by Rosie Schulz | Dec 6, 2018 | Christmas, Custom Design, International VM, Visual Merchandising, Window dressing |
“Meanwhile… I’m putting up more twinkle lights.” – Kathleen, You’ve Got Mail Hands up. Be honest. Who’s favourite holiday has rolled around for another year? Two hands up over here – we love Christmas! We could start listing all the things we love about the silly season; decorating the tree, dinner parties with friends, but of course, one of our favourite things is the unveiling of department store windows. We’ve searched through the cities and have found our favourite selection of dreamy, vibrant and comical Christmas displays. From Paris to New York, get ready to travel through the best festive windows of 2018. LONDON: Harrods When it comes to Christmas windows, we can’t go past the legendary Harrods. This year, the series of Harrods windows draws inspiration from our own visions of a traditional festive season; a fridge bursting with seasonal treats and parties filled with gold glitz and glamour. Designed off the concept of sensory storytelling, Harrods maintains its focus on luxury while relating to the themes that everyone loves and can relate to around the merry season. Harrods has mastered their designs by utilizing scale, repetition and colour… and also our love for roast potatoes. PARIS: Galeries Lafayette Christmas dreams became a reality this year as Galeries Lafayette Haussmann let the Parisian children bring the window characters to life from their imaginations. Children between 5 and 11 years old entered to draw their Christmas character and the winning drawings were chosen to be transformed into soft toys and displayed in the vibrant window display. The imaginative friends can be seen enjoying a Christmas party in a candy...
by Rosie Schulz | Dec 3, 2018 | Custom Design, International VM, Visual Merchandising |
Taking on a vision and brief from a client, forming a design and making it a reality is one of our favourite things to do here at VM+. For a 1-day event at the Brisbane International Airport, VM+ transformed ‘the green’ into an indoor cricket pitch. Following on from the competitive Australia vs India cricket match held at The Gabba, the BAC (Brisbane Airport Corporation) hosted a friendly rivalry with the two teams made up of representatives of the travel industry and captained by international superstars Brett Lee and Michael Kasprowicz. VM+ took on the task to install a 20 meter long pitch with a truss structure thoroughly covered in cricket netting, complete with sponsor signage and floor decals. The activation involved passengers before they departed on their long haul flights allowing them to sit and spectate on a tiered seating grandstand. The activation focused on tourism, Brisbane becoming a destination city and the relationship between two cultures. “Gert-Jan de Graaff BAC Chief Executive Officer said it is an exciting world-first event that not only highlights the great mateship and friendly rivalry between Australia and India, it provides a unique opportunity to strengthen and celebrate tourism between the two nations.” (BAC) See more images of this activation in our Facebook Gallery. VM+ often extends itself into creating custom builds and designing activations. We aim to create atmosphere, an escape or a visually dynamic reality. Check out what else we do here! Don’t forget to stay up to date on our social media pages – Facebook – Instagram –...
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...
