Display DNA: Why You Need ‘Inspiration Days’ — Especially Now
Hello from the road!
As I write this, I am in the midst of my holiday setups and just weeks away from the start of the gift show setups. I just finished my setup in California for Bristol Farms, where my team and I decorate 13 locations with lit garland, wreaths and trees. I am now in Phoenix, getting ready to set up my account, Luci’s, for the holidays.
This is my absolute favorite time of year! Maybe it’s because I’m a Christmas baby (born Dec. 29) or maybe because my mom made getting ready for the holidays such a special time — I don’t know, but I live for this time of year. Truth be told, I’ve been playing Christmas carols since September to get me in the mood, all the while burning my Frasier Fir candle. Yes, it’s absurd, but it’s my absurd, and I love it.
This time of year, it’s hard to think about anything besides the holidays, but as a designer, I have to think about my spring displays while setting up for Christmas. The January shows will be here before you know it for both of us, so it seems fitting that I write to you about finding inspiration for the upcoming new year.
How do I do this in the middle of holiday setups, you ask? Inspiration days — or, in my case, inspiration afternoons.
Anthropologie had a mandated inspiration day that the visual merchandisers and display coordinators had to take monthly. Yes, we were busy; often, we did not have the time to take this mandatory day, but once we did, it paid off in a few ways. We came back inspired, and we came back fired up to recreate something amazing in our stores.
Inspiration can come from anywhere: travel, magazines, movies, museums, shopping, other retailers, Instagram or Pinterest. I personally find that I cannot go on Instagram for inspiration. I get too sidetracked; the next thing I know, I have gone down a rabbit hole that has nothing to do with what I’m supposed to be looking for.
I love looking to movies for inspiration. Years ago, one of my accounts was a bikini shop called Diane’s. The spring rollout was for bright, candy-colored Frankie bikinis. Cynthia Rowley had just done an amazing runway show with oversized candy that was so bright and fun that we not only took that, but wanted to go bigger. So we watched “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” The scenes of the chocolate river, the giant blueberry gum and edible flora and fauna gave me so much inspiration that the window became a mix of the runway show and the movie. We created giant lollipops wrapped in cellophane and huge cotton candy cones that reached three feet tall. At the time, I used a lot of cut-vinyl signage on the windows to tie things together to create a bit of tongue-in-cheek. The windows read “Eye Candy,” a nod to both the candy and the tiny bikinis.
My go-to inspiration hub now is Pinterest and magazines. I love magazines because fashion is often a year ahead of the gift industry. The indigo blue that was so huge years ago, the bold bright stripes, the toile and bows you are seeing now, all started as a fashion statement. That said, sometimes it can be hard to read between the lines of fashion and interpret it into a gift window or tabletop.
Pinterest is my go-to now because you can go down some deep rabbit holes on everything from Anthropologie windows and fixtures to Magnolia setups and incredible international retailer displays. I find that when I type in a few keywords, I can follow a trail that leads me somewhere I never expected. I make sure I am not rushed, I don’t look at my phone and I let myself get lost. It is easy to guilt yourself for doing something creative like this, but by scheduling and allowing myself this time, I don’t feel as guilty. After all, it is part of my job, and I have to remind myself of this.
Do I have time to do this right now in the middle of holiday setups? No — but I know that when I do, I’ll be inspired and fired up to recreate magic in my stores and showrooms just as I had been when I was at Anthropologie all those years ago.
Cheers to finding inspiration!
