California Gift Show

I tried to post my progress of visual merchandising for the California Gift Show on Twitter and instagram, but here is a more complete documentation of the exhibit hall via my iPhone camera and its handy filter apps. During the Gift Show, the 2nd floor is full of exhibitor booths featuring all kinds of cool product. If you aren't a retailer who attends the show, many people wonder what the "gift" show is all about. The best way I know how to describe it is anything that doesn't fall into the categories of traditional clothing, food, or furniture, can be found at the gift show. It is where wholesalers bring their new product to show retailers, specifically more boutique type shops.

Beckman's is a handcrafted show that exhibits at the Ca Gift Show. It is for creative and artistic handmade wholesalers looking to connect with retail establishments. The exhibit hall is full of Beckman's participants, and I was given a few of those companies to work with to use their product for my displays in the lobby area. In these photos you can see that I had everything from hand made pottery to dog collars. It was such a fun mix of product!

Not gonna lie, it's a bit of a challenge to design and install a space like this. The ceilings are high and the space between the elevators is pretty wide. The space needed to feel inviting to make people want to get off the elevators, and my own personal requirement was for it to feel fun and cheery. At the same time the space couldn't be too cluttered or crowded because there is a lot of traffic in this space during the show and people need to be able to move around easily and the product  had to be displayed in a way that it wouldn't impede walking paths or get pushed or bumped on to the floor. 

Canopies seem to be my go to for an easy but big impact these days (see post here). Although they take some time to install, it really is a pretty easy project. The canopy was perfect for this particular project because it added a lot of drama to the space without getting in the way. 

Stay tuned for the photos of the displays that I designed and installed on the other floors for the gift show. I was so happy to have my photographer Stacey Sutherland take professional photos for me and I can't wait to share them with you!

featured product // J. Johnson & Co., cdd Silhouettes, Nell & Mary, Hilary Lamon, Jackpots!