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Saturday, January 8, 2011

My First Shopping Window Design Experience and THANK YOU go lightly


Today I took my whole recycled art theme a step further and designed go lightly's shopping windows.
For those of you who don't live in the area (or don't know the store even though you live in the area) - go lightly is located at 4 So. Fullerton Ave., Montclair, NJ. All merchandise is sustainably made with recycled or re-purposed materials, or is from organic, pesticide-free sources, or will help you live with less waste.Go check it out!

So a few days ago I talked to the owner, Jennifer Chaky, and asked her whether I could design her windows. This has been a long dream of mine and I figured why not do it for a friend who has the right shop with the right products (sustainable products are exactly my thing - I don't picture myself doing the window for a butcher, if you know what I mean).

Here's what we came up with (sorry for the reflection in the picture):

For the left side, we used a whole bunch of shoe boxes in different sizes and arranged them in the window. I had this old calendar with modern art prints and glued some of the images on the bigger boxes as a  background. We then filled the boxes with products from the store.

 The right window is totally dedicated to SodaStream - a machine that lets you make your own soda at home.

I painted this picture with acrylic paint, glued it to a lightweight cardboard and we hang it from a rod, centered in the window. I used old plastic take-out containers, pushed a hole so we were able to thread yarn through to hang them from the same rod. I cut out circles in different colors (from paper scraps) and glued them inside and outside the containers.
We then placed sample packs of different flavors for the soda maker inside the round displays.
Under this scenario is a crate, covered with a colorful old tablecloth, with the actual soda maker, some glasses and a plate with more sample flavor packs on it.

I had a lot of fun doing the windows - if you have a chance, swing by, take a look (at the windows, and inside the store as well!) and let me know what you think.
But the best part is that I worked with what I had already, nothing was bought just for this project.
I even made my own glue at home! You can find the recipe on the blog if you're interested.
It's really fun and easy to create something new out of something old - it saves you money and helps the planet.

Get creative and have fun!

P.S. One day after doing the windows I walked by and saw that all the colored paper circles have fallen out of the round containers :-( So I learned that my homemade glue will not work for plastic - only for paper (luckily the shoe boxes held up well...).
My husband was laughing and said "this is how you learn". I suppose that's true, embarrassing as it is.
I will fix the problem within the next few days.

4 comments:

  1. Fantastic window display and congrats. You have given me some new ideas thanks....

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  2. Thank you! Good to know that my ideas are inspiring, that's exactly what I wished for. Always feel free to share your projects with us :-)

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  3. Manuela, I absolutely LOVE your window displays! Even thought it was freezing cold out, I stood and looked at the artistry for a good long while. What a lovely idea. I had already had my interest piqued by the soda machine, and you've made it all that much more alluring! Beautiful work. xo Jen

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