Apple Polishing Time

Kids of all ages will soon be getting ready to head back to school, and parents will be out there shopping to furnish their children with everything they'll need for the new school year. And even though gift retailers don't usually carry traditional, back-to-school items such as notebooks and calculators, you can still capitalize on this by offering gift items that tell kids their parents are thinking of them while they're apart.

With a little creativity, you can craft a special back-to-school section by pulling together gift items that will appeal to kids, or that will suit college students leaving home for a new life on their own.

First, carve out an area in your store for the special back-to-school (BTS) section. Since this is a seasonal area, you want be sure to make use of your store's focal points. Create the section close to the front in a highly visible area, and make sure it has some space around it to separate it out from the your other displays.

If you are using a table to display the merchandise, cover it with a brightly colored, draped fabric to make it stand out from your other gift items. If your BTS section is on the wall, cut foamcore pads and cover them with fabric. Then place the pads on the shelves that will hold your BTS merchandise. For fabric, use something in a light wool blend for a nubby feel. But remember to iron the fabric beforehand.

Also pick a visual theme to highlight the area. One of the most traditional props for fall and BTS is apples. They work! You can probably find some great fakes at your local crafts/floral super store. But if you are careful to rotate them frequently, real apples can work even better. Real fruit won't last very long, though.

One good way to use (fake) apples in an eye-catching display is to hang them from the ceiling with fishing line, or with thin, apple-green ribbon. Suspend them from the ceiling with T-pins or from a ceiling grid that hangs over the table. When the apples are hung at varying heights, the movement, color, and energy will draw customers to that area. You won't even need a sign. But if you think you do, use a yellow "school crossing" sign. These bright yellow placards also draw a lot of attention.

Consider using a local school's colors on your tablecloths or pad fabric. This is a subtle way to say BTS and support your community too. If you are in a college town, consider using its colors for the gifts geared toward college-age kids.

Believe it or not, college-age kids are actually a good market for traditional gift retailers at back-to-school time. In addition to practical items, they'll also need to decorate their new rooms. Do you have any throw rugs, towels, or decorative pillows that aren't just for middle-aged women? Look at your selection of vases. Is there anything unbreakable? How about vases that could serve double duty as pencil/pen holders?

If you sell florals in your shop, there are some terrific plants that are very low maintenance and help freshen the air. These are perfect gift items for parents who worry about their child's new home environment.

When I was in college, ages ago, I was an art major, and ended up inhaling an unhealthy quantity of chemicals daily. For your BTS area, try displaying golden pothos plants, which help remove chemical vapors from the air, and will tolerate a variety of environments. Another great college dorm plant is the peace lily. It produces beautiful white flowers and is also excellent at removing harmful vapors. Of course, the Boston fern is the best air pollution remover, but must be given to a young person who is a nurturer, because they require a bit more attention.

Type up and display explanation cards with each plant. Explain why this particular plant is so positive for a college room, or even a high school student's study area. And add a larger sign that says, "Fresh Air Plants for Back-to-School" to get customers asking questions. There is an excellent book called How to Grow Fresh Air by Dr. B.C. Wolverton. It's a terrific resource for deciding which plants will sell in your BTS area — as well as what to buy to enhance the air in your store.

Along with the plants, you can include other gift items that will remind students that their parents are thinking of them when they go away to college. Framed inspirational sayings and framed flower art help to make a dorm room more homey, and aromatherapy products can enhance attention and memory for those long nights of studying.

Soaps and soap containers are also very useful for young adults, as are wash mitts, loofahs, or natural bristle brushes on long handles. For boys, sandalwood, musk, and citrus scents are popular. Look in an aromatherapy book to learn what mood each scent promotes, then you can type up a short description for the product display. For example: "This soap will wake you up! It contains ginger, peppermint, lemon, and grapefruit essential oils."

More than likely, when you look around your store you'll realize that you can create a BTS section without buying anything extra. You just have to be creative in devising a way to market your existing inventory to the back-to-school shopper.