Celebrate the Unusual
Some of the most interesting displays use off the wall props that don't match the merchandise
By Linda Cahan -- Gifts & Decorative Accessories, 8/1/2006
When I taught at Parsons School of Design in New York, the first assignment I gave students was to design a display using props that made no sense with the product. My favorite display was an open refrigerator with the light on in an otherwise empty, dark window. Inside the fridge was the perfect pair of shoes.
Two other windows in New York stuck out as perfect “strange prop” displays. One was at Bloomingdales, where china sets were displayed traditionally, one per small window. But hanging precariously above the tableware was a heavy tool. My favorite featured a hammer poised to fall and shatter the china. The display felt dangerous, daring, interesting, and memorable.
The second was at a small shop in SoHo. Several mops were propped at various angles, as though cleaning the floor, with buckets and boxes of Spic-n-Span scattered about. One mop pushed candles, candle holders, frames and other decorative pieces into a corner with the words “Spring Cleaning Sale” in dimensional letters on the floor. The props related to the concept, though not the merchandise.
Things you have in a stockroom, closet or basement can be used in store windows to create unusual displays. Old sports equipment looks great mixed with frames and balls; display pictures of sports celebrities or friends, family or customers playing sports. Spray paint the equipment and balls all one color so they look like sculpture rather than odd pieces from the attic.
| Author Information |
| Linda Cahan is a retail visual design consultant based in West Linn, OR. She works with retailers on store design, renovations, and visual programs. She also writes visual standards manuals and lectures on visual merchandising around the word. |
