May Display

A new month means a new display at the LA Mart. This month's theme: travel, books, & souvenirs. Here are some photos of my goings on this past week, which included a lot of drilling and even more spray adhesive. It took me a while to arrive upon the "travel" bulletin board idea, and until I got to that point I was a little worried about coming up with something creative, beautiful, and do-able. (I can come up with a crazy idea to hang vintage airplanes from the ceiling, but that doesn't mean it's going to be possible to execute.)

Kelli and I with our power tools:

The more I do visual displays, the more I realize what my strengths are and what types of displays, for me, are the most successful. It's definitely the interior designer in me, but the displays that I love the most and that I think send a clear message to onlookers are the ones that incorporate living. I'm not interested in stacking up product on clear acrylic stands at varying levels; to me that is more about achieving balance and a successful composition rather than also creating something interesting that people can relate to or at least want to relate to.

Work in progress:

Product from the showrooms gathered for the display:

Although I enjoyed my spring display, I feel like this month's display was more successful in creating a sense of living. As I was selecting product and putting together the bulletin board, I was telling a story in my head of someone who lived a fascinating life of culture, music, history, and of course, travel. I wanted the display to be a snapshot of this person's interesting life.

Finished display, back:

Like my interiors that I design for clients, I want my visual displays to feel collected, layered, and interesting. If it's too matchy, too cutesy, or too trendy, I tend to shy away.

Finished display, front:

Perhaps the most monumental feat of this months display was that I got home at 11:00 pm last night. That's quite the change from my normal 2-3 am arrival time on installation day.

Thank you dad and Kelli for helping me! As always, I couldn't have done it without you. I think it's about time to hire and intern...

Here's to wishing everyone a happy and creative May.