JUNE 15 SUR LA TABLE
“Sur La Table” many of us take for granted. Translation? On the table . What is being displayed at the time of our viewing? Our keys thrown down on a side table near a foyer entry alongside our smart phones? Or perhaps our keys and smart phones placed in a vintage tray next to a hand blown vase with a handpicked stem of deep saturated variegated blue bloom of hydrangea collected on an afternoon walk. Not of importance really? Keys are keys and a place for them does not matter? Well think again. What is on a table can speak volumes and the way we display even the smallest of items may boost sales exponentially or give attention to an otherwise forgotten end of hallway.
Layered or purposefully void of objects... in the design and display forum, the contemplation is always deliberate.
One of my first jobs in high school was working for Habitat…before the Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel was Habitat. A mecca of modernism before modernism was even coined. A UK sprung store that celebrated the simplest can opener or coffee cup in an array of new vibrant colors. Furnishings that were not only practical in design and clean in line but in my world Marimekko inspired come to life. I adored Marimekko as a small child and collected their vibrant graphic textiles. Bold graphics set against non distracting background hues. Sir Terance Conran was Marimekko in real life… 3-D to me. The store, launched in the 60s, when I worked at now "Conran's", religiously played Sade in the 80s, in the background, while shoppers contemplated purchases over the seductive siren sound of saxophones and the novel ergonomics and design statement the can opener in their hand offered them. Bringing status in ownership of a can opener for the first time.
What was most fascinating to me as a young employee, who was fully committed to all things design at an early age, was a company policy to subtly display items in “groups of three” based on the Rule of Three. I complied with every display I unboxed and erected upon slabs of Plexiglas, in every thickness imaginable, always balanced on top of trestle legs. Conran felt that items displayed in threes pushed the impulse to purchase while strengthening the connection to appreciate the line, form and volume of his design offerings. To this day, I still see the "rule of three" incorporated in store displays and on table tops and it still works successfully. Yet the customer may never think to question why three teapots in red aligned near three decorative pillows verses four? Most of my blog entries discuss interiors and architecture, however at the essence of any design is the display of objects and how they relate to one another. A small cluster of items presented on a table for us to ponder, gaze at or purchase without a word being said all the while really viewing "culture", design at its best and a snap shot of life on the side to go with it.
( Below, Conran as a young man, The Conran Design Group demonstrated the best of design in Britain, specializing in interiors, hotel and restaurant design, graphics, products and home ware.
To learn more: http://www.dexigner.com/news/23766
)
Layered or purposefully void of objects... in the design and display forum, the contemplation is always deliberate.
One of my first jobs in high school was working for Habitat…before the Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel was Habitat. A mecca of modernism before modernism was even coined. A UK sprung store that celebrated the simplest can opener or coffee cup in an array of new vibrant colors. Furnishings that were not only practical in design and clean in line but in my world Marimekko inspired come to life. I adored Marimekko as a small child and collected their vibrant graphic textiles. Bold graphics set against non distracting background hues. Sir Terance Conran was Marimekko in real life… 3-D to me. The store, launched in the 60s, when I worked at now "Conran's", religiously played Sade in the 80s, in the background, while shoppers contemplated purchases over the seductive siren sound of saxophones and the novel ergonomics and design statement the can opener in their hand offered them. Bringing status in ownership of a can opener for the first time.
What was most fascinating to me as a young employee, who was fully committed to all things design at an early age, was a company policy to subtly display items in “groups of three” based on the Rule of Three. I complied with every display I unboxed and erected upon slabs of Plexiglas, in every thickness imaginable, always balanced on top of trestle legs. Conran felt that items displayed in threes pushed the impulse to purchase while strengthening the connection to appreciate the line, form and volume of his design offerings. To this day, I still see the "rule of three" incorporated in store displays and on table tops and it still works successfully. Yet the customer may never think to question why three teapots in red aligned near three decorative pillows verses four? Most of my blog entries discuss interiors and architecture, however at the essence of any design is the display of objects and how they relate to one another. A small cluster of items presented on a table for us to ponder, gaze at or purchase without a word being said all the while really viewing "culture", design at its best and a snap shot of life on the side to go with it.
( Below, Conran as a young man, The Conran Design Group demonstrated the best of design in Britain, specializing in interiors, hotel and restaurant design, graphics, products and home ware.
To learn more: http://www.dexigner.com/news/23766
)
Below is an image I took only a few weeks ago at Crate & Barrel, note the (3) rolling pins.
The rule of three still applies today in France.
Minimalist table displays entice the shopper... restraint is the subtle message along with the rarity of each masterpiece.
http://www.dezeen.com/2014/12/01/a-la-folie-atelier-moderno-anne-sophie-goneau-montreal-patisserie/
Minimalist table displays entice the shopper... restraint is the subtle message along with the rarity of each masterpiece.
http://www.dezeen.com/2014/12/01/a-la-folie-atelier-moderno-anne-sophie-goneau-montreal-patisserie/
Designers over the past years have introduced more randomness of items or so it would seem.
Here you still find three stacked variations of white dinnerware and a set of (3) napkins with matching cutlery.
Yet overall, the tableaux display is far more relaxed but just as stunning to take it in.
Image taken at Crate & Barrel.
Here you still find three stacked variations of white dinnerware and a set of (3) napkins with matching cutlery.
Yet overall, the tableaux display is far more relaxed but just as stunning to take it in.
Image taken at Crate & Barrel.
The table display in this instance is the entire setting. The outside randomly placed chairs while serve a purpose to hold the door open, entice the shopper to be part of the experience and "entrez vous".
http://hipparis.com/category/fashion-shopping/
http://hipparis.com/category/fashion-shopping/
When it comes to a boutique apparel offering, less is always more...it allows breath-ability in the line displayed and allows the customer to appreciate the hand sewn details in each product.
http://hipparis.com/2015/02/23/heimat-chef-pierre-jancous-new-paris-restaurant/
http://hipparis.com/2015/02/23/heimat-chef-pierre-jancous-new-paris-restaurant/
"French designer Sasufi used reclaimed wooden doors to recreate the decorative paneling of nineteenth century French interiors on the walls of this patisserie on the outskirts of Melbourne."
The display on the table is purposefully minimal as is the white background so that one's eye is drawn to the store's colorful offerings on the wall adjacent.
http://www.dezeen.com/2014/12/01/a-la-folie-atelier-moderno-anne-sophie-goneau-montreal-patisserie/
The display on the table is purposefully minimal as is the white background so that one's eye is drawn to the store's colorful offerings on the wall adjacent.
http://www.dezeen.com/2014/12/01/a-la-folie-atelier-moderno-anne-sophie-goneau-montreal-patisserie/
Back in the states, a collage of color in subtle tones. While the table top and lower shelving is over flowing with product, the organic quality of the plants beckon the shopper to admire the tableaux and built-in wares and the effort to put together such a breathtaking ensemble of earthly delights.
Better than a candy shoppe without the calories.
http://beautifulblooms.com/2010/09/fall-2010-at-the-beautiful-blooms-boutique/
Better than a candy shoppe without the calories.
http://beautifulblooms.com/2010/09/fall-2010-at-the-beautiful-blooms-boutique/
However, if you fancy a fanciful fork of cuisine, then the tabletop display (below) of organized offerings may be your savory answer.
Displays indoor and out comprised of the basic materials can compliment the environment allowing the glassware to shine more especially in all its vintage form.
Below, a "double-height patisserie in Shenzhen, China, by Shanghai studio LineHouse. The gridded cage structure is also used as shelving for plants and glass storage containers for sweets and biscuits." Not your everyday pastry shop, the custom display mill-work is extraordinary in simplicity but the enhanced to a new beauty with the juxtapositioned metal work that surrounds.
http://www.dezeen.com/2014/06/06/brass-cage-like-structure-inserted-into-shenzhen-patisserie-by-linehouse/
http://www.dezeen.com/2014/06/06/brass-cage-like-structure-inserted-into-shenzhen-patisserie-by-linehouse/
In rare instances, no table is needed at all. The artful stacking of the French baguettes (below) is architecturally enticing.
Sometimes a display can be within a display, a mini ensemble of goodness to gaze at or all on a tabletop as if out of a Renaissance painting.
http://www.100layercake.com/blog/2010/01/18/cheese-table-by-sunday-suppers/
http://www.100layercake.com/blog/2010/01/18/cheese-table-by-sunday-suppers/
No matter how small a display, a plate, a glass, a menu du jour propped against fresh flowers...
It's in the details and if you take a moment to take it all in you may may notice the details and those that comprised the setting will appreciate your appreciation of their effort.
It's in the details and if you take a moment to take it all in you may may notice the details and those that comprised the setting will appreciate your appreciation of their effort.