My 'Holiday Retail Display' Post Archive

My stats are telling me that ALL of the current search results sending viewers here are for Retail Holiday Display ideas... so I've compiled a list of my posts on those subjects for easy access. Enjoy!

http://decodivadebi.blogspot.com/2006/10/divadebs-top-ten-holiday-ornament.html

http://decodivadebi.blogspot.com/2009/08/im-going-to-say-h-word.html

http://decodivadebi.blogspot.com/2009/11/its-small-mall-world.html

http://decodivadebi.blogspot.com/2008/12/it-takes-village.html

http://decodivadebi.blogspot.com/2007/10/it-takes-village.html (part 2)

http://decodivadebi.blogspot.com/2008/12/counting-down.html

http://decodivadebi.blogspot.com/2008/11/o-christmas-tree.html

http://decodivadebi.blogspot.com/2007/11/holiday-inspiration.htmlhttp://decodivadebi.blogspot.com/2007/10/eye-candy.html

http://decodivadebi.blogspot.com/2007/10/tree-trimming-play-by-play.html

http://decodivadebi.blogspot.com/2006/12/vintage-tea-party-theme.html

http://decodivadebi.blogspot.com/2006/11/white-christmas.html

More Display Basics can be found in my video series... visit my web site and scroll to the bottom of the page to access six built-in video players.

Due to the many emails I have received as a result of this post, I have re-activated the 'comments' feature of my blog. Thank you all so much for showing such appreciation! Now it will be easier for you to comment... ;0)

I send you all wishes for a very Merry Christmas!

You've done all you can do, my friends...

Step away from the store, and enjoy a day off.

Remember the Reason for the Season: LOVE.

Christmas Tree Giveaway from Balsam Hill

Contest Closed December 10, 2009


Artificial Christmas Tree
Giveaway at Balsam Hill

I received this email from Cathy at Balsam Hill.com today:
"Hi Deb... We're holding a giveaway contest to help one lucky family celebrate Christmas. We are giving away a Colorado Mountain Spruce Christmas tree valued at $799.

To promote the contest, {we are counting on blogs to offer our link and information to their readership.} We will be awarding a cash prize of $500.00 to whoever runs the site that refers the winner. To participate, just insert this link on your site "Debi Ward Kennedy on Retail Design & Display". 


Thanks, and good luck to you and your readers!

Happy Holidays,
Cathy Louis
www.BalsamHill.com'

In the interest of disclosure as part of the 'Blog With Integrity' pledge I have taken, I  will offer to you, my readers, the information that I have not had any contact with nor affiliation with Balsam Hill at any time until this email arrived. They are not my suppliers, clients or customers. I believe I've simply been randomly selected to help them promote their giveaway. (Edited to add: confirmed by Cathy's email response to me: they found me in a web search for interior designers)

Normally, I pass on opportunities for advertising & promotion here on my blog unless it's something I am familiar with and can recommend wholeheartedly. I investigated the Balsam Hill site and found more information about their products, including the tree they are giving away. These are beautiful artificial trees and I can see them working well as display pieces for retail and as decor in residential & corporate settings. I am not familiar with the company or product, however, so please don't consider my offering of their link for the contest an endorsement of them.

In any case, since there may be someone out there who'd love to win a beautiful Colorado Mountain Spruce Christmas Tree, valued at $799, from Balsam Hill.com, I thought I'd pass along the chance to do so. Click to enter the drawing for the Artificial Christmas tree sweepstakes at Balsam Hill . Entries must be received by December 10, 2009 at 11:59 PM, PST. For complete rules and regulations of the contest, go here.

(And good luck - if one of my readers wins and I get that $500 cash prize, I'll be offering a giveaway, too!)

UPDATE Jan 15 2010: I FINALLY received this info:

"Thank you for your interest in promoting the Balsam Hill on your blog or website. Our 2009 Christmas Tree Giveaway and Blogger Drawing are now closed. Congratulations to Polly from Fairfield, CA for winning the Balsam Hill 2009 Christmas Tree Giveaway and Hollie from Real Moms...Real Views as our blogger winner." It was posted on the 'rules' page.



Images from www.BalsamHill.com

It's a Small, MALL World

We're already tired and we haven't even made it to Black Friday yet. sigh.

I was in a mall yesterday. Yeah, ME, in a MALL.  Insert eye roll here. (I don't shop malls. I don't shop major retailers if I can help it. I shop local, I shop small independents, and I shop for vintage items. I choose to support small businesses who sell meaningful merchandise, instead of major retailers who keep regurgitating the same drivvel around every corner year after year. I know - it's a controversial decision.) But my post isn't about that... really... it's about the MALL.

Thirty-something years ago this girl spent far too many hours in mall stores, installing displays of merchandise in windows & slatwall racks.  I wasn't a mall rat, I got paid to be there - but it literally sucked the life outta' me for two years. God Bless Jeans West and Hickory Farms for hiring a high school girl then handing her the keys to the kingdom and saying 'Do whatever you want, just make it look good!'. And I did, even though I winced after spending hours in the flickering blue florescent lights that gave me migraines. I finally recovered when I managed, as an adult, to find other ways to shop.

Then I walked into a nearby mall yesterday, and discovered a time warp:
It looked EXACTLY the same as the Buena Park, Anaheim Plaza, and Mission Viejo Malls did from 1977 to 1980. Dull florescent lighting casting its flickering blue glow across every surface. Flashing and neon lights glaring across the food court, overwhelmed only by the aroma of greasy fried food  - and popcorn from the theater. Music was playing somewhere off in the distant rafters, a tinny, thin nearly warped version of an unrecognizable Christmas song. Mall rats were everywhere - OK, I know, it's this Twilight thing. They are all camping out there to repeatedly see Edward and Jacob and Bella and... blood. Merry Christmas? (I'm old, OK? I don't GET IT.)

Then I started looking into the stores. Holy Terror. Forget the Vampires, people - this was horrifying. Spencers Gifts is still selling the same stuff we bought as gag gifts for friends in high school back in the 70's. There is a 'craft mall' in one space - and despite the presence of some incredible works of art by very talented artisans, it looks like a garage sale or church bazaar because it's all displayed flat on folding tables and hung from pegboard walls. There's a store selling Wrangler jeans (very hot with the cowboy/cowgirl set) but the faded plastic sign over the doorway says 'Country Western Wear'. I thought that term left the building with Johnny Cash?

As I walked along, a never-ending array of product merchandising unfolded to reveal the reason why malls and shopping centers are a dying breed with a ridiculous vacancy rate: Somewhere along the line, creativity died. It's all being done the way it's always been done... with the least amount of change, input, effort, and creativity possible. Christmas decor in most of these stores was limited to some twinkle lights draped hap-hazardly around the entrance and big red 'SALE!" signs in the windows. I was saddened by this lack of spectacle at the beginning of what is supposed to be the 'selling season'. I mean, truly literally sad. These businesses deserve to thrive, to succeed, to grow and provide for their owners, employees, and customers. They need to be inspired, empowered, educated, and assisted so that they can do so. They need a leader...

And as I rounded the corner toward the main anchor store, I had a glimmer of hope in my eyes that I would find the retail equivalent of General Patton: Macy's. This venerable icon of American Retail Excellence and Christmas effusiveness & affluence loomed large at the end of its own wing. The large star in the iconic signage glowed red. I spied some red glints on the main aisle.... but as I drew closer, my heart sank. Windows were dressed with mannequins in red clothes, a red 'SALE!' sign, and three red ornaments no larger than a softball hung from monofilament line. The lights in the windows were overhead florescents, aimed straight down to the floor. They barely illuminated the mannequins. Moving into the store, I saw squares made up of red ornaments perched on ledges and tucked onto plinths behind the makeup counter. The squares were 18" small. The main aisle held several freestanding units holding merchandise, with five to seven of those red ornaments hanging over them, again suspended by monofilament line.

No trees. No garlands. No branches. No snowflakes. No gift boxes with big red bows. No signage swagged across the aisles, heralding a glorious Holiday Season. Nuthin'.  There was not even a perfectly politically correct 'Happy Holidays' to be found.

I only made it as far as the housewares department. It was filled with chrome and glass tables, racks, shelves, and endcap units sitting on white floors against white walls under more flickering bluish florescent light boxes. Plates, napkins, glasses, and appliances were 'stacked & racked' in neat, soldier-like rows. Not one single 'lifestyle' display, not one focused beam of light, not one iota of creativity to inspire a customer to even slow down and look at the merchandise. The only draw was a red tag touting the 'SPECIAL Sale Price'. On every item.

And yet, on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, with dozens of moms dropping off legions of screaming teenage girls at the mall theater and then having to kill an hour and a half until they all emerged back into the light, teary-eyed and hoarse from screaming, there were no women browsing, shopping, or purchasing anything in this (or any other) store.

((Edited to add: I can't report on what's happening on Black Friday today, because I am not going out there. My daughter calls it 'going to the maul'. ;0) News reports look good, though.))

The thing is, it's not about '75% off sales' or two hour special offers.
It's about the experience you create. It's about connecting with your customer.
It's about offering what people want and what touches them, not what you think they need to buy, at a price that is fair to both of you.
It's about helping people live better, more creative, inspired, centered, fulfilling lives.
And yes, a new tablecloth can help them do that. If that's what they need to make their family celebration perfect, it most certainly can.

But shopping just for shopping's sake, hitting sales just to save half off of items you don't want or need, and buying a slew of meaningless items to give to people who DO mean something to you is the great myth of retail. The whole world has fallen for this sales tactic, and that has made retailers lazy and complacent. They think they can get by with a huge blowout the day after Thanksgiving, fine details be damned. I wonder how much better they could do for a longer period of time if they'd put some effort into it for the entire season?

If malls and shopping centers and main streets would just realize that success doesn't just mean 'running the holiday rat race' because it's what's always been done, selling the same old things in the same old ways, then retail could revitalize itself. Put some thought, some creativity, some fresh new ideas into it for heaven's sake!

((I WILL add that Bath & Body Works was, as always, a light in the darkness. And busy as heck. Check out one of their well-lit and signed, spaciously arranged, heavily- stocked and creatively displayed stores in any location and you'll see people touching, lotioning, spraying, smelling, and investigating their products. And buying them by the ton.))

I always tell my clients that opening your store's doors every day is like opening your home's front door to guests: it's an Event. Prepare for them - source, order, stock, display, clean, and staff your store. Invite them - send the emails, broadcast the ads, the fliers, the commercials. Welcome them - open the door, smile, say "hello" and "we are so glad you are here". Entertain them - show them something unique, new, inspiring, memorable. Appreciate them - talk with them, get to know them, let them get to know you, and give them something of value while they are in your presence. Finally, Thank them - with quailty goods, fair prices, excellent service, and a handshake or a hug. Yes, every day. If you can't do that, get out of retail and get a telemarketing gig.

Let's leave the 1970's decor and the 1990's attitude behind us, and redesign retail everywhere..... and if that's too much to think about right now, just remember: before you know it, the 'Christmas Rush' will be over and a New Year will be here. A good time to start fresh. What will YOU do in 2010 to challenge the retail status quo?

Image Credit: Life Magazine, 1948. Photographed by Nina Leen; found on Google image search.

I'm Dreaming of a Pink Christmas.....?

I just knew this was going to happen. I mention the H word and suddenly I have a Christmas project!

This one's worth thinking about as I sit on the beach in the sun, however... it's for a very special event in October, for some very special gals. Check out the Funky Junk Sisters web site and the info on their Fall Antique & Flea Market Show. They've asked me to decorate an all pink Christmas tree for the 'Save The TaTas' special event on Friday, October 23 to benefit breast cancer research. I am most happy to support both this worthy cause and this show. Ideas for this tree are already swirling like cotton candy in my head!

I'm also going to be a vendor at this show with our Retreat Collection furnishings & home decor accessories, and will have to create some very special pink items to contribute to the festivities. I'm thinking that a pink addition to my famous 'Junk Queen Crown' line is in order.... sans ta ta's, of course!

Photo Credit: Country Living Magazine online, via google image search.

I'm Going to Say the H Word....

How are your plans for Holiday 2009 coming along? Yes, I said the H word. Holiday. 'WHAT?!' I hear you gasping. 'It's only AUGUST!' Yes, and that means the Holiday season is just weeks away.Yes, friends - WEEKS!

You do realize that the Holiday Season is not what it used to be, right? It begins immediately following Labor Day (if not before) and includes the fall holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving) along with those we traditionally think of as 'Holiday' (Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan).....is your head spinning yet? Are you shopping the gift shows right now, adding last-minute orders and cash & carry products to your lists? Is your stockroom full of product for fall & Halloween and Thanksgiving? Are there boxes of Christmas merchandise stacked & waiting for floor space? Most of you are saying yes right about now.That's the easy part.

The hard part is that you need to have a plan ready for how, where, when, and why those boxes of product will make it to the sales floor. And you need that plan NOW, my friends. Before you pull an all-nighter to set it up. Before you leave a list of 'to do's' with the staff. Before you have the invites for your big fall decor unveiling event printed. (You ARE having a big unveiling event, aren't you?) Before your ads hit the media.

Since most retailers count on the holiday season for a large percentage of their annual income, it makes sense to plan for it. But far too many businesses just roll the stuff out on carts and start stuffing it into display. Don't sabotage yourselves! With a bit of planning, you can reap all of the benefits of a successful Holiday season.

First, determine where the main focal locations are in your store.
Front & center, windows and immediate adjacencies, and both behind & beside the cash wrap are always a good place to start, generally speaking. Stand in your store entrance and see where your eye naturally lands as you enter, just as your customers do. Then look behind your front & center display area - a bit farther back into your store. There's one great spot. And then back a bit farther, there is another. If you focus on these areas, you will create a corridor of display areas that will focus attention on your holiday merchandise and act as a device to draw your customers into the depths of your store.

I mention this because in my line of work, I see far too many retailers that pack the entire front of their stores with Holiday merchandise.... and it sells, yes. But they miss the opportunity to get customers into the other areas of their stores - the areas that hold the basic, day-to-day product lines, the bread & butter lines, that people use all year long. The ones you want them to come back to your store for after the Holidays are over. Build in a reason for them to remember you and return...

Next, look at what you've purchased for the season and determine what works together to create themes or styles. Will you have a white wintery look, a warm woodsy look, and a bright colorful look? Will you have country, shabby chic, French flea market, and modern vintage styles? Once you've determined that, look around your store and see what you already have that fits in those categories. Adding everyday merchandise to your new Holiday offerings expands the scope and impact, plus it helps you make room on your sales floor to FIT all that new stuff! You don't have to pack up the old stuff, just rearrange it in new groupings & settings.

Now, you need to figure out how you can take those Holiday products and create big, fabulous displays with them. Take that winter white theme I mentioned: can you add big branches sprayed with snow, and bring in a selection of old sleds to use as risers for the white ceramic snowman figures, dishes, and ornaments? Take a theme and run with it - add large-scale props like these to make it really engaging. Sprinkle some faux snow around to really give it a mood.

Then, add some NON-Holiday merchandise to those displays. To the example above, I'd add some plain white dishes, cups, red napkins, a selection of hot chocolate mixes, little bags of marshmallows, (and display some in big glass vases), and of course mittens and scarves. Youv'e just taken 'everyday' merchandise and elevated it to extraordinary by association with the Holiday theme - AND you have increased the likelihood of raising the per transaction total of a purchase. (How could your customer possibly buy a ceramic mug with a snowman on it as a gift without also buying the hot chocolate mix and some marshmallows?!)

A simple way to keep your displays looking fresh & new throughout the season is to create a 'set' that will help you feature many types of merchandise. To show off themed papers, stationery, partyware, and ornaments, a long harvest table, a few chairs, and a sideboard arranged like a dining room will hold a ton of product and will help you present it successfully every season:

In fall, use harvest baskets to present the items and an old ladder hung horizontally overhead to hang more baskets from. For Halloween, switch it out to black & white & orange, and hang lots of black chandeliers overhead. For Thanksgiving, group items on large platters and in soup tureens - yes, even cards and gift bags and napkins! This creative presentation will make your customers smile and notice those everyday items in a new way. When it's time for Christmas merchandise, bring in the everyday dishes and mixing bowls and cookie cutters and aprons and kitchen stuff.... make it look like an old fashioned cookie baking party. Then add in the holiday papers and cards that coordinate with that look to take it over the top. Add in some vanilla, birthday cake, and cupcake scented candles for a real sensory effect!

These are really simple, easy ways to be effective with your visual merchandising. Planning each display area's 'set' and use throughout the season will help you maximize your time, your effort, and your profits. And your customers will be clamoring to see just what you come up with next...

(Oh, by the way, have you started planning for winter/spring 2010 yet? Olympics, anyone?!)

The Envelope, Please...

And the Award goes to....

Wanna' know who won the Gift & Home Channel's Holiday Display Contest? Interested in some helpful design and display ideas? I was the 'Guest Celebrity Judge' - See how I rated the entries (and get some helpful tips to better execute your own displays) here !

Feliz Navidad!

How do they celebrate the Holidays in the Southwest???

Santa and his elves do a line-dance to a disco version of Jose Feliciano's "Feliz Navidad" song on a busy streetcorner, of course!

(The other version is that this is an 'ancient Native snow dance' - but since we left the snow behind in Seattle, we are hoping for nothing but warm sunshine in San Antonio!) Wishing you all a most Happy, Healthy, and Successful Holiday...

Counting Down...

It's a week before Christmas.... and all through the store, it's time to freshen and rotate your displays galore!

Take the ornaments off of the decorated trees and put them in baskets, bowls, and on platters to make shopping easier. Leave one or two main trees decorated for effect, but focus on making product accessible.

Restyle some displays by simply removing the holiday merchandise & props. The scene shown above has hot red silk fabric swags and glass ornaments in it. As shown below, taking them out makes the look crisp, clean, and ready for the New Year.

Consolidate lines that have sold down - combine them in a cross-merchandised display according to color, use, or style. And always always give your customers inspiring ideas to recreate at home: Only have six or seven of those glass ball ornaments left? Take them off the slatwall and heap them in a glass bowl on a tabletop. Just one handmade Santa left? Group him with a small tree and a heaping helping of stockings - maybe even display some great candles with them as a suggestion of a last-minute Hostess gift.

Start your markdowns on Holiday-specific merchandise. Decor, gift wrap, cards should all be on sale now to help nudge customers to buy. If you have a huge overstock of an item - a certain ornament, or card pack - you may want to consider giving away one free with a minimum purchase: "Receive a Free Gift with any twenty dollar purchase" works wonders to motivate! Just be sure the gift is commensurate with the minimum purchase requirement. And make sure you start promoting any after-Christmas sales now, so your customers can plan on coming in for them.

And one last thing: clear a space and create a display of NEW product near your entrance. Whether it's a classic line, a new design, something for Spring or home organization items (always hot after the New year!), you want to provide brand spanking new merchandise for your customers to buy with their gift certificates & cards. Don't offer them leftovers!

Photo Credits: Faded Elegance & retreat

It Takes A Village...

I've seen countless retailers create massive village scenes with their Department 56 collectible houses... setups that span a surface the size of a pingpong table or more. And as charming and awe-inspiring as that is, it's not really the best way to inspire customres to buy more. There is a difference in showing the whole collection and in showing how to display it in a home. I don't know too many people who can spare a space or table the size of a pingpong table for the whole season...do you?!

I advocate showing people what to do with their collections. In the case of Department 56, separating it into segments is easy for anyone to do - in a retail display, or in a home.

Every year, my decorating crew and I create the holiday decor in the residence of a Microsoft Executive. The collection of Department 56 buildings is staggering, but it is made charming and inviting by separating it into two parts, and placing it in several places within the formal living room and kitchen. The first part is the old fashioned villages - Dickens, Edwardian, Victorian, etc. You can see a table behind the sofa and two bookshelves beside the fireplace that are filled with the houses set into small vignette scenes.

By using unique props with the villages, it becomes a personal expression. Beautiful wood boxes serve as bases for some of the houses, and the collection of churches sit on old family Bibles. Appropriate! The props also provide variances in levels within the display, making it much more interesting than just a flat row of houses.

Having the pieces that light up the most (conservatories, observatories, etc.) on lower shelves is twofold: the light from them brightens up this dark area, and the triple-shelf arrangement really adds sparkle to the room by bringing interest all the way to the floor.

On top of another bureau, snow-covered boxes lift a few houses up and provide the feeling of perspective. It doesn't take mountains of snow, either - just a little bit covers the boxes and lends a mood.

In the kitchen, we group all of the 'childlike' buildings...

They are shown here near the window. Santa, Rudolph, and loads of candy-themed buildings bring whimsy to the room... appropriate, because candy relates to the kitchen!

I filled some giant vases with red resin beaded garland, topped them with glass platters, and then started stacking the Department 56 houses all over. (This is a bad photo, sorry!) There are also nutcrackers (about ten from her collection of 200!) that have food themes to them, so they are included here.

My client's family can enjoy the collection in several places this way, and it never feels like it's so huge that it's out of control. (Well, except when my crew and I are boxing it all back up and trying to fit it into storage bins!) In a store, you can do the same thing. Show customers how to use these kinds of collectibles in small spaces for those who live in small homes, or with just a few pieces for those who are on a budget. You'll sell more by inspiring long-time collectors to do something new with their village scenes, and new ones to begin!

Balance

So. The retail sales forecasts all say less people will be purchasing less goods this Holiday. The news reports that malls are less crowded, and many stores did not sell out of their promotional merchandise on Black Friday for the first time in years. Big Boxes and Mom n' Pops alike are having Going Out of Business Sales and closing the doors. Banks are closing. All kinds of businesses are closing or laying off workers.


And yet, Wall Street has had a few banner days lately. Gas prices are dropping like rain. Ebay and Etsy are reporting an increase in sales. I know several independent shopowners who are seeing marked growth in their sales numbers over last year at this time. Locally, scores of shoppers showed up for late-night and early-morning sales in the cities, and for small-town 'Holiday' weekend events. This dispite a dismal local situation where our largest employers are laying off, or workers are trying to recover from labor strikes.


People are still celebrating Christmas, Hannukah, and other winter holidays. They are still buying gifts and decorations, they are still driving to see family and friends. They still want to create wonderful environments and atmospheres and memories this Holiday season.


SO, at the risk of sounding just a titch peeved, I'm gonna' kick y'all in the BUTTS and say this: For God's Sake, people, put a smile on your face, play some HAPPY Christmas music in your stores, welcome each and every person who walks in your shop with cider and cookies every darn day! Make them happy to be there! Talk to them about their Holiday plans, their Holiday memories, their gift needs - just please oh please oh please, don't regale them with your tales of woe over slow days and how low the register reciepts are!!!


It aint' as bad as the naysayers say it is, folks. So if you get customers coming in your doors, for goodness sake don't ruin the experience for them. They came to browse? Make them feel wonderful and they'll come back to BUY. Never fails. And those regular folks coming in once a week - are you showing them anything NEW? Have you foofed your displays to make them fresh and appealing? Have you made some signs to talk up new or special items?


In short, are you doing everything you can with every moment of your day to convert non-buying bodies in your store to purchasing customers???? If not, stop moanin' already....... it's the independent merchants that are the hot ticket this year. It's all about the unique, the handmade, the artisan, the vintage & antique products. They are looking for your stores and your products - go get them!!!

Joyful Holiday Displays

I was in downtown Snohomish yesterday morning, completing the new setup in our antique space at Faded Elegance. (See more on our retreat design blog). Mr Deb met me for lunch, and we stolled down the sidewalks to the Snohomish Bakery.

On the way, we passed Joyworks, where I saw the darling sweater snowman in the window, shown above. Jana's done yet another great window display... so I had to go in and ask her if she'd mind if I took a photo and shared it with you here. She said of course I could, so I took the shot! I also took a few more of all of her great windows - Joyworks is known for both the huge assorment of products they carry AND their fabulous windows. Take a peek!




Jana, thanks for the OK! You've done a marvelous job this year.
Visit the Joyworks blog here to see some of their wonderful interior displays, too!

O Christmas Tree

In the midst of moving my home and business last week, I installed the holiday merchandise displays at Columbia Winery. We did things a BIT differently this year...

For the past five years that I have been handling the visual merchandising for Columbia, installing the wonderland of Christmas merchandise, props, and decorations has been a massive undertaking. It has taken my crew of five fab chicks three full days to install merchandise displays & holiday decor in the facility. Due to many changes over the past year, there was no decor to install and a very limited amount of product to display. In four hours, three of us had it done! If there was ever a good time for this to be the case, this year was it. I have a lot on my plate right now.

Even with lots of changes, the focus in the shop remains on the wine. Holiday gifts and entertaining/decorating items are kept to a minimum. Making an impact with the displays is still possible, using effective placement within the space to maximize lighting and accessibility, plus use of a few unique props. Rather than go with anything remotely 'normal' or 'Christmassy', I chose to go with a contemporary holiday style that fits the brand image and customer demographic of this business.

On the left side of the shop, the more elegant items are displayed. The round table holds an ivory, sage, and gold theme. The longer table behind it holds a crystal, silver, and dark brown theme. Farther back in the space, there are displays of copper & glass items, and green ceramic & wood products. These are everyday items, but the colors work well when seen with the holiday merchandise up front. These combinations don't fight with each other visually, so a customers' eye travels all through the space and sees everything.

You see some stylized trees in each setup - I created those for each of the themes of product ordered. They fit well with the facility decor, don't overwhelm the products, and add a bit of sparkle and holiday cheer.

The gold trees sit on several clear vases that are filled with ornaments and topped with a gold charger. It's an easy way to get variances in height to add interest.

Here the trees are placed on top of large baskets and a fixture, to lift the white color up. It was important to add the white to this theme to express a holiday mood.

On the right side of the shop, the displays feature products that are a bit more whimsical and definitely more colorful. The sightline allows you to see them all from the entry doors, so the color story is carried through the whole space.

Not seen in this photo are two other displays, holding everyday merchandise & food products. They also include various shades of red, green, and yellow, adding to the whole look of the shop this season. Not to mention that it isn't necessary - or even preferred - to add holiday merchandise or props to EVERY display in the shop. Some neutrality is needed, and the color connection provides continuity.

Another pair of trees in red & white candystriped tinsel set off this display of snowmen and candy cane products.

This tree is a bit rustic, a bit industrial, with several tiers of greenery. It's a great way to display ornaments, even tho these basic balls are more for decor than for sale.

So, have you figured out the trees yet?

Cheap tinsel garland wrapped around..... (wait for it)....Tomato cages. Less than half an hour to make each one. About fifteen minutes to make the tiered green one, cause two of those tiers are wreaths. Oh yeah, I was alllllll about decorating the DIVADeb way: Fast. Cheap. Easy.TM

And I'm back to moving......

Ready...Set....GO!

OK boys & girls, Labor Day is over and I'm going to say it:
Holiday. (wince) Yep, it's time to rev it up and kick it into gear!

Start creating plans for some fabulous merchandise displays and window showcases for the fall & winter holidays: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hannukah, and New Years Eve. Get a bead on how much merchandise you actually ordered at the gift show last January (you may want to sit down for that one....) and plan out how to cross-merchandise it, how much space it needs, where it will be located in your shop, what fixtures you'll use, what props you can add to the displays to make them memorable, then get busy creating some inspiring displays!

Holiday means more than it used to - for one thing, it encompasses Halloween! What we call 'The Holiday Season' begins in early October and doesn't end until January 2nd. Your Halloween merchandise should already be out on the sales floor in fabulous displays, in the windows, and featured in your ads.

Remember not to load every last product display with Halloween stuff, though - many people choose to celebrate a fall harvest instead, so don't turn them off with witches & ghosts everywhere in your shop. Respect your customers' choices and give them tools to celebrate their way. This concept is true for Christmas, as well - don't overload every display, window, and wall shelf with Christmas. Leave some displays as 'everyday' merchandise, and make Hannukah merchandise very easy to find. Your customers will love you for it!

I recommend that the first items you roll out for Christmas are the greeting cards and gift wrap. Most people stock up on these before the shopping begins, so get them out there this month. Remember to make up some mock packages with beautiful bows on them - maybe even an ornament or two tied on, as well - to up the profile and sales of your paper goods. By placing these products near your cashwrap, you can leave them there all through the season - making stocking easy, access easy, and help your customers to remember to replenish their supply. It doesn't take a lot of space, trust me, but it can be a nice 'soft' entrance for your Christmas rollout. Sort of softens the shock of the impending season for those of us who still don't know where summer went...

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!

Retro Holiday

I found this book while thrifting awhile back (at the Glorious Goodwill outlet in Seattle, which means I paid about forty five cents for it) and thought you'd all love to see some fun things I found within it...like this very mod tree (well, it was mod in 1953 when the book was published!) and this thrifty nifty idea for a tablecovering Admittedly, not the grandest of decor ideas, but if you have a company party in a cafeteria, or something for the kids, this is a fun and simple idea - especially for the buffet table. This photo makes me remember that when I was a kid all of the neighbors on our street wrapped their front doors like presents - loads of metallic foil papers and huge Santa faces and holly sprig prints, accented with giant ribbons & bows. Mom covered our stunning persimmon-orange door with red paper for the season, accenting the brown & white siding just perfectly. I see fast food restaurants wrap their hanging pictures like this every year, too! (Tho it's hard to coordinate holiday wrapping paper with the abstract patterns and bizarre colors of outdated 80's naugahyde upholstery....sigh).

This book is like a peek into the past, revealing what was new and exciting in holiday decorating in 1953. No, not much there I can use now, but it's still fun to see what Martha's of a past decade recommended!

Holidays at Diva Central

Since a few clients and readers have asked me what the Holiday decor is this year at my Cottage, I thought I'd share a few photos of what I came up with. Essentially, I took my inspiration from my displays at the Willows Lodge decor seminar (silver, gold, and white) and combined them to create our decor for this year.

It's encapsulated in the photo above: tarnished silver, dried hydrangeas, old spalted glass balls, ivory velvet poinsettias, old sheet music & book pages, and lots of letter 'K's. Sort of a 'tattered & torn Holiday', straight out of an ancient stone grand house somewhere in Texas, one that has been a bit timeworn and abandoned. It's warm, it's heirloom, it's elegant but worn, it's comfortable, and actually quite a bit masculine. Compliments our rooms without competing - and to me, in a small house, that's very important. I love the browns and ivories...like wearing cashmere!

I still have birdnests out, plus some beautiful branches from Seasons of Cannon Falls that are brown, white, and ivory. I used lots of ornaments, drippy beads (thanks, Dona, I bought some of yours!) and very old real silver tinsel to add sparkle to the scheme.

In this photo, you can see the tree reflected in the mirror. It's actually two trees: a six foot vintage chrome tree (with color wheel!) and a four foot white tree, which I am not quite finished decorating yet. We nestled them together to create a fuller look. I"ll post a photo of the completed tree sometime soon!

On the game table, wood game pieces (Scrabble, Jenga, Pogs) sit waiting in silver bowls. A rusty birdcage holds candles.

See those cooooool ornaments? They are ivory glass with cream flocked damask designs. I found two packages of three at TJ Maxx, and actually yelped out loud when I saw them! GORGEOUS! The silver julep cup with dried hydrangea & a poinsettia made from vintage chenille is something I made and have for sale in my retail space. (Oh, yeah, I haven't told you about that yet, have I??!!)

The 'K's are cookie cutters, metal letters, wood letters, paper letters covered with ivory glitter, and even old woodworkers' rulers that I formed into our monogram. Our son came up with a saying a few years back: "Merry Kennemas!', so the K's are a reference to that sentiment. (And yes, it was his version of Kramers' 'Happy Festivus!'!!)

SO now that I've spilled the beans, I'll direct you to retreat - a new venture that my husband and I are creating together, and we are beginning by selling our designs at Faded Elegance Antique Mall in Everett, Washington. We'll also be doing shows in the future, and my books will include a great deal of these projects....so much underway! If you are in the Seattle area, I invite you to stop in at Faded Elegance - it's on Hewitt Avenue in Everett, near the Events Center.

Shop 'Till Ya Drop.....

I was at ToysRUs today, grabbing just a few extra goodies for our grandson's first birthday celebration tonight (not spoiling him at ALL...ahem) and I spied this amazing, adorable thing: 'Pink Boutique' Monopoly! I just have to share this, it's SO cool and totally about getting girls into learning about money, and shopkeeping and entrepreneurship....okay, okay, and shopping. Here's what ToysRUs says about the game on it's web site:

"This is Monopoly like you have never seen it - dressed up in pink and all about things girls love! Buy boutiques and malls, go on a shopping spree, pay your cell phone bill, and get text and instant messages. You and your friends will adore the funky tokens, cool buildings, and cute illustrations. Best of all, the game is stored in a beautiful keepsake box which doubles as a jewelry box. Cool game features include: 8 collectible tokens just for girls, keepsake storage box with removable tray and mirrored insert, pink gameboard with fun properties, pink and purple translucent boutiques and malls instead of houses and hotels, Instant Message and Text Message cards instead of Chance and Community Chest, pink Title Deed cards, redesigned Monopoly money, flocked banker's tray, 2 pink dice, and instructions.

Paint the town pink with this ToysRUs Exclusive!"

Tho that write up sounds like it's targeting eight to sixteen year olds, believe me every woman I know would love this version of the classic game! Got a girl to shop for? Maybe one who owns her own store or boutique or business? Perfect gift! (hint hint, Santa....)

Image and quoted text from http://www.toysrus.com/

Finish Line....

I feel like I must be reclusive or something, 'cause everybody I know keeps calling me, and emailing me, asking what I'm 'UP to'! I'm here to report that I'm 'UP to' my regular Holiday HooHah & Mayhem! (And no flooding in my part of Washington state...lots of rain, but no flooding.) It's madcap adventures with the schedule, I'll tell ya', but I got smart and cut my client list waaaaaay down this year so life isn't quite as crazy as past years! It's been busy, but not crazy:

So, I started here (three hours) .... and he knows I only come to decorate when the office is closed because I can't STAND to hear that dental drill......

...and then went here for three days (two trees, four dozen Dept. 56 houses, 152 nutcrackers, two dozen teddy bears, and a partidge in a pear tree....)

and then I went here for four hours and the most beautiful snowfall went on the entire time we were decorating the house. (Now how much service do I deliver, I ask you???? I even bring the SNOW!!!! ;o) )

...Today I was here (four hours) , admiring a vast collection of vintage ornaments (Dresdens, wire tinsel, glass so fragile & thin it's like tissue paper... awe-inspiring 100 year old ornaments) and moving oh-so-slowly so as not to break any of them!

...and then here (three hours), where a charming young lady of 101 smiled with joy as we filled her rooms with Holiday cheer. SO rewarding!

Some are big, some are small. One business, four residences.
All the retail clients were done way back in October. And now, as of five thirty today, I am officially DONE and may now commence with the festivities!

On my list of fun stuff to do: Celebrate my grandson's first birthday - TODAY! Picking up the first of our holiday guests - our daughter from Texas - at the airport tonight! Spending the weekend visiting with her, attending a soiree on Saturday night, finishing my own decorating.....yeah, well, maybe I'll get to that next Tuesday! Then it's Christmas letters & cards & photos, shopping for stocking stuffers (the gifts were done before Thanksgiving and THAT, my friends, is a record!), another party, then pick up our son & his girl at the airport, and indulge lots of Holiday music, eggnog, and fireside visits.

Holiday Cheer, indeed! Wishing you all a season filled with joy, peace, and festive decorating!

Let's Table This Conversation....

If you're on the lookout for some great tabletop decorating ideas, check out this blog: Totally Tabletops. The blog is linked to a party supply rental company, offering ideas for entertaining along with their rental services.

The photo above is my tablescape, two years ago at Christmas. And yes, that IS SNO Wonder in the Santa cups! (You knew I had to mention this fun 'faux snow' at least once this season, didn't you?!

Speaking of tabletops, I'm off to the Rosanna Inc. warehouse sale! Later!