Color Me Green

I received an email from www.pantone.com, announcing the release of the 2009 color forecasts. The books of colors and inspiration they put together are absolutely stunning, as you can see above. Pantone is the international standard for color - their reference system lets you order fabric, paint, solid surfaces, flooring, and neon tubing that match perfectly by using their system. Amazing! Color is their biz, but it was really the verbiage they used that caught my eye:

'Consumers will continue to be more thoughtful than ever before about what they are buying and the impact their choices will make on the world around them. With eco-awareness a resounding theme, key words are often the "re" words - recycle, reuse, repurpose. At the same time, there continues to be the need to relax, rewind, renew and hopefully, refurbish.'

And right there would be the driving principle behind most of my visual merchandising and store design advice: utilize the concepts behind all of those words up there, with the addition of rethink, redefine, and restyle. Use color, use paint, use imagination. Reuse everything you can get your hands on to make your store visual impact fresh, new, and YOU. Don't use more of our Earth's valuable resources.

It's Hip to Be Green...and I don't mean the color green!!! (Though Chartreuse will always be one of my faves, no matter what the 'experts' say)

More information on color forecasts for fall & winter 2008-9 can be found at Fashion Trendsetter, here: http://www.fashiontrendsetter.com/content/color_trends/2008/Stahl-Color-Forecast-Autumn-Winter-2009-10.html; and here: http://www.fashiontrendsetter.com/content/color_trends/2008/TFL-Color-Trends-Autumn-Winter-2009.html; and for spring & summer 2009, go here: http://www.fashiontrendsetter.com/content/color_trends/2008/TFL-Color-Trends-Spring-Summer-2009.html

Image Credits: Pantone Color Insititute www.pantone.com

Connections

My seminar at the Seattle Gift Show on Monday was so much fun! I enjoy meeting and talking with people from all over the region, who own or buy for so many varied businesses. I hear their gripes and fears, I answer their questions, I offer them encouragement, and when it's all over and I have no voice left and can't stand for one more minute.... I know I've done something that has been helpful and meaningful for others.

Truthfully, for me it's not about standing there onstage, yappin' about a subject for an hour. That part of my seminars is what I research and prepare for - compiling information and resources on a subject (store design, brand image development, visual merchandising) and share as much as I possibly can with my audience in that hour. They nod their heads in agreement, nudge the person next to them as if to say 'We need to do that!', smile back at me, and write notes furiously to keep up with me! (Which is why my handouts basically include almost everything I say...)Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy that.

What I really look forward to is the hour after the seminar...the one-on-one connection with people. At that level, I can answer their specific questions, help them with real-life issues in their stores, and inspire them to think bigger and attempt the amazing when it comes to visual impact. This is what it's all about - working together to inspire & enable business success.

I love helping people succeed, it's that simple.
I've been told I'm a 'networking Diva' because I connect people almost effortlessly. It seems so simple to me: the retail industry is about connections. Retailers need to connect with their customers, so that they can help their customers connect with the people in their lives. And on the other end of the industry, manufacturers & artisans need to connect with sales reps and buyers, so that their products can be enjoyed by the end users. For me, connecting the dots between these groups is just second nature. I'm fearless when it comes to promoting someone to media or to another source!

The display you see in the photo above includes some of my own props, products by manufacturers at the show, and one product artisan who wasn't part of the show, so I took the opportunity to connect her with everyone there. Sue Zell, of http://www.tuffetlady.com/, brought me two of her stunning Celebrity chairs. They sparked the whole idea of my 'Hollywood Glamour' stage display in black, white, pewter, and crystal. And as we carried her chairs through the show on the way to the stage, they became the talk of the show. She made some good connections with people who went over and talked with her about her art after my seminar. Lest you think I was 'cheating', there was nothing like Sue's product at the show. Nothing. Not an issue of competition at all. (And next year, she may just be IN the show, as she saw what a great response she got. So I've done a service for the show, too!)

And, lest you think I'm making a fortune off of product recommendations - nada. zilch. zip. Not even free samples. I do this because these are worthy of attention, folks. Connecting people, resources, and ideas - that's my thing!!!

Beeeeeeeee Happy!

Once again, the Seattle Gift Show 'theme' was 'Catch the Buzz'. (Remember the little buzzing bees I made for the January show displays?)

This time, the bigwigs went one step further: they provided t-shirts for the staffers to wear. Bright yellow t-shirts. REALLY bright yellow t-shirts. And every last staff member wore black pants or skirts - it was truly like a swarm of bees everywhere! When I ran across this bee costume at a yard sale early Sunday morning, I quickly grabbed it - then I took it back to the show with me that afternoon, and popped it into the display. You should have heard the howls of laughter coming from across the lobby when those gals at the registration desk saw it!!! (I've now been labelled an 'instigator'. Naaaaaaaaahhhh, I just really get into a theme.....)

The collateral for the show included the BUZZ line and an orangy-red sunflower (instead of the red poppy from last winter's show). Using that as inspiration, I created some sheets of floral images to use in the setups - one is tucked into the bag below.

They also appear slipped under acrylic cubes and lying under some of the merchandise setups, which work well to add a splash of color and carry the show theme through this very large area.

The new fixtures (thank you IKEA!) make the display pop in the midst of gray concrete in the 4th floor lobby. The dark wood finish sets off every product placed on it, which of course is our point: to make the products stand out, catch the eye of shoppers, and lead them to that exhibitors' booth. With this design and these fixtures, I've increased available space for merchandise over 60% from our previous display.

Modular tables, cubes, and shelving allow us to easily set up to showcase any size of merchandise. The fixtures slide on the smooth concrete floor, making last-minute adjustments (and there are many!) simple. The smaller bookcases can be used standing up or lying on their sides as a low console, and the tables can be stacked in a myriad of configurations.

Remember how I said 'There is no Display without Drama!'? Oh sister, I could tell you some stories - but suffice it to say that there is an ongoing argument over whether or not this should be a walk-through display (especially now that 'The Launching Pad' area has been discontinued). I emphatically vote no! Having created this display for the past five years, I can boil it down to one reason why: protect the merchandise. Attendees with big huge tote bags & purses, large rolling carts, and miscellaneous other oversize accessories do not realize how that big ol' thing rolling or swinging behind them is smacking into products. I've seen so many items destroyed by someone in a hurry to get to that item in the back....and, sadly, there IS theft of small items in accessible displays. That's why we changed this setup after the first year we did it. Exhibitors need to know that their merchandise is safe. If a buyer wants to try on the clothes or the jewelry, that's what the exhibitor's booth is for!

This display area used to be designated for North Hall exhibitors only - now any exhibitor in the show can have their product displayed here. There were less exhibitors participating than I expected, but with all of the changes to the display opportunities going on, I think people just got very confused by the conflicting information they were hearing. I would hope that by the next show, participation in this very effective marketing tool will be much higher.

If you are a show (any show!) exhibitor or atteendee, let me know your thoughts on displays like this: walk-thru, or not? And why? I'd be very interested to hear your views on this subject. I'll pass them along to GLM, and we'll see what happens...

Great Retail Info from VMSD

Visual Merchandising & Store Design Magazine online has a FABulous article on how to succeed in hard economic times. Authors Katie Sprague and Lori Mukoyama share lots of helpful and insightful information...check it out here . A few of these concepts are similar to those I share in my retail industry seminars, proving that a good idea is worth repeating!

More from the Seattle Gift Show soon...

Photo Credit: VMSD online

Seattle Gift Show...halfway done!

Here's a peek at a part of the display at the Seattle Gift Show. I'll share more photos and the evolution of the new design plan this coming week - I'm halfway done with my stint at the show because the exhibitor display is done, and now I'm on to prep for my seminar on Monday. Today I wanted to show you a few really neat things! Like, ah, that red flash of color in the photo above....

Swingy trench coat - designed by Samuel Dong, coveted by Diva Deb.
Yes, I've oogled this Audrey Hepburn - style beauty since last February when I discovered it at the Denver Gift Show. I tried it on there in a gorgeous champagne color, loved it, ordered it, and waited.....and waited....nope. Sorry. Not available in that color. I searched everywhere, to no avail. I finally gave up the ghost that I'd ever own it.

Yesterday afternoon, as I sat weary and covered with dirt on the convention center floor, a man's voice said "I brought this for your display". I looked up (probably with a weary look on my dirty face... and hopefully not a dirty look on my weary face!) to see a very nice man holding a lovely mannequin dressed in MY COAT! Well, my coat in red, that is. I asked him about ordering the champagne color and he said "Yeah, sure, I can get that for you." I am in love with this man. (And Mr. Deb is perfectly OK with that!) So tomorrow, I'm ordering my coat, again. Happy girl!

Edited to Add: Uh, yeah well, notsomuch. It wasn't an authentic Samuel Dong Bubble Trench Coat. And even the copycoat doesn't come in that champagne color. sigh. However, miraculously, a lovely woman named Vanessa found my previous blog post (wherein I effused passionately about the coat) and emailed to let me know she sells them. Just not in Champagne. So I have to choose another color. Deep Pink, maybe? White? (Don't hold your breath...)

A few marvelous products were so much fun to see & work into displays - like jewelry made from antique & vintage buttons, from Linda at My Mothers Buttons . She's a doll, and has a true eye for displaying her merchandise. Just look at the vintage slide case she brought me to drape the jewelry on! Perfect.

THIS stuff is just tooooo adorable, especially for a gramma like me. Darling baby towels, blankets, and socks packaged like cakes from Lambs & Ivy. Check them out at lambs & ivy

OK, this one is a long story...
At some point on Friday...not sure when, it's all a blur now....a very funny guy named Ace (yes that's really his name!) came sidling up to our work area and actually started to SCHMOOOOOZE me. Yep, he did. (He's clearly had much success with this maneuver before, I tell ya'. He knew exactly how to schmooze!) What is funny is that he was schmoozing me, the designer of the exhibitor display area, so that I would let him set up his own display. Because, you see, he has a photo of the setup that has to be replicated exactly.

And of course, me being me, the Display Diva that I am, I totally agree with the kind of OCD thinking that creates planograms and photo reference sheets so that displays will be perfect. I get it, believe me! I have my own control issues! And I have no problem with exhibitors who have their own plans and ideas for how their merchandise is to be displayed in these areas. If they want to do it themselves, I am absolutely fine with that. Only, Ace didn't know that. Apparently, Ace had just come off of a massive run-in with some display designers down at the SFIGF who had no intention of letting him have anything at allllllll to do with the way his product was displayed in 'their' showcase. (I cannot tell you how hard I am biting my tongue on this one......)

So anyway, Ace stopped talking and I finally got a word in edgewise to say 'Hey, have at it! You have this space to do whatever you want with your products. Have a blast!' To say his expression was one of shock would be an understatement... he basically sat there, mouth agape, eyes wide, then ran his hand through his hair and shook his head while saying "Madam, you are most certainly a breath of fresh air and the most REASONABLE designer I have ever met!" Thanks, Ace, I appreciate that! Wanna' see what he did?
A nice bit o' display work! And as shown in the background, you can get a gander of these lovely products in the current issue of Romantic Homes. Ace is the business partner of Cathleen, and they own Vintage Home Lifestyle . Sunday, I'll get a chance to go by their booth and see how well he did in setting it up using photo reference sheets... I'll try to get some photos to share. Wonder if I'll have to SCHMOOOOZE him?! ;0)

The Rumor Mill

So, there is some movement on our oh so delayed plans to move the shop from our old and cramped location on Florida Ave. We tried all we could to move into one of those big warehouses in Ybor - no a/c and no parking, and we tried to get a rehab down in Tampa Heights but the owners are still not budging on their rents. After all the shopping and leasing and introspection we finally listened to one of our good friends and shopping buddies, Karen the owner of Karen's Place on Florida and Osborne. She carved out a little corner of her shop so that we could hang a shingle and continue to move some of our product instead of just store all of that cool stuff we had amassed. We love Karen, but we knew that we still wanted our own place so we decided to wait a while... A while didn't wait for us though and after a little over a month in there, Karen's landlord was getting curious about filling his recently vacated cafe spot on the corner. This spot had been lots of different restaurants, some good, some not so good, but all for some reason or another couldn't make that spot work. It is small for a restaurant with tall ceilings and not much parking. The parking all goes to the antique stores and the residents of the building who are not so bothered by the smallish back parking lot. Anyway, we looked at the spot and it had some pros and cons as they all do. It was about the right size at around 1200 sq ft. It had tall ceilings that we liked and they were starting to expose brick on the outer wall of the place. A lot of the old windows had been painted over and most of the place was filthy with a bathroom straight out of one of those Saw movies. There was exposed wiring left from the last restaurant and the typical coating of grease on the walls of the kitchen area. Probably one of the biggest problems we had with this place was the fact that the parking was in the back and you had to walk all the way to the front sidewalk and face the Florida Ave traffic to get in - unlike the antique stores which all had back door entries. All that being said, it looks like it is going to happen! We are cleaning and painting and they are even adding a pass through door from the nearest neighboring antique store to encourage cross-browsing! We are looking forward to having Adrian and Karen as neighbors, but mostly we are excited that we are able to keep our original neighbors - Seminole Heights. All of the people that supported us in our first location will only need to drive two more blocks to visit the new spot. We are doing all we can to make this more convenient and even better than the first Tampa Street Market. Keep an eye out for an opening in the next few months...

Counting Sheep...555-1234....

Look closely at these furry little guys...
These sheep are made entirely of recycled phone parts. Receivers, Handsets, and Coiled Cords.
Absolutely amazing!

The artist is Jean-luc Cornec and the sheep are grazing (or have grazed) at the Museum of Communications in Frankfurt, Germany.

Sometimes, it's the unexpected that really makes something worth noticing. Taking a literal concept and expressing it creatively. Using an unexpected material or scale. Thinking outside the phone booth, as it were. Now, how can you use that concept to enhance your store displays?

The Little Things

I'm in the midst of prepping for the upcoming Seattle Gift Show. As part of that, I'm stocking my toolbox (a rolling three-chamber dealie with a rounded top that I lovingly refer to as 'R2' - as in 'R2D2', get it?!) and filling a crate with miscellaneous items to be used as props in the New Product display. I throw all kinds of stuff in there because I never know what I'll need - until that small item shows up allllll by it's lonesome little self, desperate for some proppin' to make it shine!

The photos here illustrate how just about anything can be used to lift, elevate, spotlight, and assist in the visual presentation of small items like jewelry. Even bubble wrap, as seen above, adds a playful element to the colorful and contemporary beaded jewelry and gives it a sense of movement.

Placing necklaces around the necks of these stunning glass vases causes them to curve and drape, just as they would when worn on a woman's body.

Jewelry is created to be worn on a living, moving, breathing body - and it usually looks its best when the prop makes the necklace or bracelet curve and sway and reflect light, much like our arms and necks & shoulders do when we wear it. Earrings are meant to sway from our ears, so lying them flat to show them off is just a sure-fire way to make them look bland. Hang 'em from something, drape them over or on top of fluid fabric...anything to give a sense of movement. Even rings look best when worn - if you've ever gone to Tiifany's to just try on a huge rock, you know that it only really begins to sparkle and shine when it is slipped onto your finger and you lift your hand to the light. It's all truly just rocks and metals, until it moves and catches the light!

Props should reflect the nature (pun intended) of the product, as well...these chunks of bark add texture and roughness, which draws attention to the smoothness and shiny surface of the stones used in the jewelry.

Sorry the lighting in these photos is so off... but you can still see that using even simple photos on paper and adding jewelry to them in a playful way, brings a spark to already beautiful merchandise. This exemplifies a typical last-minute brainstorm situation: I was given a ziplock baggie of eight pieces of teeeny tiny jewelry to put into a large display area. (Oh yeah, and make it look STUNNING! ahem.) I paged through a tourist magazine nearby, found an article on the Chinese New Year celebration and subsequent art exhibit at a museum, and started cutting out the photos. I also went to the exhibitors' booth and grabbed a few of her postcards to use.

The lovely face of the statue in the photo works well with the 'heart' shapes of the jewelry, her ears obviously lent themselves to a pair of dangling earrings, and the modern black/white/gold combination of props actually elevated the product from simply 'sweet' & 'delicate' to 'classic'. (Damn, I'm good!) They loved it, BTW.

My friend June Beach is a jewelry designer with an eye for color and display. She makes the most amazing things, including beach glass / sea glass jewelry. When she photographs it, what props do you think she uses? Why, sand and driftwood, of course! Do visit her blog at Beach Haus Designs for more great jewelry display ideas. (She sells wholesale, too!)

If you are exhibiting jewelry at a show, or arranging some in a display case in your store, remember to get creative with props and add movement to your displays!

Are You KIDDING Me?

Mobile Homes. Not exactly a scion of design excellence in our minds, right?

I dunno'....check out this article on AOL and you'll realize that any room, any building, can be decorated to look like a gazillion bucks. Even if it does have wheels underneath it!

Country Living features mobile home decor

(Oh this would be a FAB challenge for the DesignStar competition!!!)

And Another Thing.....

OK, so Bacchus and I are having a convo about DesignStar contestants in the last posts' comments, and I thought I'd bring it up here into a new post...

He's bugged by the gays on the show acting straight by saying 'I don't have a wife at home' and ignoring their partners by not acknowledging them on camera. Kind of like when Hilary Swank forgot to thank her husband on Oscar night... OOOpsie. Excuse me, but your disrespect is showing.

I'm bugged by the gays on the show acting like cartoon stereotypes, whether by their own choice or network dictate. (A caveat: I do not include Sparkle Josh from last season in this category. Nope. He's the real deal! If it wasn't for his accent, I'd wonder.) I was incredibly bothered by one contestant on another show - Shear Genius - going ON and ON and ON about the beautiful wife he had at home. As if to say "I am the only male hairstylist here who is NOT GAY but I can't say that out loud so I'll drop 'my wife' into every line I utter..." I am just so frustrated by it even being an issue. Gay, not gay, whatever. These are competitions of skill and talent, are they not? Living arrangements, sexual preference, number of or absence of children, annual income, credit rating - non-issues!!!!

But I'd like to steer this in a parallel direction: Do you believe what you see?

Are those characters real - flaws and all, intensified by close quarters, timelines, no sleep because Matt snores like Mr. Deb, and stress? Or are they manipulated by carefully-edited footage to support a dramatic build in tension through the season? (One could ask this question of any reality show.) It's television. What do YOU think? Reality Schmeality.

I mean, Tracee just bugged me from day one. She's the kind of designer... ummmmmmmm.... decorator...... that people think of when the term 'DIVA' is used. (Yes, you hear me shuddering) But in all honesty, is she really like that? Is she really a hothead self-absorbed irresponsible troublemaker? I seriously doubt it. At least, she's not that way ALLLL of the time, which is what the show implied. Even though she wreaked havoc, she wasn't eliminated - why? Because there is no decorating without drama, people! They had to build her rep as the beeotch, and then keep her on to stir it up. How sad is that? I mean, this woman has a family, a business to return to...will this portrayal damage her reputation and affect her business? Will clients avoid her because they think she is a P.I.T.A. to work with? Will her kids be hanging their heads in shame at the way the world views mommy?

I've heard more than a few times from friends and clients that I should enter the DesignStar competition. Yes, I possess the ability to handle the design work. But it's the fallout that scares the bejesus outta' me. I may be more Jennifer than Tracee, but I am scared to death of which 'character' in the drama they'd cast me as: the beeotch, the ditz, the whiner, the perky one (not so bad, actually), the den mother, or the Diva - and I mean that in the worst way.

Shining Star

So...what did you think about the results?

Did you vote? Matt or Jennifer? Do you even watch this show?

Based on the last challenge alone, Jenn nailed it and Matt missed by a mile. Design is all about function, yes - but it's also in the details. And those roll-up blinds on Matt's windows just killed me....

Matt came up with some incredible design solutions throughout the entire show, though - like the giant bunkbed, of course. Jenn's artwork really put a stamp of individuality on every space she designed, and she was fearless with color.

In the end, I voted for Jennifer. But I thought that Matt would win the popular vote. (I also thought that Matt looked like Elliot the photographer on the old TV show 'Just Shoot Me'!) I'm glad it was miss bubbly personality who won - I bet her show on HGTV will be fun to watch, and very inspiring. But we'll have to wait until January to find out!

And after the Design Star wrap-up was 'Summer Showdown' - OI. I really was looking forward to this! I wasn't sold after watching the first one, and I think it was distracting that the contestants were stealing each other's supplies - but then, there has to be drama in a reality show, right?! There is no Decorating without Drama. sigh.