Holy Cow…how is it almost September? I owe you all an apology! This was meant to be a monthly blog and true to form, I fell off the wagon. Show seasons are challenging and I find myself at the end of the day just wanting to unplug. I’m happily home and done with travel for now. It all starts over again with the Bristol Farms holiday installs on October 21st. This is the official kick-off to the holidays for me. How do I get inspired to install holiday decor in October? I start listening to Christmas carols in late September…yes, late September. I am a Christmas baby and it truly is my favorite time of year. That being said, I am not allowed to play them in the car or house if Dave is home. That’s his only stipulation so I have promised. I have to laugh because I have been at home, happily listening to them when I hear Dave drive up and I find myself leaping up and running to the speaker to turn it off.
A promise is a promise after all.
If you follow me on IG, you can follow along on our journey through California while we hit all 14 locations. Until then, I will be here, in Oregon, taking long walks by farms and vineyards with my girls Matilda and Mouse, saying hello to the cows that I pass.
No Plastic Risers
This phrase will no doubt be on my gravestone. It has been ingrained in my head and will live there forever. It also completely changed the way I merchandise.
You see, at Anthropologie, standards, such as no plastic risers, are part of the everyday conversation. You were also constantly thinking about the storytelling aspect of merchandising. When creating vignettes, we were taught to ask questions like:
“Who lives here?”
“Is her home layered or is it minimalist?”
“Does she collect anything?”
“Is her wardrobe bright and fun or is it made up of neutrals?”
All of these questions not only set the tone of the vignette but are the basis of what product assortment is included in the vignette.
Merchandising is storytelling, risers not only create height but also help continue to tell the story.
You can create height with so much more than a clear plastic riser. Think about each display or vignette as a story. What story are you telling?
Is it a tabletop or kitchen display?
Old cookbooks or cookbooks that you have not been able to sell, stacked up with glassware on them.
Canned goods with the labels torn off create amazing risers for food-scented candles. Loaves of bread dry out beautifully and create whimsical risers for items like the Jelly Cat croissant.
Even paper egg cartons can be used as risers for something light.
Is it a masculine vignette like a desk or a men’s section?
Old books from the Salvation Army or the Goodwill store are great options.
Pro Tip: color them out by the book spines and take off the cover. Even better, remove the hard cover altogether for a vintage look.
4x4’s cut in different sizes and sanded down also make great risers as do pieces of stair tread cut in larger pieces and stacked on top of each other.
Is it a garden or spring vignette?
Pavers and bricks make easy risers, as well as, terracotta pots flipped upside down. My other favorite is galvanized buckets both as binning as well as flipped upside down as larger risers.
Is it a holiday vignette?
Vintage boxes from ornaments or simple boxes wrapped with coordinating paper and pretty ribbon work amazingly.
So many inexpensive items make great risers.
My request to you is to think about the story you are telling and think outside the box. Go into stores like Home Depot and walk the aisles. Take a stroll through a junk shop or a thrift shop, comb the home decor isles and book isles. Look with an open mind and open eyes. I think you will be surprised how many alternatives you can come up with for those hideous little plastic risers.
And, most of all, have fun with it, get caught up in the story, it’s supposed to be whimsical so don’t overthink it.
I’d love to see photos! Please post photos on your social media, tag me, and use the hashtag #noplasticrisers.
Cheers,
Xoxo, Michelle
