Department Store in Tokyo Gives Phrase "Going Green" a New Twist
When Isetan Department store, in Tokyo, went green for their grand reopening, they weren't talking about energy efficient lighting. They hired Makoto Azuma, a botanical artist, to create magnificent greenery displays of museum quality to provide a unique experience for customers.
More than 300 people on Azuma's team hand-folded nearly 20 different varieties of leaves to create giant pillars, walls, and hanging display installations that exceeded expectations, amazing customers with their intricately created designs.
Read more about it in DDI's June e-newsletter. Looking to infuse a little green in your retail or corporate setting? Contact us. We'd love to help "grow" your business.
Speaking of "going green," businesses across the country are taking sustainability to new heights by using vegetation as an energy regulator, air purifier, storm water management
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NeoCon 2013
Retailworks team members recently spent a day in Chicago at NeoCon in the Merchandise Mart (the picture above is a view of Chicago from one of the Mart windows). NeoCon is a yearly tradeshow for the interior design industry, and is always an eye-opening and inspiring trip, full of new products, trends, and familiar faces to catch up with. First, the trends. Two things we saw a lot of are custom printed Read more...
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Retailworks' Service:
Custom Art/Picture Hanging
You give a lot of thought to purchasing artwork & accessories that tell a story about who you are. But does the same attention go into hanging your investments and decorative pieces? Proper placement, height, hardware & lighting all need to be considered when displaying artwork to maximize the visual interest and "wow factor" of your artwork, mirrors and tapestries. We use museum standards to properly hang art at the correct heights for varying media and sizes of art. We analyze the scale of your art, the color scheme of the room, and the overall style of your shop or business for best placement. If you need help selecting pieces, we're happy to do that as well.
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Product Profile:
Interface: Net Effect
Things are going swimmingly at Interface, a company that has seized an opportunity to partner with a company that harvests old fishing nets from the sea and turns them into a floor covering product line called Net Effect. In so doing they accomplish three goals:
 Create an innovative, beautiful product.
Move closer to their goal of Mission Zero, a commitment to have zero negative impact on the environment by 2020.
Benefit poor communities while simultaneously cleaning up the beaches and oceans.
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Win a Free Display Window Plan!
Do you have a window display that is old and stale? Are you running out of ideas to attract attention? Your store window is one of the first things your customers' see - so keeping it fresh is key!
Enter our window display makeover contest for a chance to
receive a sketch or PhotoShopped photo giving you ideas for an attention getting, stop-in-your-tracks display!
Thanks for your submissions so far! There is still time to enter. Send us photos of your display window (up to 10 feet wide). Questions? Please call.
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"Never underestimate the power of a well-designed environment." ~Lyn Falk
Want more? Click here to read archived e-newsletters.
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Design Tip
Slatwall Makeover
Made popular in the late 70's, if you haven't discovered Slatwall yet, you are definitely missing out on a versatile, useful selling tool. If you do have Slatwall, hopefully you've taken advantage of its many uses.
If your Slatwall was installed years ago, and hasn't changed too much, we have some ideas on how you can add new life to this amazing selling tool.
Frame it up! Consider adding a fun frame around it. Customize the look to coordinate with your "brand".
Decorate it! How about adding
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Client Spotlight
We've been working with retail consultant, Margie Johnson, of Shop Talk in Virginia Beach, to develop a gift shop in the Princeton Baptist Medical Center complex in Birmingham, Alabama.
The wee shop is less than 500 square feet, making fitting in everything needed a fun, challenging puzzle. The shop will include apparel, gift items, toys, jewelry, drinks, and snacks. They provided us with a video of the empty space, and all measurements, then we drew the fixture plan,
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Did you Know?
Pedestrians passing a store window really do sneak a peak--even people driving by. (As it turns out, texting isn't the only thing distracting drivers!) Over 55% of shoppers walking by a store window stop and look, and 85% of drivers glance at windows as they drive by. More importantly, over 45% report purchasing items they see displayed in shop windows.
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Erika's Bridal Couture contracted with Retailworks to do a floor plan for their relocation to Appleton from Neenah. A high-end designer couture shop, owner Katie wanted a boutique-like setting for her clients. Erika's Bridal has been offering a top selection of designer gowns and custom made designer dresses for a nation-wide clientele since 1973.
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Action!
 Stay tuned for Retail Rocks!, a short, fun and informative series of video clips featuring local "indies" (independent retailers), soon to be posted on our very own YouTube channel.
We're hitting the streets profiling shop owners to celebrate local retailing. You will meet the hard working owners, gain behind-the-scenes insight, and maybe even learn a few tricks of the trade.
First edition is in the works as we speak. Why are we doing this? Because "Indies Rock!"
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