Name's Luxe. RotoLuxe.

The most jaw-dropping prop I used onstage for my YMN Conference seminar was a selection of plastic pots. Not just ANY pots, mind you! These are brand new to the market  - I discovered them at Seattle's Northwest Flower & Garden show in early February, and two weeks ago they were launched at the Las Vegas show. Fabulous shapes, intense colors, interior lighting, and waterproof construction make them perfect for SO many retail & event uses. They are bonafide superstars!

Take a look at the SIZE of that white one! 

The Vazon 'Methuselah' is 41" by 44" in size. MASSIVE in scale and impact. In the photo above, you can see me sitting in a chair onstage just to the left of the huge white pot. THAT's how big they are! The others are Vazon 'Magnum', 23" by 23".On the other side of the stage, a white Chumbo 24" by 12" size is shown in a lateral position on top of another table.

These illuminated pots acted like a magnet in the dimly lit conference room {hence the not-so-incredible photos here}, drawing attendees to the stage to oooh, ahhhh, and snap photos. Every last flier and business card provided by the company was snapped up in record time, as well - I think these very smart people knew a great thing when they saw it!

I'd like to offer a huge thank you to Hans Lammersdorf, owner of Rotoluxe and all-around generous guy, who lent me these to make my seminar stage displays really stand out. He didn't know me from Adam and yet he trusted me to promote his product and make his company look good. {I think you'll be happy, Hans!}

From outdoor decor to window displays to in-store displays or fixtures, these products are a no-fail way to catch the  eye of passers-by and customers in an instant. There are so many shapes, colors, and sizes available that they will meet a wide scope of needs for your visual merchandising. With a wide selection of colors available, you'll be able to find at least one of your 'Brand Palette' colors for your store!

For complete information on products and pricing, please visit the company web site at www.Rotoluxe.com.

There are a million ways to use these in a retail setting - from topping them with a glass round to create a tabletop surface, filling them with loads of product, tipping them to provide an optional storage or display compartment, or stacking them willy-nilly to attract attention - and they'll be workhorses for years of successful merchandising.

www.RotoLuxe.com

Telling MY Story....

Thank you to the wonderful staff at Yarn Market News & Soho Publishing, for including me in the YMN Smart Business Conference 2010 over the past few days. Karin, Jessica, and Gabrielle took such good care of me and everyone else at this event. It was an altogether enjoyable experience, meeting so many people who are creative, passionate, and headed for success in their businesses.

It was my pleasure to present a seminar to this marvelous group of people, I tell ya'. I speak to many varied groups of retailers and business owners, and can unequivocally say that the reception I received at YMN was among my very best experiences ever. If you are visiting my blog after being at my presentation, welcome - and thank YOU for such a warm welcome to your industry! You are all proof positive that good business is about good relationships.

It was also fun to reconnect with Linda Cahan, fellow speaker. Linda and I have known each other for eight years, through our involvement with gift shows on the West coast... we've been onstage together before and always have fun! Linda and I enjoyed the 'Panel Discussion' session, where we had the opportunity to answer questions and refer to slides brought in by local shops. So much inspiring information...

Speaking of inspiring, check out the cover of the March issue of YMN Magazine for Yarn Shop niche retailers. Look closer. Those aren't tomatoes, my dear readers. Those are made from YARN! Every issue of this to-the-trade magazine offers us stellar visual inspiration and loads of resources, info, and material for shop owners to use. I am blown away by the attention to detail here, and editor in cheif Karin Strom is the driving force behind these 'visual puns'... way to go, Karin!

You can find more of my thoughts on the use of color in a retail environment in this issue: Kristine Hansen interviewed me, along with other visual, design, & color experts, for her article 'The Colors of Money'. It can be found on pages 34-35 (continued on 43). 

I've posted more photos of my stage displays and presentation on my Facebook page. In the next week, I'll be creating new posts here with photos & info taken from my presentation - including where you can get those AMAZING props I used on stage!!! Stay Tuned...

StoryTelling

Just shy of a year ago, I wrote a guest post for design*sponge. 

As part of their BizWomen series, my article offered advice on building your brand image to maximize your visual impact. Since I am preparing to speak about this subject in a few short weeks, I thought I'd share the information again. Here's a taste {and you can read the whole post on design*sponge here}

‘Tell Your Own Story’ in all visual communications.

Make your brand an expression of your business’ individual mission, purpose, style, and products or services – and then leverage that brand by using it in every visual medium at your disposal. This is the main opportunity for you to show your potential customers why YOU are different than others - be proud of your individuality and build on it.

1. Be Consistent

Plan the components of your design and utilize them across all mediums. From your business card to your web site to your store or office, the same visual elements should appear - color, logos, fonts, taglines, etc. should all flow seamlessly. There should be no question that they all reflect the best things about your business.

Think of it this way: When a potential customer sees your ad, finds your blog online, or is handed your business card, what is the next step for them? Probably to check out your web site and get more info on you. Then they’ll come to your place of business. Will they see the same business image in all of those mediums? Does your image engender confidence?

When I work with clients to build their brand image visually, I help them choose elements that can be used in many mediums and materials to express a consistent image. We create a ‘brand palette’ that incorporates all of those elements to use in their brand expression. From the paint on the walls to the fixtures holding merchandise to the sign outside, it all plays off of their logo and business attributes. It’s experiential marketing because it immerses the customer into the brand – quite literally: When they walk into your place of business, your brand image surrounds them.

To read the other four things you can do, go here...

content of this post copyright DWK 2009; all rights reserved

no reproduction permitted - used by permision on design*sponge March 2009

{'Tell Your Own Story' is a DWK tagline}

image credit: www.bmpl.lib.me.us

Want Your Display Fixtures & Props On My Stage?

I've got a project in the works, a seminar at the SoHo Publishing & Yarn Market News 2010 'Smart Business Conference'. My presentation will be covering the topic of store design and display as a way to build your brand image. I'm not the kind of speaker who stands behind a lectern reading index cards or narrating a slide show, though. Nope, I tend to go a bit overboard: I haul a slew of products up onto the stage and build incredibly inspiring visual displays to illustrate my points. {I figure if I'm teaching people about visual practices, I should be using a visual medium to do so.}

I'm looking for some products to include in my on-stage displays, and I'd like to offer you the opportunity to get some promotional mileage out of this. 

If you are a supplier/manufacturer of retail fixtures, a designer/manufacturer of props & decoratives, or a designer/creator of products that relate to the yarn & fiber industry, consider this:

The YMN Conference, held in Seattle in March,  will be attended by over 100 owners of independent yarn shops, plus attendees from the fashion industry and press & media sources, from both the US and Canada. The keynote speaker is Cinda Baxter, founder of the 3/50 Project. {Read more here} It is a high profile gathering of a growing and evolving fiber arts industry movers & shakers.

I'll be up onstage in front of all of them, for an hour, and your products can be right up there with me. Every attendee at my seminar will receive a handout with notes about my presentation AND a list of every product I use - and that can include your name and contact info next to your product.

But wait! There's MORE! 

To make my presentation even more exciting for the conference attendees, I'd also like to give the products away at the conclusion of my seminar. {I've done this for years at my Gift Show seminars, and it builds buzz for a product like nothing else can!} I'll be collecting business cards from the audience, and drawing winners for every item I use onstage at the end of my presentation's Q&A session.

If you send me a product to use, you'll get:
*On-stage exposure for your product as I discuss how to utilize different styles, finishes, colors, and materials to achieve different effects in retail display.
*Your product name, company name & contact info in the handout to every attendee.
*Your product will be awarded to an attendee.
*Photos of your product here on my blog in my recap posts about my seminar. I'll include credit and link to your site right beneath every photo of it.
*Plus, any feedback from attendees about your product will appear in my recap posts, as well.

You all know I love sharing resources and connecting people - this is one more way I can do that. I appreciate my blog readers so much, and am happy to spread the word about your businesses & products when I can!

Now, more specific information on my plan & needs:

I am tying my stage displays into the color palette that the conference uses {see their logo image above} in order to provide maximum relevance for every attendee - AND to increase the opportunities for the publisher {SoHo}, the magazine {YMN}, the conference, and other media sources to use images of my stage displays in continued press coverage of this event. That equals more exposure for me, you, and your product!

What do I need?
I need fixtures that are white.
Wood, plastic, acrylic, metal, fabric. Modern, casual, formal, vintage. Tables, chairs, shelving, boxes, storage racks/bins, hanging, standing, leaning, stackable.
Any style will work - Just make 'em white. I'm illustrating design points with these.

I need props that are turquoise, orange, and magenta. Single colors, not stripes!
Again - modern, vintage, natural, funky, finessed, rough, smooth, single or multiple.
I'm using these as 'punctuation' in the displays. 

I can also REALLY use items specific to the yarn/fiber industry:
If I can find a pair of five foot tall knitting needles, I'll be the happiest woman on earth! Ditto for a ball of orange or magenta yarn that is the size of a beach ball. {And you think I'm kidding...} Products created with yarn are great, so are items designed to be used in the creative fiber arts processes. My displays will feature cross-merchandised product groupings.

Considerations:
Large scale - it's a large room, with a raised stage, and people need to be able to see the display setups from the back of the room.
Minimal assembly - I have just two hours to set my stage before I speak at 9 AM.
Minimal weight / easy transport - the conference is at the W Hotel. Parking garage & elevator access must be considered, and transport in our truck to the venue.
Shippable & will arrive in Seattle before March 10 {or you are in the Seattle area and will deliver to the W Hotel on Monday March 15}

If this sounds like something you would like your business to benefit from, email me! I'll need a description {including size} and image of your product for consideration, then I'll send you more information. I'm in the final phases of planning my display sets, so please contact me quickly if you want in on this promotional opportunity.

*I'm looking at adding more promotional opportunities here on the blog, too. If you are interested in offering products for a monthly giveaway {drop-ship from you to the winner}, let me know. It's all about getting the word out there, and raising awareness of what's available, so let's work together!*

Bloomin'

'Blooms, bloomin', Bloomies'...

Yeah, this image fits my current state of mind!

I've had my head wrapped around the yarn industry all morning, thanks to a very nice phone interview with Kristine Hansen at Yarn Market News. She's working on an article about color psychology for retailers for the March YMN issue. Since that coincides with the conference in Seattle - and I'm speaking on store design there - she wanted to include quotes from me in her writing. Thank you, Kristine, I appreciate that!

Immediately following that phone interview, I opened an email from Maxwell at Apartment Therapy, with an update on the ongoing Bloomingdale's Window Display Challenge. {I posted about his design the other day}. The windows will be revealed tomorrow, and you can see it all plus keep up with the action and vote on your fave HERE.

Credit for the beautiful image in this post goes to JuteandJackfruit from this post: 
http://juteandjackfruit.net/2010/01/kick-off-2010-with-warm-cozy-style-in-indigenous-designs-flower-power-knits-accessories/ - and I highly recommend reading their blog. Excellent resource, great information, terrific products & ideas.

Knit One, Purl Two - and Deb, Too!

It's official: In March, 2010, I'll be speaking at the Yarn Market News Smart Business Conference in Seattle at the FABulous W Hotel!

The 2010 Yarn Market News Smart Business Conference is a three-day conference featuring speakers and sessions devoted to providing the tools yarn retailers and business owners need to thrive in today's marketplace. Sponsored by Yarn Market News and SoHo Publishing, the goal of the event is to help savvy retailers learn how to innovate, how to sell and how to thrive - providing specific seminars focused on bolstering retailing skills and lots of peer-to-peer networking.

My seminar presentation is entitled 'Tell Your Own Story: Express Your Brand Image in Your Store Environment' and will help yarn shop owners make brand-centric and budget-wise choices for their store fixturing, lighting, decor, and more. This helps build a rock-solid image for a brand and business, lifts it above the competition, and literally envelops customers in the brand experience. 

Look at this subject from the perspective of my audience at the conference.... as fiber artisans (knitters, crocheters, and other needle arts), they already know that each choice made for a project - yarn weight, color, and texture, as well as needle size - affects the outcome of the final product. I'll show them that as a retailer, each choice made for their store's environment - color, paint, textures, fixtures, lighting, layout - similarly affect the image their business presents, and the way it is perceived. I have a plethora of tips, tricks, helpful information and copious resources to share on this subject that will help each and every attendee maximize their visual impact and Build a Better Business.

Following my seminar on Tuesday morning, my friend and former gift show seminar cohort Linda Cahan will be speaking on the topics of visual merchandising and sensory marketing. More great info for retailers! The conference will have many speakers addressing a variety of topics relevant to retail, and the keynote speaker for the event is Cinda Baxter of The 3/50 Project.

I am really looking forward to speaking at this conference.... not only is it a whole new group of retailers to meet, educate, inspire, and share with, but these are all CREATIVE people! I've been told they will sit and knit the entire hour that I am onstage speaking.... and that I shouldn't let that bother me. ;0) Good thing I always have handouts of my notes!

If you are a retailer with an interest in attending this conference, get more information here. (And if you're just wondering if there is anything more to yarn than knitting, check out this post on the YMN Blog. Creativity knows no bounds!)

Image Credit: YMN, used with permission. Some text (description of conference) originally appears on the YMN site.

Successful Show Booth Design Resource from Deb

Last June, I presented a seminar to the vendors selling their wares at an antique show. Following a very harried day of setup for everyone, I shared some tips & tricks of visual merchandising and show booth design. Since most of their booths were already set up at that point, much of that information was intended to help them at their NEXT show. I provided them with handouts filled with everything I spoke about, and more, so they could refer to it later.

Because I know that this information is helpful to all kinds of dealers, artists, artisans, and others who present products at shows in various industries, I want to make this resource available to all of you. I have converted my seminar handout into a Google document. It's available here for you to view, print, and use in the practice of your own business.

To be clear, this is my original copyrighted material.
I am sharing this information here FREE for your 'personal use only'. I ask that you please do not print and distribute more copies of it, nor sell it, nor use it as content on your own blog or web site or in your book, seminar or store, or in any way profit from it.

I could limit access and sell this info, as many people do on their blogs, but I'd rather just get it out there to the new show vendors and my faithful readers so it will benefit you all. So let's all play nice, shall we? (I think that about covers all the bases.... and I think everyone who reads my blog knows what will happen if that request is ignored. SMILE.) If you want to spread the word about it, feel free to link to this post. No problem with that!

On With The Show...

Last Friday evening, I attempted the impossible. After six hours of rigorous move in and set up of our Retreat booth for an antique show (the second one in a week for us) I stepped onstage to present a seminar to the other vendors. The show promoters wrote it up this way:

"Debi Ward Kennedy will be presenting a seminar on Friday evening, during the setup for our show, and will be sharing some fabulous info with the show vendors. Her goal is to inspire them to amp up their merchandise presentation in their booths at shows - like The Funky Junk Sisters, and others to come. Her seminar will include lots of insider tips, stylist tricks, and retail secrets to arm them with helpful information that they can use immediately to make a big visual impact FAST.

Many years of working & speaking and creating award-winning designs for vendors at international gift shows and industry trade shows have given Debi an incredible wealth of information that can help 'the little guys' compete in a big marketplace. We are so excited to be able to share this with our vendors and we will be there taking notes ourselves!
Dixie & Linda, 'The Funky Junk Sisters' "

What they forgot to mention was that since my presentation was taking place mid-evening in the rush of final preparations for the show the next day, everyone in the audience would be a bit distracted. Somehow, I managed to fit the contents of a regular 2 hour seminar into a forty five minute segment. To say I touched on many topics and condensed them for time restraints is a massive understatement - it was fast-forward all the way. My handout (four full pages) was loaded with every retail tip and stylist's trick I could think of, because when Deb gets talking that fast, there is no way anyone can keep up with taking notes!

The thing is, all of the vendors sitting in front of that stage were tired, hot, sweaty, hungry, rushed, worried, and focused on setting up their booths for the show. They had only a few more hours to go that night, and I was one of them! A few of them kept working in their spaces, listening as they went....and I had no problem with that at all. Bless their hearts for taking time out of their very busy evening to sit and honor me with their attention. To honor their time and effort, rather than expand on topics and go into heavy detail, I hit on the basics and info that they may not get anywhere else, then handed them a novel of notes to read later - when their minds were able to focus on the content, instead of on the clock.

I heard from more than a few of them later that they had rushed back to their booths to make a few changes based on what I had shared with them. A few retailers with booths shared that they had been reminded of a few visual principles - things they used to do in their stores but forgot about, and that they hadn't realized the differences between displays in a store and in a booth at a show. So it seems that most of them actually DID hear what I was saying! Amazing people, these vendors. I honestly said to them, 'A lot of what I was going to share with you, you already know - I see you doing it in your booths!'

It was an absolute pleasure to meet them, see their visual presentation, help them improve & maximize it, and watch them succeed at this show. Helping them build better businesses was my goal, and they let me know that I achieved it - and for the opportunity to do that, I am extremely grateful to the 'Funky Junk Sisters', Linda & Dixie. Thank you for inviting me to participate in what I am sure will be the first of many successful shows for everyone involved.

The only thing I regret is that the high overhead florescent lighting and an exhausted Deb led to photos of my seminar that I quite simply refuse to share,(the photo shown above was snapped Saturday morning after some sleep and a shower!), and the warehouse's echo prevented us from shooting the video we had planned. I do, however, have the notes that I provided to the vendors in attendance, and will soon be offering them to you here. They need a bit of revision to be applicable to a larger audience. Stay tuned for an announcement about how you can get your own copy of them....

On The Road...

Please forgive the woeful lack of new posts here... I've been pretty busy taking our furniture design & decor business, Retreat by KENNEDY|kennedy Design, on the road. We just finished the Farm Chicks Show in Spokane, Washington last weekend, will be heading to Puyallup, Washington for the Funky Junk Sisters Show THIS weekend, and then I'll finally have a chance to post some great stuff here.

I snapped some terrific photos of successful booths at Farm Chicks - great space use, props & fixtures, and display styling. The vendors there are the best of the best, and there is much we can all learn from their expertise. I am excited to share it with you!

On Friday of this week, I'll be presenting an evening seminar to the vendors at the Funky Junk Sisters Antique Show. I'll be sharing tips & tricks for visual impact in their show booths, and if all goes as planned it will be videotaped for future use here on the blog. I also plan to snap photos of booths at that show, and share them here in future posts. If you sell antique or vintage items in your store or at shows, stay tuned..... lots of useful information coming up.

Oh, we also have an upcoming show at BarnHouse, in Battle Ground, Washington on July 18th. If you are in the area, stop by!

Upcoming Events

Well, it's impossible to read at this size (and Blogger isn't letting me enlarge it), but this is a page-shot of the upcoming 'Country Pleasures' Magazine. Linda & Dixie, the 'Funky Junk Sisters', sent it to me today to let me know that their upcoming show has garnered a mention in the mag. The article also referenced me and the seminar I am presenting at their show in June.

On Friday evening, during setup, I'll be sharing some fabulous info with the show vendors. My goal is to inspire them to amp up their merchandise presentation in their booths at shows - this one, and others to come. My hour-long seminar will include lots of insider tips, stylist tricks, and retail secrets to arm them with helpful information that they can use immediately to make a big visual impact FAST. And after that, there's the Q&A session.... which has been known to last over an hour as I answer questions and solve dilemmas for audience members. (They kicked me out of the seminar room in Denver one year....two hours after my presentation was over, I still had fifty people sitting there asking me questions about their stores & displays!) Hey, I didn't mind staying....but the cleaning crew needed to reset the room!

Many years of working & speaking and creating award-winning designs for vendors at international gift shows and industry trade shows have given me an incredible wealth of information that can help 'the little guys' compete in a big marketplace. My 'job' is helping independent merchants succeed in building better businesses by teaching them how to coordinate their visual presentation - and I really love what I do. To say I am looking forward to this is an understatement, and I am so thankful that Linda & Dixie have extended the invitation and the opportunity for me to speak at their event. My thanks to you for the additional press, as well, ladies.

For information on the show, check out www.funkyjunksisters.com My seminar is for show vendors only, however we are working on creating a video of it so that the content will be available here on my blog soon after the show. If you are attending the show, there will be other speakers presenting seminars for attendees on Saturday, so don't miss them!