Wednesday, February 26, 2014

SPRING Booth Transition - Part 2

After completing the steps in Part 1, your booth should be clean and clear of old and tired inventory.  Now it's time to figure out how to work in your new spring things in creative combinations with what you already have.  You may be tempted to put each new thing into any available spot.  When you are very short on time, that will have to do, but for a good booth transition, it's not the best idea.

The items already in your booth have not sold.  If they are nice and priced fine, yet they've been in your booth for a month or more, maybe they need to be displayed differently.  As I said before, these steps can pay off in a wave of sales.

Are you ready?  In case you still aren't motivated, I've sprinkled in some fun spring display inspiration photos.  That ought to get you in the mood!




UNPACK  THE NEW
Unpack the new items you brought to add to your booth.  Don't start shoving things in.  You need everything out where you can see it.  Yep.  All of it.  You're going to make a mess.  Get over it.


I hope you brought plenty of spring goodies!


Source


Your mall probably has carts you can use for this step, but if not, you may want to bring a card table (or 2) from home.  You could also use a folding shelf/bakers rack.  (Tip: Those are good to keep tucked in your booth in case something big sells and you need a fast spot to put the smalls that were on it.)   No cart, card table or shelf?  You can also make do with the floor and the boxes you brought things in.  Think of all the bending and squatting as your gym workout for the day.

Source


SORT
Look over the items you unpacked and the items in your booth.  Look for ways to group them WITH  items already in your booth.  Begin making piles.

Source


The first priority when sorting is to look for possible groups of smalls to go with furniture in your booth.  If you have a desk, look for all of the possible items that would look good on a desk.  There are different ways to sort.  Try not to group the same way all the time.   Get creative.  Have fun.  If you put a group together and don't like it, it's very easy to switch.

  •  You may notice a common use.  Perhaps you have a number of kitchen items (or desk items or vanity items or...).  Look at the big pieces you have in your booth.  Do you have a desk?  Then look at all your smalls and see if there are things that would work there.
  • You may notice a common theme.  Perhaps you have a number of items that are beachy (or travel related or upcoming holiday items, or....).
  • You may notice you have a collection.  Oh my goodness.  I didn't realize I had so many flower frogs.  What to do?  Make a statement by putting them all together.  
  • You may notice you have a number of things in the same color family.  They may be spring colors.  They may be a fresh, unexpected color that you realize you have a lot of.  Put those together.  See more about color grouping here.
  • You may notice you have a number of items that are made of the same material (metal or wood or fabric or...)  
It's likely that you will create a group sorted by more than one trait.  For instance, you may create a grouping for your desk that consists not only of a few desk accessories, but also a good bit of green and wood items.

Uploaded Straight to this Pinterest Board


There are many ways to group.    Sometimes the grouping isn't even logical - it's just a group of things that look nice together.  Sometimes a grouping will put things together that seem an unlikely mix.  I LOVE the grouping in the inspiration photo below.  It's rather genius, if you ask me, but then I've always had a soft spot for colorful, bohemian looks.  Look at that globe.  Few people would think to put it in the same group with the colorful floral tin that is right beside it in this photo.  Yet when you put all of the items together, it works beautifully.  The lesson here?  As you sort, keep an open mind, forget hard and fast "rules", and don't be afraid to play around.

Source


If this post inspired you to create a fun display grouping, I'd love for you to post it on the VSO Facebook page!  It doesn't have to be perfect.  We are all friends here!


Source


Stay tuned - the next post will be ... SPRING Booth Transition - Part 3

There will be plenty of inspiration photos there, too! :-D