Amy Meadows

While most people spend summer thinking about vacations and trips to the beach, Amy Meadows is thinking about snowfalls and winter wonderlands. By July, the visual marketing manager for Marshall Field's and her team have already begun construction on Field's legendary holiday window displays that draw thousands of adults and kids alike to the store each season.

“We begin planning anywhere from one to two years in advance,” says Meadows, who joined the Chicago department store's visual staff in 1983.

Once the windows make their debut in November, in time for Black Friday, the official kickoff to the holiday retail season, Meadows and her team should be ready for a break, right?

“Technically, the holiday season for Marshall Field's visual team ends as the retail pace picks up,” she says. “But once all of our elements are up and running, we begin planning for the next year.”

With more than 20 years of experience crafting award-winning holiday windows, Meadows has some insight into why store windows are the key to the soul of retail. “It's an opportunity to continually entertain and excite our guests,” she says.

Meadows will discuss the work involved to bring these holiday displays to life in, “Happy Holidays! How Marshall Field's Does It,” at this year's VM+SD International Retail Design Conference (IRDC), held September 21-23 at the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago. (For more information, log on to www.irdconline.com)

What drew you to a career in visual at Marshall Field's?

The opportunity to be a creative professional within a retail organization.

What inspires Field's when creating a window display?

We find inspiration in anything from our corporate creative direction to an innovative hotel lobby to a new children's book. Frequent travel is also an invaluable part of the creative process for our visual team.

How does Field's deliver the unexpected year after year while staying true to a century's worth of tradition?

Our inspiration for the unexpected originates from our legendary State Street store in Chicago, which sets the bar as one of the most exciting destinations in retail. We're continually looking for ways to update and reinvent while maintaining the core values of the tradition.

How do you measure the return on investment in holiday windows?

We're delighted by the number of smiling faces viewing our holiday windows every day and hearing the many stories about how kids used to come with their grandparents and now they're bringing their own kids.

In today's retail market, what is the historical significance of a store like Marshall Field's?

Marshall Field's has a rich legacy of traditions, community service and innovation in the retail industry that's without peer. We were the first retailer to institute innovative and lavish store displays and windows, and our full-service department stores have a 150-year legacy of fashion leadership and retail excellence.

Why is it exciting that the International Retail Design Conference (IRDC) is coming to Chicago?

Chicago has so much to offer in the way of retail, art and design.

What's your favorite part of Chicago?

Marshall Field's, of course!