props for shops

what i really dont want in my store is
a bunch of commercial units
to show my merchandise...
i dont want plastic, or particle board or some cheapie thing that comes in a box..., or even another companies name on something...

i want big strong things that put lots of merchandise at eye level...
and i want them with a little inner beauty and archetectural interest....
things you can nail into
interesting things...that tell my customers... you arent at
hobby lobby, walmart or hallmark!!!!..

we try to make our cupboards, counters and cabinets for stores who feel the same way..the neatest ones we come up with have cool old parts in them.... like the big 2 door display in the picture..7 ft tall and 4 ft wide....and heavy!!!...
good, useful displays and visual merchandising is so crucial......you can see lots of our displays at work here http://www.greenoakantiques.com/

##also i like to use big garden things inside....every christmas i use a nice big arbor somewhere..., to walk thru or to hang huge amounts from...they are just natural big focal points...


###and antiques, to a point....but you cant nail into antiques... and once they are covered up they dont sell...

####and definitely big natural things ...like saplings.....

i would love to have something as dramatic
as the old trucks they put into old navy..
.so neat....

word on the street

about everything im hearing is bad......except the cash and carries in pennsylvania and madison wi .......... they sounded really good...
.talked to a busy rep yesterday and she said shops are really being careful..and sales down..and her travel costs are going up so bad she is trying to plan her trips better....

a favorite customer was here and said about the same thing...

what really tells me how bad it is is when we get the returns from our dealer mailing.... that is a mailing to actual stores we have sold to.we just mailed out to our big list for our february sale.....a couple dozen came back as no such person, meaning closed ..
a big question is what to stock....what to get that isnt in hobby lobby,target,gordmans, lowes..etc etc
..the big gift companies are jumping right over us to sell to the big boxes...and the independants are supposed to get 8$ for what gordmans sells for 4$....how does that work?

here...we are holding even and thankful...and hoping our new lines will be exciting for our customers...

early spring problems.....

this is always a hard time of year.... we have tons of warm weather product coming in....and jan and feb are usually our slowest months.....
so it takes a lot of money and optimism to make the big orders like we have....coming this week...3 pallets of iron and later this month a full load of garden iron....
i hate to do a lot of credit......but cant really avoid it right now...

my job now should be to work on the marketing for all this garden product thats coming in....that would be...

#figuring out good recurring ads in 3 or 4 places and a good email plan to customers...

#figuring out the best layout....involving, gazing balls, fountains, chimes, birdhouses, patio iron, outside garden iron etc etc etc....

the weather hasnt been our friend this year....but lots of time to work on all kinds of projects....and some good sales.... but freezing rain and heavy snow have cost us!!!

i rarely consider cancelling orders....i think it would really look unprofessional...and yes you could do it..but what kind of service would you get from the company next time?
we dont do layaways but its kind of like backing out of a layaway imho...