A New Retail Display Resource

In the retail field, we are always searching for resources and ideas to amp up our visual merchandising knowledge and practices. The combination of inspiration with how-to information is invaluable to a busy and cost-conscious retailer. My most popular seminars & articles over the years have been of the 'How to Create Innovative Displays Inexpensively' variety, with as many ideas as I can fit into the time or space allotted. Trade shows and merchant associations have requested my '100 Fast, Cheap, and Easy Display Ideas' seminar topic more than any other subject.

It is my pleasure to share a new retail display resource with you:
My friend and fellow visual merchandiser & public speaker Linda Cahan has written a new book: "100 Displays Under $100" . Linda has gathered inspiration and information from many sources, and combined them to present a soup-to-nuts compilation of great ideas and the help you need to create them yourself.

This full color book is filled with photos of fun, creative, interesting and inspiring displays from designers all over the world. Included in the book is a list of must-have tools for your display toolbox, some excellent vendors, and a short section on the basics needed to make the magic happen. Each display featured is under $100 and most will work for a huge variety of merchandise and types of retailers. 

This is written in a recipe book format: There is a brief introduction and then a "Need" and "Sequence" section explaining exactly what you need to pull each display together and then, how to go about doing it.

This is a great resource for your store, or as a gift for a friend with a store. If you want to learn more about display and visual merchandising, you'll learn a lot just by going through this book.

"100 Displays Under $100" is available online in a PDF format for $25.00.

It is also available in a soft-cover, spiral bound paper format for $39.95 + $5 shipping (within in the USA, extra for overseas.) 

Either can be purchased via PayPal or US checks.

Combine it with Linda's DVD "Visual Merchandising 101: The Basics of

Excellent Presentation" and you have a good beginning course in display and VM! ($59.95 + mailing - overseas extra.)

Order through: lindacahan@verizon.net

Visit Linda's Web Site: www.LindaCahan.com  

{image credit: Linda Cahan 2010; All Rights Reserved}

{Linda provided me with the details about her book,

and the content of this post. I don't have a copy yet!}

Design Resources from Gingko Press

 

Today I received an email from Karen at Gingko Press, 

asking me to help them promote a new book release. 

More on that coming soon!

As I searched through their web site, I found a large selection of books that they have published that I consider valuable resources for the design of retail spaces. From fashion to food and brand image, these compilations of work by designers from around the world is sure to inspire and educate you.

Each title below links to the book's information page 

on the Gingko Press web site.

Super Identity
In Your Sight & In Your Mind
First impressions count. As that first perception is the most important one in real life, in the competitive world of commerce it has the potential to make or break a brand. Be it the visual identity for fashion branding or traffic signals, service industry manifestations or restaurants and food boutiques, Super Identity – In Your Sight and In Your Mind, unveils the ever changing, cutting edge of this visual language. 

Structural Displays

A brilliant collection of simple, novel and out-of-the ordinary packs and displays, this book illustrates perfectly how to showcase a product to its best advantage.

Nice To Meet You, Too

Visual Greetings from Business Cards and Self Promotion
Artists and studios featured range in their specialist fields from direction and design of moving image projects to product packaging, typography, event promotion, interior design, fashion, music photography, illustration, graphics, film, exhibitions and interior and product design.

Growing Graphics

Design for Kids
There is a visual universe that children immediately recognize. Enter a bookshop with your children, and you can be sure they will quickly be drawn to the department aimed at their own age. Growing Graphics – Design for Kids opens a window to this visual universe of children at different ages, presenting a multitude of graphics aimed at them: Logos and characters, corporate identity, packaging, labels, catalogs, brochures, posters, invitation cards, books, educational material, web and multimedia design, exhibitions, signage etc.

Design Taste
Graphics & Interiors for Bars & Restaurants
In a frenetically paced, time poor world 'dining out' has become a frequent activity and accordingly, patrons of restaurants, hotels, coffee lounges, clubs and bars have become more discerning. To succeed, each requires its own particular brand of ambiance and an image with which its guests can readily identify, from the soft and subtle to the bold and daring. Design Taste is a brilliant collection of identity designs covering everything from external signs and entrances to logos, menu cards, tableware, uniforms and interior design, and how to visually create a unique experience for the patron.

Stay tuned for information on their latest release here...

{Image and All Book Descriptions 

property of Gingko Press; 

All Rights Reserved}

Be Outstanding In Your Field... Research....

A new Snap!Retail newsletter is out today, and it includes my article on how to make field research work for your business. Leave me a comment here, and let me know how you look outside of your business at possibilities for growth, change, and evolution of your brand...

How to Hire Me, #101

Need me to help you find a solution to a challenge in your store, art studio, or show booth? 

Just ask me! 

Here's a 'crash course' on how to do that quickly and effectively...

Send me an email that looks a lot like this: 

Hello, Debi, {greet me by name}
I'm Shell, owner of The SeaShell Boutique in Alki- www. shesellsseashells. com. {tell me who you are}
I found your blog through a search for retail designers. {tell me how you found me}

I need help with my retail store and am hoping you can assist me in finding solutions to a few problems. Specifically, I have floor plan 'issues': {state your case succinctly}
Too many hidden spots, no clear direction of where to go, and a cashwrap that seems to be hard to find. {give me some details}

I'd like to have you create a new floor plan that addresses those issues. {give me the final result you want from me}

So, I need to know if you are accepting new clients now, what your availability & fees are, if you can get this done in the time frame I have, and how the process works for you. {ask me what you want to know}

I have a limited budget for this (don't we all?!) which means I have just a few hundred bucks to spare - and I'd prefer not spending it all! My time frame for design & installation of the plan is two months, because I need to make changes before summer tourist season hits.  {be open about your situation}

But really, I want to know from you how to best utilize your services.
How much can I do to prepare so that your time is maximized for my benefit? {ask me SMART questions}

Can you email me back this week (shellers@shesellsseashells .com) with the specifics of this? {give me your contact info and tell me what/when/how you want it}

Feel free to visit our web site at www. shesellsseashells .com {include store contact info}
and take a look at our slideshow - it shows the entire space. If there are other materials I can send you (photos, links, etc.) to help you review or prepare, please let me know. {send preliminary materials so I can see what I would be dealing with}

Thank you, Debi - I look forward to hearing back from you and hope to be able to start working with you very soon!

Shell
The SeaShell Boutique
Alki, Washington

What you'll get back from me in response is a prompt reply with the answers to all of your questions, 

along with information about how my design process unfolds on a project. I will attach a letter of intent to hire for you to sign, an invoice for a deposit on the work to be done, and a list of materials (like a sketch of Shell's store floorplan with measurements, etc.) and any questions I might have. When you sign and return that letter of intent, pay the deposit, and send me the materials I have asked for, I am off and running on your project.

Which means that within ONE day, if my schedule allows, you can have me working on your challenges and finding creative, efficient solutions for you!

There is no Shell who sells sea shells in a boutique on Alki Point, Washington - to my knowledge, anyway. 
She's a fictional perfect 'inquiry' - an example of how to get to the heart of a matter fast. 
If the emails, phone messages, and comments sent to me came in that form, I'd be off and running on your business challenges before I even got back to you! A very efficient way for me to work.

Maybe it's just me.... but quick, efficient, and honest communication is GOLD to me. 
While I LOVE to talk, and can write an email that rivals 'War and Peace' in length, I don't enjoy endless communication. Especially when it comes to business. I need info! I need it now! Give it to me straight, honest, and open so I know what you want, and you'll get back from me a quick answer stating what I can do for you and where we go from there.

If you can be conscientious enough to respond to ME in a prompt and timely manner, you'll have a designer on your team in a flash. Not to mention that the longer you wait to sign up, the more your chances increase that my availability might change as others engage me to work for them.

When it comes to taking on new clients and projects, I am open about my availability - 
I won't accept a new project if I can't fit it into my schedule on your time frame, or if I think I'm just not the right person for it. If your budget seems really low, I'll ask you what the most important issues are so we can focus on that and cut my time involvement to the minimum. But I'll still try to help. 

Because that's my goal: to HELP you. Let's work together!

read all about my design services on my website

email me at debi.wardkennedy@gmail.com

Name's Luxe. RotoLuxe.

The most jaw-dropping prop I used onstage for my YMN Conference seminar was a selection of plastic pots. Not just ANY pots, mind you! These are brand new to the market  - I discovered them at Seattle's Northwest Flower & Garden show in early February, and two weeks ago they were launched at the Las Vegas show. Fabulous shapes, intense colors, interior lighting, and waterproof construction make them perfect for SO many retail & event uses. They are bonafide superstars!

Take a look at the SIZE of that white one! 

The Vazon 'Methuselah' is 41" by 44" in size. MASSIVE in scale and impact. In the photo above, you can see me sitting in a chair onstage just to the left of the huge white pot. THAT's how big they are! The others are Vazon 'Magnum', 23" by 23".On the other side of the stage, a white Chumbo 24" by 12" size is shown in a lateral position on top of another table.

These illuminated pots acted like a magnet in the dimly lit conference room {hence the not-so-incredible photos here}, drawing attendees to the stage to oooh, ahhhh, and snap photos. Every last flier and business card provided by the company was snapped up in record time, as well - I think these very smart people knew a great thing when they saw it!

I'd like to offer a huge thank you to Hans Lammersdorf, owner of Rotoluxe and all-around generous guy, who lent me these to make my seminar stage displays really stand out. He didn't know me from Adam and yet he trusted me to promote his product and make his company look good. {I think you'll be happy, Hans!}

From outdoor decor to window displays to in-store displays or fixtures, these products are a no-fail way to catch the  eye of passers-by and customers in an instant. There are so many shapes, colors, and sizes available that they will meet a wide scope of needs for your visual merchandising. With a wide selection of colors available, you'll be able to find at least one of your 'Brand Palette' colors for your store!

For complete information on products and pricing, please visit the company web site at www.Rotoluxe.com.

There are a million ways to use these in a retail setting - from topping them with a glass round to create a tabletop surface, filling them with loads of product, tipping them to provide an optional storage or display compartment, or stacking them willy-nilly to attract attention - and they'll be workhorses for years of successful merchandising.

www.RotoLuxe.com

Telling MY Story....

Thank you to the wonderful staff at Yarn Market News & Soho Publishing, for including me in the YMN Smart Business Conference 2010 over the past few days. Karin, Jessica, and Gabrielle took such good care of me and everyone else at this event. It was an altogether enjoyable experience, meeting so many people who are creative, passionate, and headed for success in their businesses.

It was my pleasure to present a seminar to this marvelous group of people, I tell ya'. I speak to many varied groups of retailers and business owners, and can unequivocally say that the reception I received at YMN was among my very best experiences ever. If you are visiting my blog after being at my presentation, welcome - and thank YOU for such a warm welcome to your industry! You are all proof positive that good business is about good relationships.

It was also fun to reconnect with Linda Cahan, fellow speaker. Linda and I have known each other for eight years, through our involvement with gift shows on the West coast... we've been onstage together before and always have fun! Linda and I enjoyed the 'Panel Discussion' session, where we had the opportunity to answer questions and refer to slides brought in by local shops. So much inspiring information...

Speaking of inspiring, check out the cover of the March issue of YMN Magazine for Yarn Shop niche retailers. Look closer. Those aren't tomatoes, my dear readers. Those are made from YARN! Every issue of this to-the-trade magazine offers us stellar visual inspiration and loads of resources, info, and material for shop owners to use. I am blown away by the attention to detail here, and editor in cheif Karin Strom is the driving force behind these 'visual puns'... way to go, Karin!

You can find more of my thoughts on the use of color in a retail environment in this issue: Kristine Hansen interviewed me, along with other visual, design, & color experts, for her article 'The Colors of Money'. It can be found on pages 34-35 (continued on 43). 

I've posted more photos of my stage displays and presentation on my Facebook page. In the next week, I'll be creating new posts here with photos & info taken from my presentation - including where you can get those AMAZING props I used on stage!!! Stay Tuned...