Have 'Leftovers' for Valentine's Day!

Restyling old products to create a new look - taking something and making it look totally different by combining it with something else, using a different color to set it off, etc. - is something I really enjoy. And it's an effective way to lengthen the 'shelf life' of merchandise instead of just putting it on clearance. Keep those profit margins UP, that's the goal.

...continue reading for some of my top tips for 're-using' and re-theming merch!

Re-Style Unsold 'Holiday' Merch for Winter Profits

So, your Holiday merchandise didn't sell like you thought it would.
No problem. No, really.... there's still hope for some of it. 
(And no, I don't mean mark it all 90 percent off!)

Let's salvage all that we can and turn it into winter displays!

for example, those ornaments above.....
silver, with red felt dots. Some others in the collection say 'Love'.

So they didn't sell....well, then let's make lemons into lemonade
and create a big red Valentine's day display!
Those ornaments could be heaped into a huge heart-shaped box,
made to look like bon bons.

continue reading for more ideas and examples of re-styled merch
that transitions from holiday to winter - and makes more profit for you!

Valentine's Day Color Story

Here's a simple way to get a 'Valentine's Day' vibe in a retail store display

without actually having any holiday-specific product IN it...
build a color story, 

then punctuate it with a few cheap heart props!

Click 'Read More' for the step-by-step tips on building a color story...

Displaying Jewelry

This Cartier window display is an exercise in restrained elegance....

it is simple, crisp, clear, clean, and precise.

And, forgive me, but it's also BORING.

If you are viewing it from precisely the distance and angle that this photographer was,

it's not so bad.
But back up a foot or two on the sidewalk.
Better yet, get into a car and drive past it.

The product disappears and you are left with whiteness.
Except for the stunning red jeweled neck piece, everything is too small to be seen.

How do you overcome this in displays?


Find out, after the jump...

Valentine's Day Windows

This morning an email blast came in from the WindowsWear website,

sharing some images of fun window displays from LAST Valentine's Day...

Above: Banana Republic, NYC  |  Below: DVF, presumably NYC

Looking for more creative window display ideas?

Make sure you check out WindowsWear.com 

and sign up for their email updates!

... and I offer my thanks to Jon Harari at WindowsWear.com,
who generously Tweeted this shout-out:

WindowsWear ‏@WindowsWear

Thanks for the post Debi!  

http://decodivadebi.blogspot.com/2014/01/valentines-day-windows.html … 

More on Debi visit: http://debiwardkennedy.com

Winter Displays with Heart

I've often  talked about restyling 'old' products to create a new look.

I love to make stagnant merchandise look FRESH

by combining it with something new or using a different color to set it off. 

And it really is an effective way to lengthen the 'shelf life' of merchandise, 
instead of just putting it on clearance.  

Keep those profit margins UP, that's the goal. 

Find some cost-effective solutions after the jump....

SweEt IdEaS for tHe SwEEt...

Deb's got a sweet tooth in more ways than one, let me tell ya.
That's my kitchen window above, loaded with candy dishes heaping full of yummy tidbits (that I'll never really eat, truth be told....my weakness is chocolate) and a few trompe loeil treats...

Inspired by THIS photo from a past issue of Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion Magazine , I gathered up some round cardboard containers, metal tins, fabric, ribbons, and froufrou, and got to work. (I know, I know, this is not WORK. Let's call it a 'Creative Exercise' then, OK?) I came up with two versions: Here is the first, in white and pink. It's tucked into the kitchen window. The top layer? One of my white china cups, flipped upside down with the handle in back. And here is number two, a bit more cheeky but romantic just the same as soon as I added my actual cake topper (circa 1980, hence the cheesy factor). In this photo you can't see the fun pink scalloped edge of the lower layer - it's one of my set of six napkins, so sweet and pink and French 'GiGi' in style that I use them every spring. Love LOVE love them.

Well, I was on a roll so I just kept going...

Another china cup holds an impromptu pincushion that looks like a cupcake. The cherry pin was hanging out in my jewelry box wondering if it woudl ever see the light of day again - tada! Those CUUUUTE pink & white 'marshamarshmarsha'mallow candies, BTW, came from Dollar Tree. Yes. A Dollar a bag. Conversation Hearts did, too. CHEAP props!

And this, this is Miss Ami, nestled in close to the velvet heart box that holds some lovely glass hearts and a few diamond rings, plus a VERY old creation of mine - the button heart pin. Miss Ami is named after Miss Amy because she looks just like her and Amy loves cute things, so now I create cute settings for my Miss Ami each season in my kitchen window. Yeah, yeah - I can see your head shaking from here. I've gotta get the cute stuff in here somehow, you know.... and if you paid attention, you'll find a treasure trove of ideas for retail displays for Valentine's Day!