VMSD magazine is proud to have been a media sponsor of the "It's a Wonderful Window Contest," held in downtown Worthington, Ohio, and organized by the Old Worthington Partnership. Revamped by Faith Bartrug of CallisonRTKL, she engaged students from Columbus-based The Ohio State University (interior design and fashion retail studies students) to craft the windows. You can read more about the experience in Bartrug’s recent blog.
Under the theme "Share the Love," the project's opening kick-off party, held Nov. 7, 2018, in Worthington showcased the student's finished displays. Unlike past years, each window featured a product from a neighboring store in order to "'give space' and 'share' with another retailer," Bartrug explains.
She says: "I asked The Ohio State University’s interior design and fashion and retail studies students to be the visual merchandisers, knowing that I would be leading them into eye-opening new challenges and giving them an opportunity to share their talents publicly. They were all millennials, and I knew what they expected of brands: to show purpose, connect with customers, gain customer loyalty and 'do good.' I wanted the students to show how retailers can meet their generation’s expectations, even if it starts small, with window displays sharing the spotlight. I wanted to challenge the students to cross-merchandise retailers, showing how they can all work together and use the holiday season to unite otherwise competitors."
The windows will be on view to the public through Jan. 1, 2019.