That's Show Biz!

I received an email this morning from Brittany Lund, Executive Producer for the Gift & Home Channel. Brittany was the producer/director for the video series that we shot at the Farm Chicks Antique Show in June, and she's been keeping me in the loop during the post-production process of my videos. Well, here's what she had to say this morning:

Hi Deb,
I wanted to give you an update so you can enthusiastically convey what is happening to those anxiously awaiting their debut. We are repositioning how we deliver content to our viewers. What this means, we are creating a theme for each month where we focus on a specific pain point for retailers and our videos speak to the solutions. The Farm Chicks videos you created are the feature pieces for the month of October.

There was more to her email, which was industry info that I can't share, but the gist of it is that my videos won't be available on the Gift & Home Channel until October. Shoot! My apologies to all of the wonderful ladies who allowed me to film in their booths - Tammy, Heather, Bari, Serena & Teri, the Garden Girls. I had no idea this kind of delay would happen.

My hope is that with an October debut, the videos will be just in time for holiday promotion of your businesses and products. And get the word out for next summers' Farm Chicks show, too!

And if it's any consolation, Brittany has seen the final videos, and says we are all stellar professionals on film!

FAB Display Finds at an Art Faire...

At the huge Bellevue Museum Art Festival over the weekend, I discovered some really amazing props for displays. Number one find: these art chairs. Sue, the Tuffet Lady of Seattle, has an eye for detail and quite an imagination. Take a look at that flowered chair, and how she pulled the floral motif from the dress in the printed back fabric and translated it into the seat, which looks like a skirt on the woman.

Take a gander at Cary Grant, for heaven's sake....you just can't get more elegant than that! How does this work for displays? Pop a hat on the edge of the chair back, and it looks like Cary himself is modeling it. Lay some neatly folded pants across the seat, with shoes beneath, and Cary has a body. Another chair was Ingrid Bergman...picture her with a fabulous floppy-brimmed hat on the chair back as well, and it's Casablanca all over again. Lay a full skirt across the chair seat, and she's ready for Sam's piano bar.

There are many more styles, and every last one of them would make a stylish statement in a home or a retail shop. I can think of a million products that can be shown on these - and I think I may just talk with Sue about using a few of her chairs in my seminar at the upcoming Seattle Gift Show. ((Now, the question is....which ones? Cary? Ingrid? Audrey? Fred? Frida?)) ... I DID ask, and Sue IS going to bring me some chairs, and I AM going to show them off in my seminar! YAY!

Go to http://www.tuffetlady.com/ to check out Sue's creativity!

Another great find was this invention by a jeweler...he mounted a bracket on top of a tripod, and it holds his clear acrylic showcase in place at eye level. Simple to set up, clean lines, and effective presentation of his contemporary jewelry. (I took care to photograph only his cases, not his jewelry.) He doesn't sell these...but I think he should!

I love the display solutions that creative people come up with!

Display Revisited

A few posts ago, I showed photos of the 'mock up' booth that I helped design for my friend Cath. Well, the art festival was this past weekend, and I thought you might want to see how that translated into a stellar booth display. Above is a photo of her sign. Remember I told her to find a black frame to put it in? Whatta frame!!!! I love this. (I'd only change one thing: make the Foothills Farm Fiber logo print larger & bolder so it really pops.)

This was the view from the front of the booth. She joked that she placed every item exactly as I had in the mock up, referring to photos as she went. I think she did a great job! And painting all of the props black just made the colors of her products stand out even more.

This coooooool fixture was a Craigslist find! The heads are black velvet, and work oh so perfectly to show off her darling hats & scarves. Gives her nice vertical interest and is an efficient use of space, too. People were walking up and snatching the hats off of it and trying them on...which is exactly what she wants them to do!

Layer upon layer of tantalizing color & texture, presented in color groupings 'to really draw they eye in. She rocked it! I - honestly - felt her booth was one of the best. So many people come up with marvelous products - but then have NO idea how to present it. Sad. (Why aren't they reading my blog, huh?!!!!!)

And the number one way to show off your product? Wear it!

Isn't she cute?! Great job, Cath!

Small Business Question for You:

Would you be upset if your wholesale suppliers went direct to public?
Meaning cutting you out of the supply chain by offering to sell at 'retail prices' to your customers - prices which, inevitably, will beat yours.

Now, how about if they did this on the last two days of an industry trade show?
Unthinkable, you say? Unheard of? Not so fast...

Check out Suzi Finer's post on her blog today: http://www.iamadiva.com/news/ArticleDetails.aspx?CategoryID=79&ArticleID=293

I was shocked to read this, but I can tell you why it's happening... trade show companies are doing everything and anything they can to survive. Shows are a dying breed, because the internet has changed everything about supply & demand with direct links to manufacturers. It's been affecting my dad's wholesale gift business for years, along with some of my clients and their industries. Having been involved in the Seattle and San Francisco Gift Shows for over six years, I have seen numerous changes - not all of them positive.

Trade shows have actually become a liability to many small businesses. Retailers are cutting costs, ordering online rather than traveling to order at booths & showrooms...saves time, money, expenses. This impacts the shows - when exhibitors see lowered attendance, and less orders coming from this venue, they opt out and don't rent space. Even very large and well-known companies do this - Katherine's Collection and K & K Interiors spring to mind in regard to the Seattle Gift Show. Lowered attendance by buyers and exhibitors affects the bottom line of the show producers...and if you're a trade show production company, you try to re-capture those dollars any way you can.

Addressing market changes and making adjustments is understandable. Going after the end consumer and bypassing your own customers - the small independent retailers that have supported your shows and made your industry a multi-billion-dollar enterprise - is a really cheap shot. Shame on you, CHA.

What are your thoughts on what CHA is doing?

Designing Women

My friend Catherine has a booming business creating handwoven, felted, and knitted fashion items, as well as soaps. All of it springs from her own farm, her own goats, and her own imagination. Amazing stuff! Visit her at Foothills Farm Fiber.

Well, Cath is gearing up for the largest art/craft faire in our area, the Bellevue Art Fair. It's at the end of the month, so she asked me to come over and help her design her booth layout. She had a booth at last fall's Issaquah Salmon Days Festival, but she wasn't really happy with it.

Yesterday, I made my way out to her farm and we had a blast trying out ideas.

We set up a mock-up of the booth in her driveway. The white walls are not up, nor are the white tablecoverings and black table draping. (It was tooooo hot to close in the booth, plus we didn't want to get any of the fabric dirty.) SO, just imagine it all with a clean crisp white backdrop under/behind everything. That will serve two functions: It will increase the bright light, which will make the colors stay truer to their remarkable hues, and it will keep visual distraction to a minimum - which will make the colors POP and be the center of attention. Which is exactly what we want to accomplish here. Then some racks and tables went in, to hold product up at eye height. With the fixtures set, we started on product placement.

To keep the riot of colors from being visually overwhelming, I arranged them in three color groupings/areas: Warm, Cool, and Neutral. Why? Less chance of potential customers feeling overwhelmed with too much going on all over. That would negate the impact of the vibrant custom colors, plus it would deter people from coming closer, where they can see the intricate detail work Cath puts into her art. Also, fashion merchandising is tricky - many people glance and say 'Oh there's nothing there for me'. But when you use color to catch their eye, they inevitably stop and browse because they see what they like - either cool, warm, or neutral colors. It's a trick that works very well in show booths, because of the split-second decision made to walk past or walk IN.

Now, let's look at how that concept played out:

The 'Warm' display is anchored by this FABULOUS (and very heavy) steamer trunk with a salmon silk lining. Not only does this make for a great prop, it will hold many of the tunics & shawls Cath makes, AND the drawers will serve as her cashwrap. Bags, tissue, credit card slips & machine all tuck neatly & discreetly inside.

You can see how that salmon silk just ties right in with the rich warm colors of her art...and I truly covet that chartreuse scarf with crocheted edge!

Next is the 'Neutral' display, which is mostly black, white, and grey. It will all show up much better with the white back wall installed. But it's a nice resting place for the eye after all that color. Adjacent to this is a display of various soap products, in multiple colors. And the smell of that soap....aaaaahhhhhhh.

Finally we move to the 'Cool' display. The vibrance of the blues and greens is just remarkable!
Because Cath lines her hats with some of the most sumptuous fabrics known to man, I took a few yards of several patterns and swathed her (previously boring clad-in-gray) mannequins in it. Then I dressed them in coordinating hats, shawls, tunics, and scarves - and the fabric made her art look even richer!

Cath has purchased a large fixture that can hold 30 hats, and it will be placed on the left wall of her booth. She'll also be displaying scarves, shawls, and a few tunics on it. It has black velvet heads on it, and the steamer trunk is black on the outside...so we made the decision to have her handy hubby (HER Mr. Deb, who is actually Mr. Dan) paint all of the fixtures & props black. She also has a sign with her logo in black, so I suggested that she find a big old funky picture frame to paint black and then put the sign in and hang it on her back wall. This way, her booth's 'bones' are all black & white. She can use it year-round, and it is fresh and trendy, which is important in fashion merchandising. Any colors she designs and displays within it will look fabulous, making her art the main focus. It is truly a design plan that will grow with her from season to season.

I can't wait to see it all completely done at the show...I'll get photos of it and Miss Catherine to share with you then. As an aside, her daughter and I were talking yesterday, and Aleina stopped mid-sentence to ask me "Do you want me to call you Debi or MISS Debi?". She has called me 'Miss Debi' since she started talking all those years ago, after I painted her nursery. She is now on the verge of 12 and teenage life, and when she asked me this question I almost teared up. She's grown up! She also has a great sense of design, and was very interested in what I was doing all day....another designer in the family, perhaps?!

DONE!

I just finished my last project for the entire month. And since I am itchin' to get on with my self-imposed sabbatical, I am posting here twice in one day. Why? I don't want to think about this project again until August 13th!!!

The project was for George Little Management, for the Seattle Gift Show. I redesigned the Exhibitor Display Area - formerly known as the North Hall Display, which is now called the Launching Pad. It is, in fact, combined with what used to be the Launching Pad but in the location of the former North Hall Display, which was located in the South Hall 4th Floor Lobby....got that?!! OOPS - my bad. I was wrong. It's called the 'New Product Showcase'. Much less confusing! I stand corrected.

New materials, colors, and fixures. New look, new style. New name, new categories.


The fixtures will be set similarly to this sketch, then all of the products & merchandise that exhibitors bring me to display on it will go in.

Here's what I included in the design:

"Style Inspiration

Northwest Contemporary
Pan-Asian Influence
Natural Elements

This design is driven by the desire to express the unique 'terrior' or 'pride of place' that exists in the Northwest states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and British Columbia, Canada. Active, rugged, welcoming, intelligent, educated, stylish, and healthy are adjectives often used to describe the residents and visitors of the region – this design embodies those defining characteristics.

Fine finishes on wood, glass, and concrete juxtaposed with simple earthy materials like sand, bark, rocks, and moss evoke the combination of nature and technology prevalent in the region. Drawing from the influence of our geography, colors and natural elements used in the design plan reflect the sea, the sky, the mountain forest, the desert, farmland, and the urban oasis."

Yup, I practice what I preach. My seminars this summer are on using your surroundings to help you tell your own unique story - so I went with that concept here. Even the concrete floors and the wood-textured concrete walls of the Washington State Convention & Trade Center will play into the design scheme.


30 X 30 feet. HUGE display area. LOTS of products in those five categories GLM chose to focus on. To be viewed from three sides. Whew. This floorplan is approximate - everything morphs and changes onsite when the products start arriving. Lots of levels and elevations here to show things off in style.

Oh, and did I mention that in the interest of keeping costs down, I went with all IKEA shelving & tables? Great prices, great looks, easy transport...there's just one lil' problem: everything has to be assembled before I can use it. Guess who gets to do that job?

My assistants.
Beth and Anni are gonna' LOVE me.... ah, the things a mom can get away with! ;0)

OK, my 'summer vacation' effectively starts NOW! (And I don't have to think about this project again until August 13, when I head down to install it!)

Bare to Beautiful

This is the space we were assigned for our Retreat Collection at the new antique mall. Nothing to write home about, except that it has the original dark wood floors and west-facing windows with FABulous light in the afternoon. But the proportions of the windows (not to mention the ugly air conditioner in one of them) and the visible conduit & fuse box made for a boring and utilitarian space.

So, we got to work setting the stage...the awning you see in the photo above was made out of old fence sections. It adds dimension, sort of hides the window while still letting light in, and provides a place to hang things. I would have preferred a steeper angle on the awning, to hide the windows more, but one does not complain about such things when one's husband and business partner works hard to get it designed, made, and installed in less than a day. No, one does not.

Next we added more fencing along the wall, to hide the conduit. An old door on hinges sits at an angle in order to hide the fuse box - but it will swing open to allow access to said fuse box if necessary. (Say, a catastrophic power outage occurs....) You see one of two large mirrors on the end wall - this wall faces the front of the store, so the mirrors reflect the light coming in the front windows & doors. More light is good! The illusion of windows is good!

I hung simple canvas (read: painters' dropcloths, about $10 each from Lowes) as 'curtains' to cover the four electrical outlets - which were strangely located 4' high on the walls. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled to have all those plugs for lamps, it's just really strange placement. So , the 'bones' of our space are now in. None of these items are for sale, -they are the 'set' that will hold the main characters in our stories.

Then the furniture was loaded in and placed.

Add the lamps, some mini lights for sparkle, and all of the small details to make it feel like home. A formerly utilitarian space becomes welcoming and inviting...a true retreat!

I really think Kimberly gave us this spot because she knew we could make it look good - you know what they say about limitations causing creativity to kick into overdrive, right? It did! I already have plans for our fall display, when I will cover the awning with more canvas to give it a whole new look.

The store's new location is definitely a plus for everyone - business has been booming for the past six days it's been open. One third of our products have sold in that time, and everyone else is selling just as much. Sometimes, a total change is exactly what's needed to boost business - even if it's scary and a lot of hard work. A redesign of the space, a change of wall color, or a move to a new location can all pump up the volume!

Elegant Display Inspirations

Creating displays of antique products is both challenging and rewarding. Working with one of a kind items, beautiful examples of handcrafted art, pedigreed furnishings and found objects with a history is an exercise in the art of composition. It is also an opportunity to create vignettes that tell a story like no other. You just can't get this look with mass-manufactured product!

I've spoken with shopowners about this subject, and heard how often they find themselves stuck for ideas when it comes to displays involving antiques, found objects, and even recycled/consignment furnishings & home decor. Truly, it's not easy, but it's never boring! You may never know what items you'll be showcasing until the day you work the display - but then again, you'll never see your display or product replicated in another store, either.

Retailers who succeed in incorporating antiques, thrifted, salvaged, and otherwise 'saved' furnishings have started trendy new decor movements. Ever hear of Deb Dusenberry of the Curious Sofa? Mary Carol Garrity of Nell Hills? Carol Bolton Hicks of Homestead? You should have! These well-known and very successful independent retailers sell many lines of products that are mass-manufactured, but they incorporate them into stores loaded with antiques, handmade artisan wares, and roadside finds. Their reknowned boutiques are leading the way in this new wave of retail style. Shows like the Farm Chicks and Round Top allow smaller retailers to sell in mini-store settings for a weekend or week-long show. And you can find ideas at all of them to infuse your shop displays with a new, fresh, revitalized style!

A local antique consignment store recently relocated to a new building, and the installation of displays has elevated the already beautiful merchandise. Even though much of the product was moved from the old building to the new one, the repositioning and new combinations have refreshed the look entirely.

That's the best tip I can offer about this kind of merchandise - change displays up frequently. Recombine, restyle, rethink the merchandise and put a new spin on it: Black furniture can look very traditional and American, or it can look quite French. It can also combine with bright color and look artful and contemporary. By switching accessories and accent pieces, you can build a whole new 'room' and look in your windows or on your sales floor. And, it needn't take buying all new product to do so.

These displays from Faded Elegance Antique Boutique are simply stunning, and I am certain you'll be inspired...

Black & gold metals, stone urns, mirrors, and mosses & nests evoke French garden style.

Whitewashed furniture & wicker, clear glass, and seashells take us to a relaxing seashore... California? Oregon? Texas? England? Wales? This shop display would work in any coastal locale.

Gold metals and chinoiserie impart a traditional look with Oriental flavor. A simple switch of the gold metal accessories to silver ones would make this display tell a completely different story.

Kimberly, owner of Faded Elegance Antiques, in Snohomish, Washington, and her trusty assistant, Mari - just moments before opening the door to the new store on First Street. Darling Mari and her daughter Chelsea worked with Kimberly to create the elegant displays shown above. (Beautiful job, ladies!) Faded Elegance Antiques can be found at 1116 First Street, Snohomish, Washington.

A Little Bit Country...

Susan Wagner emailed me yesterday to let me know that the newly improved Country Business website is up and running! Don't shy away if your business is not 'country' in theme or style - the site is a valuable resource for any kind of retail shop. Advice on many facets of retail is helpful to seasoned shopkeepers and fledgling business alike!

A few months back. Susan contacted me and asked me to participate in their panel of 'retail experts' to answer reader questions. The first question sent to me is in regard to purchasing products for holiday sales - check it out here! (And ignore that very old photo!!! I've asked them to update it....)

The website is also featuring an article I wrote for Country Business a few years ago... 'The Art of Display'. Lots of great visual merchandising advice in there!