Marshall Field's was looking for an innovative way to break up the space in its women's shoes area.
“We wanted something not only visually exciting but also practical,” says Debbie Harms, manager of visual marketing for the Minneapolis-based department store chain, “and I've always found glass to be interesting and surprising. It plays well with the lights. And shoppers respond to it – they tend to go up and want to touch it. It can be very tactile.”
Plus, Harms notes, glass is a consistent theme in the chain's Chicago flagship store, where a large Tiffany dome spread-eagles the main atrium.
So her solution was a wall of colored glass discs from Joel Berman Glass Studios (Vancouver). The large discs – in light blue, lime green and bright orange – sit in a variety of geometric metal frames placed around the store as department separators.
“We chose the colors for their youthful look,” Harms says. “They were also appropriate for the spring and summer merchandising campaign.
“Each translucent cast glass disc is textured on one side and painted on the smooth side. “The paint can match any one of 1000 Pantone colors,” says Emmanuelle Roux, Joel Berman's marketing manager. “As the display changes, the discs can be removed and either the color can be peeled off or the disc can be replaced.”
Field's repeated the frames, in smaller variations, against the perimeter walls as backdrops to mannequin groupings. And they also combined the discs with shoe risers along the back walls of the department.
“It's a cohesive package,” says Harms.
Client Team: Marshall Field's department store division of Target Corp., Minneapolis – Jamie Becker, corporate director, visual marketing; Debbie Harms, manager, visual merchandising
Suppliers: Joel Berman Glass Studios, Vancouver (glass discs and frame)
Photo courtesy of Joel Berman Glass Studios, Vancouver