely scene. Using fresh flowers, this idea is easily applicable for a table centerpiece, an entry table, a tableaux behind a register or window display for a special event at a shop. Use quality silk blooms and some faux grass squares, and you've got an accent that can work for a longer time period in merchandise displays....can't you just see jewelry in there? Soaps, lotions and potions? Scarves? Even flower seeds!!!

You can take this idea and run with it - imagine a bunch of thrift-shop shoes, covered in silk leaves and single rose petals, or perhaps actual shoes sitting on plump cushions & pillows covered with other flower petals in spring-y colors?

Photos were found ages ago online....I had saved the information, and now it has disappeared from the file info. I would certainly credit the designer if I could remember who it was!!! (If you know, leave a comment, please...)