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.
Oh yeah, I was alllllll about decorating the DIVADeb way: Fast. Cheap. Easy.TM

Find my 'How-To' tips for making your own trees from wire tomato cages in this post

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