The more thought you put into the display, the better it’ll turn out. (Not that there is anything wrong with rummage sales. The idea is to get as much stuff in the window without it looking like a rummage sale. We are a hardware store, and we sell stuff. NN: Sort objects by color or category or some other method so there is a theme that ties the items together. HR: What advice would you give to other retailers who want to create effective window displays? It’s a team effort, and I am fortunate to have the contributions of many individuals at Cole Hardware. We have talented graphics people who help build pieces, the warehouse has to juggle my props in small spaces, and the floor crew puts away merchandise I’m no longer using. The number of window displays I complete depends on what other projects I’m working on.Įven though this is a solo show, I couldn’t do it without the support of the Cole Hardware crew. I average 40 to 50 window displays a year. HR: How many do you think you’ve built to date? His ladder appears in many window displays. Dave Karp, the founder of Cole Hardware, lived to the ripe old age of 99. NN: I don’t have a favorite display, but I do have a favorite prop: Dave Karp’s ladder. A window display incorporates items from different areas of the store to create a new environment.
NN: Inside the store, you want customers to be able to find things quickly, so merchandise has to be organized and logical. HR: How is the strategy different from creating displays inside the store? If I do have an idea, I write it down immediately, or it’s lost forever! For inspiration, I flip through magazines and Google images. The window display should be an experience, not a store behind glass. The goal is to get people to stop, look and wander into the store.
Art pieces displayed in the window are also made from items in the store. NN: About 95 percent, which surprises people because they often don’t realize that Cole Hardware actually sells so many of the unique and eclectic things in the window. HR: What percentage of the items come from the store? It takes an entire day to empty the previous display, clean and repackage the merchandise, enter those items back into inventory, wash the glass, change the lighting, mop the floor and replace the backdrop. Surprisingly, window displays also require a whole lot of cleaning. Think of it as redecorating a room in your house. It depends on how intricate I’m making the display. HR: How long does a typical display take to build? We switch out displays every six to eight weeks. I create a different window display at each store, but I rotate the displays throughout the business. I’m working on improving the displays in the other two stores. NN: Four of the six stores have actual room-type window displays with a door, for a total of 12 windows. HR: Do all of the Cole Hardware locations use window displays? It’s just a matter of experimenting and finding your niche.
You don’t need to be an artist to design and build window displays. Otherwise, I would have received a solid C in that art class. My degree is in engineering, so fortunately perspective drawing was part of the coursework. I don’t have any formal art training, but I did take an art class in college. This led to remerchandising areas of the store, and eventually Cole Hardware’s owner, Rick Karp, asked me to do the window displays. Noelle Nicks (NN): I began working at Cole Hardware part time stocking shelves. Hardware Retailing (HR ): How did you get started designing window displays? Read her comments and check out photos of some of her creations. In addition to a strong imagination, effective displays require strategy and attention to detail. Nicks explained to Hardware Retailing what it takes to create window displays that keep customers coming back again and again. She transforms everyday hardware products into stylish, witty works of art to adorn the front of its stores. The creative mind behind them is Noelle Nicks, known around the store as visual merchandising manager and curator of all things hardware. Other retailers, such as Macy’s, whose legendary Christmas window displays draw thousands of visitors each year, capitalize on their creativity to pique the interest of potential customers.Īmong home improvement retailers, Cole Hardware, with six locations around San Francisco, is creating its own window display legends.
WINDOW DISPLAY MASTER IN SAN FRANCISCO WINDOWS
For some retailers, windows are a place to put their best and newest merchandise on display so passers-by will window shop and hopefully come inside. For decades, window displays have been a staple of many downtown retailers’ marketing strategies.
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