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!