We went to a concert last night by a chamber music group with the unusual name of Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society. (Their name isn’t the only unconventional thing about this group, an ensemble of talented musicians willing to take risks with everything except their exceptionally high performance standards.)  

One of the things that B D & D S does that sets it apart from most other classical musical groups is provide stage settings as backdrops for their concerts that are designed by visual artists.  Last night’s concert featured a stunning creation by textile artist Carolyn Kallenberg, and her imaginative use of 160 plastic martini glasses, together with about 140 yards of tricot fabric, got me thinking about the unusual items we’ve used to create window displays over the years.  Window displays are much like stage settings, and a little “drama” can attract a lot of attention.

You can, of course, buy items made as window “props,” and I’m sure that in some big cities you can even rent them.  But we’ve had great fun coming up with low cost, borrowed, or free items to dress up our window displays.  Sometime they are a challenge to get in and out of the window – -such as the cast iron bathtub that we used for a soap display — but I’m sure our customers enjoy seeing what my innovative staff members will put in the next window.

Here is a list of some ideas in my book, Specialty Shop Retailing, that I’d like to share with you:

● Musical instruments

● Theatrical costumes

● Trellises, garden fences, window frames

● Terra-cotta pots

● Hammocks

● Ropes and rope ladders

● Standing mirrors

● Shopping bags with the store name and logo

● Silk trees and plants

● Oversized plush animals

● Gift-wrapped boxes

● Sporting goods

● Paper or silk kites

● Life-size cardboard cutout figures

● Plastic flamingos or other lawn ornaments

● Natural materials (e.g., hay, vines, wood chips)

And of course, don’t forget the “something borrowed, something blue” rule for weddings can also apply to windows.  The wedding gown in this window display (created by our visual merchandiser/bookkeeper, Jean Clegg) was borrowed from Premiere Couture, one of our neighboring Monroe Street businesses.  In the past we have also borrowed “dummy” wedding cakes from local bakeries.  Of course we always use signage to give proper credit.  

I’m sure the cast iron bathtub was borrowed, since I haven’t seen it around since then.  But we do keep a section of our storage stocked with silk flowers and trees, big gift-wrapped boxes, strings of interesting little lights, and other treasures that we’ve picked up at garage sales and through our suppliers.  It’s fun to look through them for inspiration as we try each month to set the stage creatively for our merchandise displays.  If you’ve had anything unusual in your store window, please post a comment.  We’d all love to hear about it!

Happy Retailing,

Carol “Orange” Schroeder