display.....

we got mentioned on a neat retail blog..she liked one of our displays..the demdaco canvas art .....one figured out by jon and i, using old dog eared fence and a bench.........see here http://www.swirlmarketing.com/blog/retaildetails/

when we started our business we had really great stuff coming in weekly... and sold it from our truck in the driveway or on the dirt floor of our old Quonset building or in our 700 sq ft shop......really great antiques... with no display at all....our antique buyers definitely looked look at the thing not the presentation.... so for about the first 10 yrs or so display was nothing....

we were in the trends of course....country living set the tone for our business and we supplied all kinds of antique furniture and smalls to the dealers who did the shows and sold to the public...we were about 90% wholesale back then..................................

NOW we are about 70% retail and display is crucial....SO IM ALL ABOUT DISPLAY NOW.....AND THE BETTER WE DO THE BETTER IT SELLS...altho our customers do still like a big pile out in the driveway ...just off the truck....

SO, THINKING ABOUT DISPLAY , HERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT I GO ON....

...FIRST GOAL.....the wow ....... meaning having the area when you first come in be great....thats where we put all our best most expensive furniture....the harvest tables and the big 2000$ cabinets...and we try not to trash it up with smalls....

....birds of a feather flock together.......here we have several categories and give them their own space and color pallet.......country, foo foo,the black section, key west/lake... white frenchy, good antiques, garden ...etc etc....that way if you hate painted furniture you dont even go into that section...

garden iron inside....we use big garden arbors./arches in several places.....they work so well and are very versatile.... and they always make a focal point, they are so nice and big....you can walk thru them or put a table under them and use the sides top and middle....we do one with garland and wreaths with a table under and country signs on it....the back side is more signs...the other one we use is full of hanging chimes and matching garden stakes...., its against a wall...often we have used one for an entrance to another section....

another great garden thing are the big wire trees...they are about 6 ft tall and 5 ft wide at the top.with lots of branches... we sell them for gardens for about 200$ retail.....great for anything that hangs, but they take major room....

recycle recycle recycle.....we use all kinds of doors and windows and farm junk to make our displays.... i really hate commercial plastic or particle board units....they just look cheesy..... we dont want to look like walmart or hallmark...im so jealous of old navy...who can manage a full size junky antique truck for their displays... we make displays too...out of big old doors and windows... kind of like giant potting benches..we make and use salvaged counters/islands/cash wraps a lot too... .. these big architectural displays are in several famous places and in the gift shows belonging to our wholesale customers......but without credit...ha ha...i dont care tho...if youve been to the store you recognize them for sure...

also i think a lot about eye level.and like to have the best things right there.....and realize hardly anything will sell below knee level.... i also consider how easy it is to grab something...you cant expect your customers to dismantle a display to get something....

i love displaying and dont mind at all when something big sells...it gives us a chance to mix things us and make something new and fresh...

now for something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT....

THE QUESTION WAS , WHAT IN YOUR NORMAL DAY? im on a business forum and here was my answer...

i cant talk before coffee....i need it strong and have to have it quiet for about an hour, mostly on the computer...then the garden or back porch..small huddle with dh....then out to it....coffee all day and on my feet all day...no sitting ever.... im out there 10 to 5.... music is a compromise...i like it fast and perky...no dreary female vocals ... which dh likes.....and hes the only one who can change the machine.... also i like it loud but we dont do that either.... i would put marching music and polkas on for the fun of it ..or who let the dogs out.... i talk all day and get interrupted all day..by people, workers and phone calls.... for relief i go back into the workroom and paint...basically i roam around all day and get my priorities going in all the parts of the store....and hear all the efforts and problems....we are in the middle of an annual event right now..and should have about 2 or 300 people thru today....7 people working....i had a real job for a few months back in the 70s...lol....
http://www.small-business-forum.net/ this is a good business forum, very good for computer and web info..lots of good discussions......
THE OTHER SIDE OF DISPLAY........IF IM AT A BIG FLEA MARKET TO BUY.... and i see a booth all prettied up and looking great with well dressed civilized folks in charge and a booth with a disheveled guy and a big messy pile of good stuff....like he just came from an auction....uh, guess where i would go first?
and my customers do like to dig out in the rougher parts....the rough room, under the awning, the real junk out past the dock, and the big packed antique prim room...

but on the retail side , selling the new stuff, i think working hard on display skills is really important....

.. and test your display....did it sell anything?