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 | 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...
by Rosie Schulz | Apr 18, 2018 | International VM, Shopping Centre, Visual Merchandising, Window dressing |
“I got it from my mama”- will.i.am Mother’s Day is a wonderful excuse for us to celebrate the incredible women in our lives. In the world of visual merchandising, May is the perfect month to jazz up your shop front, window and shopping centre with themes hinting to these special people. We’re loving sweet picnic scenes, feminine florals, bright pom pom mania and delicate neutrals inspired by the ocean. Hampton Hideaway This style ranges from coastal Hampton vibes, to Byron Bay interiors and everything deluxe and neutral. Create a display with shades of coconut creams and Aegean blues. Focus on texture and height through hanging lanterns and layering linen throws and cushions. Head out to your local river park to pick up drift wood pieces or pop into our showroom to pick up some vine twirls; perfect for a coastal inspired arrangement. Art Mania Is your mum a lawyer, fitness coach, stay-at-home mum or nurse? It doesn’t matter, because there is no denying that almost all women have a creative side (or can at least appreciate it). Tap into that energy through striking window displays featuring copious amounts of colour. Candy red, teal and violet will capture the attention of all and celebrate our art and craft mums who love to get their hands dirty. Using bright colour is a clever way to draw out a shade found in a single item being featured in a window, or just a way of capturing the attention of passers-by. Used in repetition, paper pom poms demand to be noticed, as does our delicious lollipop prop. Picnic Play Who...
by Rosie Schulz | Jan 31, 2018 | Trends, Visual Merchandising, Window dressing |
“We Came. We Saw. We Loved” Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, and we have ideas galore to keep you inspired for the day of love. Think red dresses, love heart candy and sweet messages of adoration. Bring lovers and cupid in-store this February through captivating window and visual merchandising displays. When in doubt, wear red! Nothing says romance and Valentine’s Day more than red roses and berry tones. Use simple hints of red through love heart motifs and balloons or go all out and create an explosion of love through red backdrops and signage. Kissing lip designs or chocolate boxes are perfect to enhance the romance. Break away from red and pink love hearts with a hive inspired, “Bee Mine” honeycomb design. Sweet in both taste and design, we love the hues of caramel and cinnamon tingling our taste buds and pulling on our heart strings. Escape the norm but keep the tone of your displays whimsical and fun through clever language and simple hexagon shapes. The most common gift on February 14th is a bunch of beautiful flowers. Using foliage throughout your window or store is a delicate way of emphasizing the day without going over board with red love hearts. We’re drawn to the idea of over-sized foliage in vases (as seen bottom right), and mixing petals with tropical greenery for a summer lift. Cascade peonies down from the ceiling among your favourite gift ideas to bring cupid into your store this February. Valentine’s Day at The Prop House/ VM+ Planning a Valentine’s soiree? Pop over to The Prop House for all your needs! We love...
by Rosie Schulz | Jan 18, 2018 | International VM, Trends, Visual Merchandising, Visual Presentation, Window dressing |
“Complex and contemplative, Ultra Violet suggests the mysteries of the cosmos, the intrigue of what lies ahead, and the discoveries beyond where we are now.” Introducing the 2018 colour of the year, Ultra Violet. Colours have amazing power when it comes to creating emotion and subconscious thoughts within a space. Implement a design strategy using violet this year. This tone is often associated with mystery, independence and creativity. The use of violet in gathering places is known to energize and inspire connection. Often found in places of meditation, ultra violet is a beautiful way to provoke experimentation, relaxation and individuality. It is a colour that reflects the unknown and is often associated with the cosmos and limitless possibilities. Icons such as David Bowie and Prince are known to have adopted this shade, bringing a dramatic flair to performances. With the world we live in becoming more and more futuristic with the development of new technologies, the team at Pantone decided on Ultra Violet to reflect on the future of design, technology, culture and innovation. This colour stands as a representation for growth and creativity. The pantone colour of the year is beautiful when incorporated into a design with complimentary colours. From floral pastels to deep burgundy, Ultra Violet captivates and energizes. Match it with deep reds and dusty ice blues for a killer contrast, or single out the blue based purple on its own and use neutrals to add extravagance to your display or interior. We love this in textures and gradients, and brings a sophisticated edge to window displays and store interiors. View our seasonal fashion VM gallery...
by Rosie Schulz | Dec 11, 2017 | Christmas, International VM, Trends, Visual Merchandising, Window dressing |
“May your walls know joy, may every room hold laughter, and every window open to great possibility.” It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas… all over the world! We’ve ventured to our favourite international cities to find out what they’re bringing to the window this holiday season in their custom displays. If you’re searching for a bit of magic this Christmas, look no further than the whimsical, circus theme found behind the glass of Bloomingdale’s in New York City. Depicting scenes from the much anticipated “The Greatest Showman” film, Bloomingdale’s six windows are flooded with over 7 million Swarovski crystals. While characters pose and come alive among the glitter and lights, Bloomingdale’s topped it off with interactive elements. The circus and fairground theme also made its way to Paris this year, where the legendary Galeries Lafayette collided art deco and surrealism to produce a whimsical story of 20th century Paris. The synthesis of a mauve and magenta sky backdrop knits together the magical carnival scene. As we travel over to London, we’re bought back down to earth, or rather, under the earth as the British retail elite, Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason pay homage to the traditional English Christmas dinner. Colliding humor and tradition, Selfridges decked out one window in thousands of the pocket-sized green vegetable; the brussel sprout. Other windows featured carnival floats celebrating eccentricity and creativity through banners and even an over-sized robin. Fortnum & Mason in London’s Piccadilly joyfully takes us all home into the kitchen but with a twist of imagination. Windows featuring a boy riding a brussel sprout, and an elephant popping champagne...
