I worked on Sunday and it was slow, and I made the mistake of texting Elizabeth to ask if she had a project for the three of us at work. She did. It was a nightmare. She said very casually, “Why not re-organize the Gift and Fun cases?” We all blanched. We wrongly, perhaps, think of those cases and anything to do with sidelines, as Elizabeth’s bailiwick. She has expressed the wish that others would help out here. The problem is she just does them so well that we all marvel at how she does it.
I have no skill for display. I often joke that if it weren’t for Elizabeth, the store would still have the display we opened with 16 years ago.
What the finished case looks like. Stay tuned for how Elizabeth makes it amazing.
Instead of balking at the suggestion, PJ, David, and I set about to try to make at least one case better. We stood in front of the case for several long minutes before PJ said she was scared of the sidelines. I concurred, but tried to keep up a good front.
Sidelines are great. They sell well, but only they’re displayed the right way. A store can have the best sidelines around, and if no one can see them properly, they just won’t sell. Most people don’t come in with the idea of buying a sideline. They come in wanting a book, see a toy, card or game, and then leave with a book and a game. Sidelines need to be seen, and often, played with, so there needs to be room for them. I stand in front of the sideline case and I all see are things that need to be shelved according to height requirements. Elizabeth sees that same case and in three hours, it’s a thing of beauty that’s earning far more than it did yesterday.
We moved a few things around until PJ had the organizational brainstorm of grouping the shelves by category. Once we hit upon that and could see how it could work, we were on fire. We emptied two shelves, something I would never do because of the mess, and regrouped. It was working. I would have never done it that way, but PJ was right. The top shelf was done and I texted a picture of it to Elizabeth. We got an enthusiastic YES to our question of do you like it? Then we changed two things and sent a new text. She hated it. It went like this for a while before everyone was happy with the top shelf.
The others are mostly done, but not signed off on. David has just started working for us and he said, “Well, we did it.”
PJ and I smiled at each other because we both knew full well that whole case would be redone by Elizabeth and it would be a marvel.
Josie, how about showing us a photo of the newly arranged case?
It’s SO HARD, when there’s barely enough room for the books, to shove them aside and make room for the sidelines! But when we do, the whole room is livelier and more appealing. Every so often I visit a bookstore that carries no sidelines, and it feels stiff, almost as though there are Rules that fun stuff is Forbidden.
A good eye for merchandising in limited space is a blessing not to be taken for granted! The well arranged display flirts with every eye.
So, inquiring minds want to know, was the bookshelf changed? If so, can we see the new shelf?
I love seeing how others design their merchandising displays.