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Discover Mid-America — January 2006

Presentation is everything

Don't you just hate going into a shop where you can't move for the mess? Aisles are blocked so browsers have to snake their way through a maze. They can't get comfortably close to the smalls because furniture and other large objects block access.

Such jumble is the unavoidable result of poor self-vetting in the trade. Instead of rotating merchandise, many dealers just add to it. I suspect some dealers prefer a crowded sales space in the misguided belief that it spares them the burden of frequent restocking.

There will always be rummagers: customers who actually enjoy having to shift and haul their way through a space for the privilege of finding a single treasure. But they will always be in the minority. Most shoppers don't enjoy clutter, much of it stacked so precariously that it looks as if, did one so much as breathe on it, it would all come crashing down. Fortunately, there is a better way to display, and the basic design principles apply whether you're arranging a locked case or an entire room.

Evaluate the potential of the space

Even the best of display spaces makes a chaotic visual impact if there is no unifying principle for arranging the items in the space. Step back and really look at your display area(s). How might it look if you placed complementary or related items together in the display space in a way they might actually appear in a customer's home.

Decide in advance on your organizing principle(s): shape, texture, size, color and time period are all potential categories. Consider the display potential in contrasting shapes, textures and colors.

For example, imagine the stunning impact of interspersing ruby glass or cobalt blue glass with the stark white of milk glass. For furniture items, consider the opportunity to display "groupings" rather than just dropping furniture any old where in the space. What design potential do your display space and your merchandise offer when you stand back and really look at them?

If all your smalls are displayed on one level, consider creating variable levels using the Plexiglas display risers they make nowadays. Or you can use those little shelving units, or even spice racks, to display smalls. Some of these display shelves are corner units that would allow you to better exploit booth or room corners as display space.

Arrange a time to rearrange

Having considered in advance how you might optimize your display space, arrange a time to clear and clean the booth. Consideration for others is vital in making these arrangements. Choose a time that interferes least with other dealers or with shop traffic.

If you're displaying in a multi-dealer shop or other rented space, don't just show up on the doorstep for this task; arrange it with the owner for a time that's mutually convenient. If the owner knows what you're trying to do, chances are he or she will be only too happy to accommodate you.

Only 4" tall, this Wedgwood vase in cobalt blue jasper with classical cherub and grapevine motifs has base marks that date it to 1911. Older Wedgwood is getting harder to find, and, were this yours to sell, it would be a shame to position it hidden behind taller and perhaps less desirable items. (photo by the author from her own collection.)

Clear and clean

Go to your display space, armed with storage boxes, a broom, a whisk brush, a dust cloth, and maybe even a bit of water or generic cleaning fluid in a spray bottle. Take out of the display space anything that's been sitting there too long and pack it up to take away. If it's been there for three months with nary a nibble, it's probably been there plenty long enough.

Clean the area thoroughly; get everything out of it, if you can, so that you have a tabla rasa to work with in your "new" display space. If you're going to attempt this with a large single-owner shop, you'll probably have to do it a section at a time.

Position furniture and any display units for smalls

Arrange shelving units you might want to use for display and anchor them securely to the walls of the display area. Again, you should have considered in advance how you’d want to position these. If you're using several wall shelving units, don't position them all on the same level. Elevate some, lower others, but don't place them so high that customers have to crane to see what's on them nor so low that merchandise on the flat will block the lower shelves. And, above all, don't place them too close together!

If you have furniture for display, save and put aside a few pieces of china or other accent items that you can position on table-tops or cupboard shelves.

Arrange the display with a customer's eye

Begin to carefully arrange smaller merchandise in the display space in a manner consistent with your plan. Don't be surprised if, in the process of arranging the space, you discover some other design principle that will work better, and don't be afraid to alter the strategy as you work; the important thing is to have a design, to arrange items purposefully rather than randomly.

Large yellow ware bowls look great atop this large wooden cabinet of light but rich patina. The presentation doesn't do much for that old ice cream advertising box, though, partially hidden within one of the bowls and too high up to be easily read (photo by the author).

The empty space you leave around an item is critical in optimal presentation. When items are displayed too closely together, the eye doesn’t see them as individual items. We’re not talking a lot of extra space here — just enough so that things don't look crowded and so that an inquisitive customer doesn't have to risk breaking twelve items to examine one.

Leave the aisles open for customers to pass. Nothing should be sticking out into the traffic-way to snag the unwary foot.

If your inventory is saleable at all, a presentation that actually respects space and the things that occupy it should result in increased sales. That may mean you'll have to restock your booth more often. But a space that actually attracts the eye and sells what it displays seems preferable to a willy-nilly space you seldom have to restock because nobody ever stops to shop it.

Peggy Whiteneck is a writer and collector living in East Randolph, VT. If you would like to suggest a topic she can address in her column, email her at allwrite@sover.net.

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