Harry Potter Window

With Yesterday (Monday 26th June ) being the 20th anniversary of the first Harry Potter book being released, It meant that a  full on window was defiantly needed.

Spent a little time painting card with yellow, orange and brown paint, then I used 3 wooden keys as templates to draw round, and then cut out the keys. Rather then cut out the centre of the key, which would make the card less sturdy, I coloured it in with a sharpie. (no sorry Andrea Coloured them in.)

Creating the wings out of A4 white paper then drawing on some pattens to make them look a little more like dragonfly wings, these were then stapled to the stem of the key.

Each Flying Key is hung with cotton which is stuck with clear tape to the window frame.

Found out to day that the trays that we use on the gondolas fit perfectly on the grid unit in the window, witch is perfect as we can create levels and more creative displays. 

The past displays that we have had in this window the adult mannequin seemed to always ended up on the right with the child or a display on the left.

The movement of people past the shop mainly goes form the right to the left meaning that the first thing they see is the adult. if that dose not catch their attention  being it is something that they don't like or is bland, or badly displayed, the rest of the window display is lost to them (and potential customers).

placing the child to the right allows passers by to see the whole display leading them to the door (and hopefully to potential customers and sales).

See more of Escapade Windows I have created HERE

Card being prepped for making keys. Looks like a piece of my abstract art.

BHS Needed A Hero...

This is not my normal sought of post but is is something close to my heart.

With the closer of BHS stores last years left 1000s for staff looking for new jobs. As well as a community of fund raisers divided. BHS store teams over the years raising £1000s for charities such as NSPCC, Heart Foundation and others. It gave a real sense of achievement if we could beat our target (and other stores ) with the amount raised.

So through the amazing with the amazing Admins of the face book page. TeamBHS. which was set up during store closers for staff and the public to see the BHS Family’s of each store, the BHS Teams are at it again raising money this time raising money for Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital in London.

Their taget is £2000 and I know that they would love your support. to show that their (and my) time there still stands for fun (raising) times. 

BHS always got behind raising money for charity in store, but we couldn’t do it without our customers so if you are reading this and would like to help us raise more money for a very important charity ~ please share, like, and spread the word. £50 could pay for a parent to stay overnight in a family accommodation unit while their child is at Hospital (that is 5 parents so far we could of helped!!)

Please visit: JustGiving.com/fundraising/TEAMBHSdonate

You can donate via text also ~ text TBHS95 followed by your donation amount to 70070 

From #TeamBHS Thank you. xx

Proud To Be BHS

Before And After: Wall Merchandising.

 The above photo is of the accessory and hat wall on the mezzanine, before a re-merch'.

and the below photo is of after. 

Moving the self half way up the wall serves two purposes. The first is that the merchandise is now at eye hight for costumers to see rather then being hidden at the bottom, where they have been hidden. 

Placing the large witches hats at the top makes better use of the high wall. Rather then merchandising the smaller items at the top where costumers are unable to reach and see properly.

The second purpose is that the slat wall is broken at this point meaning that we can not put arms at this level without damaging the above slat and stock fulling off the arms, making the best of broken fixtures.

On high walls like this rather then merchandising small items at the top and larger at the bottom, try merchandising large items at the to smaller in the middle and large/medium at the bottom.

Halloween Window

Gone a little simple this year with this Halloween window at Escapade Fancy Dress, slightly child like with pumpkins and ghouls.

I am liking how the cauldron tuned out.

Vm_101 Blog post.

BHS Southend-on-Sea, (Store 057)

On the 3rd of August 2016. the Southend British Home Stores closed its doors for the final time after serving the Southend residents and surround areas for over 47 years. (Since 1969)

The day after the staff went in to dismantle, pack Clean and empty the 21,640 sq ft store. (Thats just the 2 sales floors thats not including walk ways, the restaurant, stock room and staff areas).

See the  photos that friends, now former staff posted on face book of the empty sales floors was a little sad. Its easy to forget how big the place is.

An empty first floor now closed too the public (Photos form Alison B)

Before closure 

Tammy 2008

The Ground floor after the staff have finished their final shift. (Photos from Carol B)

The Ground floor (photos From Lucy Johnson)

Before closure

Christmas 2007

Then days after, A-boreds with messages and mannequins apeared at the from of the shop. it had appeared that squatters had moved in.

Their reason was to rase awareness of lack of housing in the area. In a video posted on the BBC Facebook page apparently the "doors were left open"facebook.com/BBCLondon/Squatters-in-BHS-southend, and them riding around the sales floor on bikes. As well as posting a legal warning in the shop window

On August 22nd they were evicted from the building after a two and a half week stay. I did find videos on Youtube posted by the gentlemen whom were squatting in the building, of them camed out in the old staff area, and playing 'blowing' with an office chair and a mannequin (which was no older then year and a half).

Other Articles:
SouthendStandard - British Home sweet home? Squatters occupy empty BHS shop just days after department store closes down in Southend.
BBC News UK - Southend BHS squatters 'highlight the lack of housing'

Evening Echo (Basildon, Canvey and Southend) - Squatters evicted from former BHS store after three week stay.

The first 20 stores closed in July of this year, with the last to close at the end of August putting 11,000 people in need of a job.

A Facebook facebook.com/TeamBHSpage page was set up by staff to promote the idea that BHS might be saved, but then became a place of encouragement and positivity as the first stores for closure were announced.

All stores began the process of selling fixtures, mannequins  office desks, It was like see HMV store closures all over again. Some sold them in store and others like Surrey Quays advertised on Web Sights (Postadsuk.com).

(source of the below four photos from Postadsuk.com)

Below: Cake Stand fixtuers used manly at Christmas and on the home departments (manly for the non re-fit stores, those with a low grade made do with what they had)  

Below: In the centre is one of the non re-fit store gondola. On either side home and fashion Accessorise fixtures, metal frame that fits glass shelfs.

Below:  Centre, home and fashion Accessorise fixtures. On the right you see Lingerie fixtures and right Fashion hanging rails.

With the final stores just waiting to close, the web sight paused and a planed new sight waiting to be launched in the Autumn. Its now the waiting game for companies future, weather it will become an internet only store. and on the economy (and the buys to improver the products) and weather it will be able to stay up with the times.

If any one has pictures of BHS store photos before and after the store has closed and want to shear, please feel free to add them in the comments, or you can shear them on my Facebook page facebook.com/visualmerchandising101 or in my Facebook group FaceBook.com/VisualMerchandising101Group

Links to Images of BHS Southend and Lakeside flag ship store:

BHS Fashions 

BHS Tammy

BHS Children's wear

BHS Back To School

BHS Christmas Shop. Lakeside and Southend.

BHS Lakeside.

VM Blog.

Some random but needed things that I have as part of my VM tool box all of which is for window changes. It can get hot in the summer so make up wipes and baby wipes are refreshing, and sun cream is a must. And furniture polish, I find this so much better then using window cleaner, less smears, smells better and I find gives a better result.😎