You’re a visual merchandising veteran who’s now in charge of the operations for Treasure&Bond. What’s been the biggest challenge so far?
Realizing that no matter how much experience you might have, it’s never enough. A store is an organic thing that requires attention on many levels. Attempting to coordinate people, places, product, promotion, process and partnerships can be trying.
How has your background in visual helped you with your new responsibilities of running a store?
You always need to remember that stores are for customers. This is something that visual merchandisers really get by virtue of supporting internal buying efforts alongside outward marketing efforts.
Who is your target audience?
We’re only a few months old, so we’re still learning. Our target should ultimately prove to include a range of customers who may all come to us for different reasons.
Proceeds from this store are donated to charity, so you’ve got to keep costs down and be as creative and scrappy as possible to maximize that effort. Besides repurposing fixtures from Nordstrom remodels, what are some of the budget-saving endeavors you and your team have employed?
Employees do everything from cleaning the entire store and helping customers to creating the visual merchandising. We purchase bags and other packaging off the shelf, so there’s no expense for custom items. And we’re pretty good recyclers. We use cardboard merchandise boxes to make signage, and a furniture shipping cart has been transformed into the biggest table in our store.
How does the New York “I want it now” mindset drive how you set up the store and merchandise product?
This is an all-access city where you can find and buy almost anything. So we try to blur the line between fixture and merchandise. If someone wants to buy a fixture in the store, we will figure out a price or find one for them.
What’s been the best “find” for the store?
Bags by Seventy Eight Percent, designed in Hong Kong. We saw the brand in a Japanese editorial piece, and began the process of trying to find them.
What is your favorite trend in visual merchandising right now?
The juxtaposition of modern and classic heritage things. The notion of a super modern accessory or garment on a traditional wood form is amazing. I’d also have to say the return to realistic mannequins is pretty cool.