STYLE WISE, By Colleen Heather Rogan: Emily to the Rescue!

In the business world, time is money - money is lost when time is wasted hunting down something you need when you need it most. Effective organization plays an integral part in the success of any business, and creating and maintaining efficient and orderly backrooms, workrooms, desks, and sales counters are all key components to a profitable retail business.

Luckily, Retailworks display artist and professional organizer, Emily Reyes, knows a bit about keeping spaces lean and mean. Even as a child, her passion for clearing up clutter was pretty evident. “I had so much fun putting things in their places,” she remembers.

“I’d even pick up toys at other kids’ houses.”  Her fellow workers, and boss at Retailworks’ saw Emily’s talents come to life after they moved into their new design studio. “She ‘Emanized’ the place”, said Lyn Falk, President of Retailworks. And the name has stuck. Emily’s skills are now available for hire, to help clients figure or reconfigure where and how things are kept in any number of places. But whatever the project, it all begins with the classic formula of dividing everything into piles to be kept, thrown out or donated. Then it’s up to Emily to find creative ways to organize and provide easy access to what’s being kept.

“When ‘I LOVE That Display!’ was hired to do merchandising and display work on a year round basis for all the Kessler Diamond stores,  I spent almost a week in their warehouse, organizing years of display props into ten categories. Now, when the display team arrives on the scene, planning and installing new displays goes much quicker. It’s more efficient for the display team, and more cost-effective for the client.”

To insure everything that belongs together stays together, Emily offered the following tips: “Make the labeler your best friend.” Her current favorite is the Brother Personal Handheld PT-70, “because it’s so simple to use.” She’s also a huge fan of slatwall. “Because it comes in all sorts of colors, patterns and laminates, and has so much more style than peg board. Plus you can get a wide variety of shelves, hooks and other accessories that easily attach to it.” (Available through Retailworks.) Though she loves using clear plastic containers in all sizes by Rubbermaid, when it comes to organizing, Emily also encourages thinking outside the box. For instance, a vintage wooden drawer can hold markers (see photo), or a line up of several metal pails to hold frequently used tools (see photo).  Hanging shoe and accessory holders with clear pockets, pant and skirt hangers, or tie and belt racks, are convenient and inexpensive ways to keep ribbon and string, screws, buttons, fabric swatches or papers where they belong. (see photo) 

Finally, Emily reminds us,  “Getting organized is only the first step, once things are where you want them, you’ve got to keep them that way.”  Taking those few seconds to put something back in it’s place not only restores order and flow to the workplace, it also leaves Emily “ Feeling happy and in control.”  

Last photo, courtesy of the Creating Keepsakes blog, January 18, 2011, ‘Organization Week: Products to Organize Your Scrapbook Supplies’.

 

STYLE WISE, By Colleen Heather Rogan: Shopping as a Sensory Experience

Though I couldn’t tell you the city I was in (I’m guessing NYC), what I can’t forget is my very first visit to an Anthropologie store.  All in all, along with the obvious creativity of its windows and store displays, a unique presentation of clothing, jewelry, shoes, home accessories, gifts and vintage treasures made for an effortless journey of discovery that introduced me to lots of stuff I simply couldn’t "live without". Today, almost 20 years later, shoppers continue to explore well over a hundred Anthropologie stores all across America and Europe (be sure to check out the Milwaukee store at 301 N. Broadway, 414-271-1105).

The reason I bring this up is because retail design and merchandising has played a huge part in the success of this international chain and carries a rather important message to independent retailers and local business owners. Simply put, good display works, but great display works even better.

Luckily, establishing the hallmarks of effective retail design is easier than you’d think. It all revolves around a clear understanding of what you have to offer and who your customer is. For a quick check on how well you’re hitting your mark, start out by determining the message you wish your store to present. Is it forward, edgy, traditional, polished, inspirational, artful, crafty, straightforward or utilitarian? How are you communicating this to your customers? Are you doing all you can to support this particular mode?  Now put yourself in your customer’s shoes and shop your store objectively. Does the environment effectively communicate your “brand”? Is the space aesthetically pleasing? Is color used to its best advantage? How about texture? Do graphics and signage identify and support your overall vision for the store? Do fixtures feel cohesive with the products they present?  What about the "smell" of the store? Does the lighting enhance the merchandise being sold? What about your store layout? How easy is it to maneuver around? How effective are your suggestive selling incentives? Is it easy to find what you’re looking for? Have you established an efficient traffic flow? Are you creating engaging displays that add visual interest to your product offerings? Are you encouraging new drop-in customers by changing window displays in a timely manner? Are your staff and checkout stations strategically placed to offer optimal convenience and customer support? And finally, is everything clean, in order and good repair?

In a tight economy, make no mistake, shoppers rule. Inspiring them while providing what they want is paramount to any store’s success. While some shopkeepers innately understand and achieve this, others may benefit from a bit of help and direction. Luckily when it comes to design, visual merchandising, display services, seminars, workshops and the option for a 48-hour store makeover, Lyn Falk and her talented Retailworks' staff stand ever ready to share their expertise for increasing traffic, sales and profits for your store!

Window displays for Anthropologie are often created by the students at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design. This display features an attention getting mass of paint sticks dipped in paint. Such simplicity! 

STYLE WISE, by Colleen Heather Rogan: Holiday Shopping - Store Ambience and Inspiring Displays are a Must!

‘Tis the season to be jolly and for most of us, searching out gifts for family and friends has us popping into more stores than at any other time of the year. Which got me to thinking, what draws us to one store over another? For me, along with value and selection, visual presentation ranks high. After all, if I’m going to run myself ragged during the holiday season, shouldn’t I be able to enjoy some of the experience?

With time to find my sack full of gifts steadily ticking away, the holidays are stressful enough so the last place I want to shop is at a homogenized big box or discount store packed to the gills with tense shoppers. I am so over shops and merchandisers who think it’s all about the ‘get’, forgetting the importance and fun of the frills.  I don’t have the patience to canvas endless aisles, shelves and racks where the chance of finding something special is rather slim. Sure, these stores have their niche to fill, and yes I’ve shopped them, but when it comes to buying things that matter, I feel my money is better spent supporting those independent retailers who’ve put time and effort into thoughtfully presenting a well-edited selection of interesting merchandise that’s both invitingly displayed and easily shopped. 

In this economy, parting with money isn’t easy. Shoppers deserve and appreciate the appeal of say, a bath and body shop that incorporates a relaxing and soothing ambiance, a furnishings store filled with well styled engaging home decor vignettes or a fashion boutique’s spot-on interpretation of current style trends.

Attractive store design and eye catching visual merchandising is much more than window dressing, it’s smart business. Retailers worth their salt understand that one of the best ways to entice shoppers to buy and come back again is to provide them with a complete (and often transcendent) shopping experience.

Luckily when it comes to crossing names off my list, I can count on lots of local stores to deliver plenty of choices in enough new and clever ways to keep shopping interesting.  A few I’ll be heading to this season are Broadway Paper for terrific cards, artful wrapping paper and unusual ribbons; Embelezar, Juxt,Magnolia & Co., The Garden Room, Past Basket, Xenia, and Cranston for a potpourri of out of the ordinary gift items perfect for anyone on my list; Blush Beauty Boutique for a unique selection of quality men and women’s bath and body products and of course, since entertaining is such a staple of the season, George Watts & Sons is a must see for a peek at their always inspiring tabletop displays.

STYLE WISE, By Colleen Heather Rogan: Finding Retailworks and "I LOVE That Display!", Pink Tool Belts, and White Chocolate Cupcakes

Fortunately an education in fine arts, inherited skills of critique and observation and years of working in Manhattan’s fashion and magazine worlds have offered up an opportunity to explore my creative expression while also learning the powerful seduction inherent in all manner of style and design. Indeed, my career path has brought plenty of visual merchandising, photo styling and showroom design experiences as well as years of writing both national and local shopping features. That’s why it just seems to make a certain kind of sense to me that here I am singing the praises of entrepreneur Lyn Falk and her company Retailworks.

I first learned of Lyn’s unique talent as a retail designer when I wrote about Olive a really terrific home and fashion store promoting fine organic living, for my Savvy Shop feature in Milwaukee Magazine. One step inside the well-designed retail space and I felt immediately embraced by its aesthetically soothing palette and overall design. Better yet, the combination of well-displayed merchandise, artful fixtures and intrinsically cohesive layout made the store a breeze to shop.  Learning more about the full scope of creative services Lyn’s company has to offer has made me an even more enthusiastic fan. Frankly, Retailworks is one of the best resources in the city for any store, restaurant, salon or other business seeking expert design consultation, effective branding, professional architectural or interior design services as well as custom fixtures, furnishings and lighting and sales producing window and store displays.  Whatever the need, Lyn and her talented crew can be counted on to achieve it and always with tremendous style. Why they even manage to look stylish doing it! Just take note of the hot pink tool belts (available at Safetygirl.com) that designers Holley and Emily were wearing when I tracked them down at Kesslers Diamonds as they were busy dressing up the store for the holidays as part of Lyn’s, "I Love That Display!" division. Want a hint to how well Retailworks clients are treated? The team showed up with a tray of signature cupcakes custom made by the Milwaukee Cupcake Company to pass around. Yeah that’s right, I said cupcakes. Oh, and if you’re wondering who’s responsible for the cool contemporary overall design this fine jewelry store? Well no surprise, Retailworks, of course.