by Rosie Schulz | Oct 19, 2018 | Christmas, Corporate Christmas, Custom Design, International VM, Trends, Visual Merchandising |
“December… Saving the best till last.” One of our favourite parts of the festive season is getting to decorate our trees, adorn our homes and set the table in a different style every year. We’ve been busy venturing across the seas and travelling interstate this past year to collect ideas and bring you our favourite trends this coming Christmas. Let the magic of Christmas 2018 begin! Wabi Sabi Originating from the Japanese language, Wabi-Sabi means to accept imperfection. It is a belief and aesthetic based on recognizing that something incomplete can become beautiful. A design example we love is expanding on our connection to the earth through natural materials. This trend is taking over from the Hygge trend (the cosy contentment of simple living) and leads into a Scandinavian tone but with a focus on abandoning perfection. Focus on textures such as metal and driftwood to incorporate this beautifully flawed trend into your home this Christmas. Our go to colours: Gun-metal grey, silver, olive green and natural hues Traditional Green, red and gold. The combination of these colours has screamed Christmas for centuries. Add a few little berries to your wreath to enhance the festive ambience and decorate the tree in glitter, matte and reflective finishes for a contemporary twist. Make a statement with vibrant red velvet poinsettias or keep it familiar by dressing the house in colours reminiscent of a childhood spent waiting for Santa. From nutcracker soliders to reindeers, this iconic Christmas trend isn’t going anywhere anytime soon and we can’t wait to see how it continues to change and adapt year after year. Our go to...
by Rosie Schulz | Sep 14, 2018 | Trends, Visual Merchandising |
“We like to see the glass half full. Preferably with champagne”. Champagne season is upon us! Pop the bubbly, because as champagne season begins to arrive, so do the new season trends for spring. Keeping it fresh and creative, here at The Prop House we’re seeing Australian natives take over from the classic peony and jewel tones break through since the announcement of ultra violet becoming colour of the year. Suspended florals We love natives. Garlands of eucalyptus down tables or vases of proteas – natives are everywhere. Regardless of the variety, we love suspended florals. Suspended over tables, archways or marquees entryways; the thicker the foliage the better. Keep it pretty with proteas or herald summertime with the buttery yellow of our classic wattle. Alternatively, for more mood and ambience, focus on suspending deep forest greenery with black and gold accents. Integrate fairy lighting or luminescent bulbs into the display for the ultimate atmosphere. Our ‘go to’ prop: the protea Not-so-basic backgrounds Did champagne season even happen if you didn’t take an Instaworthy shot? Create a ‘selfie experience’ with dazzling backdrops at the next spring racing event. From simple copper and floral arches to balloon installations, backdrops are statements that keep your event captured forever. Add custom signage with the event #hashtag to propel your event into the social media universe. Our ‘go-to’ prop: foil backdrop Rich and Royal Since the announcement of ultra violet becoming the colour of the year, we’re not surprised that jewel tones have been ready and waiting for champagne season. Ethereal and romantic, velvet is a cause for luxury and comfort. The...
by Rosie Schulz | Aug 30, 2018 | Children's Play Space, Custom Design, Shopping Centre, Visual Merchandising |
“Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning.” – Mr. Rogers Tree Top Play is the newest play area designed by VM+ and installed at Robina Town Centre on the Gold Coast. Inspired by the rainforest which surrounds Robina to the West, Tree Top Play draws off the flora and fauna found in the mountainous region of the Gold Coast Hinterland. The play area was custom designed by VM+ to be a place of interactive learning and fun. The first eye-catching element in the tenancy draws your eye up into the canopy of the rainforest, where circular timber rings hang, overflowing with greenery, Edison bulb lighting, mirror disks and fairy lights. The effect is magical and immersive. The custom built cubby house includes leaf shaped climbing grips instead of a classic ladder, and a green slide bringing delight to the adventurous. Pebble cushions and log and stump cushions surround and spread in and around the cubby house providing comfort and security. The timber tic tac toe game varies from the original classic with a guest appearance from the local cockatoo and green tree frog. The swiveling cubes line up to provide more interactive play and memory learning skills. Sparking delight in children, the Green Tree Frog climbing wall sits at a perfect height for boys and girls to boulder along the mounted frog, completed with high quality hand-holds so children can practice their hand-eye coordination. A caterpillar play panel sits at the end of the walkway ready for little hands to explore each element but also allow multiple children to play at the same time. A “Can You Find Me”...
by Rosie Schulz | Jul 30, 2018 | Visual Merchandising, VM Training |
One Thursday in June, the team of marketing managers from DEXUS joined us in The Prop House Showroom for a morning of visual merchandising to learn the theory and hands on approach to styling and visual merchandising display design. Our course instructor Mark, started off the morning with a lecture on the principles of design and how to implement them into various areas such as fashion and homeware displays. The group of 12 marketing managers then split into 3 teams and had their own chance to put their newly learnt theory into practice. Split into three categories, Christmas, homewares and fashion, the teams were asked to select items from a variety of props to create their own display worthy of a store front in 10 minutes. The Christmas colour task required the team to pick from glitter and matte baubles, colourful monstera leaves, gold sequin flowers, rainbow swirls and red poinsettias. Each team worked with a green Christmas tree on a bright orange background, leaving the team to decide on complimentary colours and work with the situation. During the fashion exercise, teams learnt how to dress a mannequin, select complimentary outfits, position mannequins and choose elements to surround the mannequins to tell a story. The homewares challenge allowed teams to select items such as cushions, foliage, glassware, crockery and cutlery to design a consistent display. Teams had to choose a colour story based on the items and use the elements of design such as repetition, the rule of three, the pyramid principle and recognising balance (and that less is sometimes more). The exercises not only challenged design skills, but...
by Rosie Schulz | Jun 26, 2018 | Visual Merchandising |
“There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind” – C.S Lewis The last financial year has been a wonderful adventure of visual merchandising, theming, event styling, charity events, VIP nights, Christmas and so much more! We’ve released the first issue of our magazine, The Schmooze, opened up another interactive children play area and styled the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games Athletes’ Village… and that was just in the last 3 months! THE PROP HOUSE One of the highlights from this past year was taking on the task of styling the 2018 Commonwealth Games Athletes’ Village. We inspired and dazzled guests with coloured lanterns and festoon lights to enhance the venue while themed props such as seagulls and beach balls reflected the surrounding landscape. We styled a dinner under the stars in Fish Lane and stepped into the past as we themed the iconic Les Bubbles for a 60th party. Hot off the tails of Game of Thrones, our most recent gala ball showcased a Fire & Ice theme to 630 guests. Main styling elements included a fire and ice inspired chandelier dripping from the ceiling, 6m tall inflatable flames, ice filled vases and floating candles. 2018 GOLD COAST COMMONWEALTH GAMES FISH LANE CITY HALL LES BUBBLES STUDIO 54 FIRE & ICE VM+ From rainforest play spaces to shopping centre VM pods and countless Christmas trees with twinkling lights, we hit the ground running this year. Chinese New Year saw multitudes of red lanterns swarm the office as they made their way into chandelier creations. VM+ didn’t miss out on the Commonwealth Games excitement as they took the task...
by Rosie Schulz | May 31, 2018 | Visual Merchandising, VM Training, Window dressing |
Start Your Career in Visual Merchandising It’s time to develop creative confidence. Whether you’re looking for a career change, creative outlet or have a keen business mind and looking to enhance customer engagement and sales, our VM course will provide skills to keep you up to date with the retail industry. WHY STUDY VM? If you have a creative bone waiting to dance, an eye for detail and mind full of imagination… We think you’re ready to join our visual merchandising course! We see people from all walks of life stroll through our doors – whether you’re ready to start your creative career, looking to enhance your retail business, or want to increase customer engagement as they walk past your market stall or window display. Learn all the theory behind visual merchandising but also how to apply these theories to tangible displays, tell a story and increase sales. – Attention store managers, marketing managers, shop assistants & creative business owners. Up-skill, add VM to your CV and bring brand-new skills, current trends and knowledge back into your shopping precinct. – Learn about the elements of design and implement them into your own displays – Get ready for a career change in design – Enjoy visual merchandising for a creative outlet – Learn hands-on skills and problem solve – Increase sales on your merchandise – Increase customer engagement, evoke emotion and customer store duration – Style and construct your own displays and arrangements from an collection of provided props and materials – Become a competitor with different and explosive eye-catching displays – Learn to understand your consumer, tell a story through...
