Jazzing Up a Jewelry Display

Some of the most difficult items to display are the smallest items. Jewelry can be tricky to display because it is easy for it to get lost among the other merchandise and it is a challenge to keep at eye level. Here are three quick and easy tricks to making your jewelry display sparkle.

1. Masking

When putting small merchandise in a large window, it can easily be swamped by negative space. In this case, the best way to eliminate the empty areas is to place some sort of mask against the window. This can be done by placing paint, paper, vinyl, or some other opaque substance covering the window, except for the area in which the jewelry sits. This brings the consumer's eye directly to what you are trying to show them.

2. Shutters

On many buildings today, shutters are used exclusively for decoration. However, in the case of jewelry display, the real deal is a great way to put these accessories front and center. Finding real shutters at a good price can be challenging, but they can be found used at consignment shops and online. Once you have found your shutters, you can leave them with the finish they have or paint/stain them to whatever color you want. Then, simply hang some earrings from the slats and stick some rings between them. This display is beautiful and is a fun way to recycle.

3. Screens

Door and window screens can be another fun way to recycle in your visual displays. Cut a piece of screen to the size of a large picture frame and nail or staple it in. The frame can then be hung on the wall or placed on a surface in a display. Then earrings can be stuck through the holes in the screen. In addition, if you put a piece of cork board behind the screen in the frame, it can be used to display other types of jewelry. Decorative push pins can be pushed through the screen into the cork to hand necklaces, bracelets, and rings from.

Picture credit: http://nyclovesnyc.blogspot.com/2008/12/cartier-christmas-holiday-window.html

A Room with a View

This was another one of my favorite windows from my trip to NYC.  I think it is classy and elegant.  I love how they used to curtain to give the room an asymmetrical balance.  They have the curtain and all of the picture frames on one side, and then most of the girls on the other to complement it.  It feels like the girls are just hanging out in a room looking out onto the shoppers on the busy NY street.  I even like the color scheme here, in other displays i have criticized the use of too much white, but here I think it works because the focus is on the clothes.  I also think the white works because it is not a flat white wall, there are different textures and the floor is not also white. 

Anthropologie Display

I really enjoyed this window.  I think it does a great job at showing off the products as well as the store’s image.  I was an intern at the Anthropologie in Glen Mills last semester so I enjoyed taking the time to look at a different locations work.  The fact that the pieces are all handmade and unique to the individual store really adds to the effectiveness of the display.  I also really like how they separated the window from the store by using cloth banners and natural wood beams. I did think that the third window was a little bare, however.  Compared to the other two it has less hanging pieces and only one dress form.  I don’t know if the window is still in the installation process, but I thought it looked incomplete and slightly vacant.

South Moon Under

After looking at tons of NYC windows displays, this one doesn’t quite seem to compare…but it is still effective and interesting!  They captured many of the Spring styles such as back and white color schemes, peplum tops, and bright pops of colors.  I like that they created the flowers (from what seems to be tissue paper) and I like the effective use of space.  My only suggestion would be to do something with the plain white background.  I think that by doing this, everything in the display will tie together better and will really pop.  Maybe a colored banner or a banner with a graphic on it would do the trick.  I think this window has the potential to be great with just a little push!

A NYC VM in Action

While wandering the streets in awe of all the beautiful displays and clothing, we saw a Visual Merchandiser in action at Deisel.  The man was applying a vinyl to the window, something we learned how to do in our visual merchandising class this semester.  It was so cool to see someone actually working on a display!  I wanted to ask him some questions about his work, but he was on his cell phone the whole time, plus I don't have the nerve!! Maybe next time!

The Making of Menswear

Bergdorf Goodman's menswear display was whimsical and fun, I absolutely loved it!  It shows forms making clothes for other forms.  It is creative and cute while keeping a sophisticated feel at the same time.  One of my favorite aspects of this display is the over sized sewing notions in each window.  I also like the large pattern pieces hanging in the back!  I think this is such a great idea and it came out beautifully.

Saks 5th Ave.

Saks 5th Ave had very interesting, and different window displays.  The windows in the front of the store showed wedding dresses and scenes that went along with the, while the side windows featured contemporary daytime clothes in a scene resembling a life-sized game of pick-up sticks. They are very interesting and the bank of windows really coordinate well with each other.  I love how although each window uses the large sticks in the same way, they are all different!  My only concern with this store’s display is that these windows do not coordinate with the wedding ones what-so-ever.  While both concepts are great, it may have been more effective to keep the same theme in all the windows rather than splitting them in half.