Fall Fun with Figurines
Artist mannequins lend a personal touch to displays.
By Linda Cahan -- Gifts and Dec, 8/1/2009 12:00:00 AM
If I had to choose only one prop to work with in my imaginary desert island shop (along with dark chocolate, great bread and Fresca), I would pick wood articulated mannequins. Many years ago, Gene Moore, director of design at Tiffany & Co., used painted wooden mannequins in such an evocative, artistic manner that they created a devoted following for the famous Fifth Avenue windows. Long before Tiffany, Moore (an acknowledged genius in the art of window display) created windows for an uptown Madison Avenue bookstore. His one prop — a life-sized wooden mannequin with movable limbs. Every week the mannequin interacted with the edited selection of books in an appropriate and fun manner. Thousands of neighborhood residents eagerly awaited window changes to see what the "big guy" was going to do and wear this week.
Wouldn't you love it if people waited eagerly for your window changes? Think about working with wooden mannequins, some paint and lots of imagination.
They're about $5 each at Ikea, but you can get higher quality wood forms, plus different heights through art supply companies. They may not be too chatty on a desert island but at least they listen well and don't eat much.
| This is a quick display I did at the National Stationery Show this spring. I had painted one mannequin yellow just to show how easy it was, but in a real display I would have all the forms painted the same color or left natural. If you do paint a wood mannequin, make sure the spray paint is at room temperature and spray many coats very lightly so they build up without dripping. |
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The gift shop at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA, uses wood figures on shelf displays to bring attention to gift sets of colored pencils and drawing tools. |
| This is another very quick display I did at the National Stationery Show. I took an $11 mailbox from Home Depot, a wood form and flowers from Michaels. The flowers are taped on the back with clear packing tape. This display was done in five minutes in front of a crowd of 75 people. With a little more time the product display would be more organized, but the idea is there — the form adds a bit of whimsy. |
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This fabulous window is an oldie but greatie by Gene Moore from Tiffany & Co. in NYC. The wood form is painted gloss black. Note the line of light behind the display. The way this formal window is built creates a horizon line. The floor of the window stops a few inches short of the back wall. A long, fluorescent tube sits on the floor shooting light up onto the back wall. This gives dimension to the window. Depending on the display, colored gels cover the light to create different colored horizon lines. |
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This biblically dressed mannequin adds a sense of fun to this window display in Asheville, NC. The entire ensemble including the hair and beard are done in paper. It’s fun and evocative. The great thing about these forms is that they tell little stories through their posture and clothing. One picture is well worth a thousand words! |
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