Is it about attracting your attention? Is it about becoming a talking point? Is it about entertaining?
Window dressing is all of these, but it’s mainly about creating an emotional reaction. If we get you to feel something when you walk by you’re going to remember us. We want you to remember how we made you feel - excited, impressed, entertained, amazed, amused? And we want that to follow through into the studio; for our frames to elicit a reaction and to give you the feels!
Our window is a gallery space, and our frames are the art works. But even better, you can get to own a piece of eyewear art you can hang on your face. How fabulous is that!
I so enjoy designing our window displays, and Valentines is a particular favourite, but not because I’m an incurable romantic. When the first Valentines was upon us I knew I definitely did NOT want to stuff the window with hearts. Is that a product of being a fifty something with a cynical view of the annual commercialised love fest? Probably! So I set out to design a subverted representation of Valentines.
To the casual passerby, casting a cursory glance our way, we totally conform to the love palette of red and black, but into that over the past three years, I have added Banksy, black roses and anatomical hearts. My first valentines window, and the one that set me on the path of an alternative Feb 14th window, was a recreation of Banksy’s iconic “Love is in the Bin” – the brilliant art crime of the century – the shredded “Love is in the air” art event.
This off kilter theme of Valentines carried through to the next year – this time with “Love is a Losing Game”. My daughter, Edie, designed a huge graffiti style image of Amy Winehouse with the line from her tragic song scrawled across it. Around this backdrop I hung oversized playing cards, both inside and outside the studio – the hearts suit of course.
Last year I decided we probably did need to introduce a few hearts, to let everyone know I’m not totally heartless, but I did turn it a little on its head, and in the spirit of subverting the theme of love, I searched the internet for anatomically accurate hearts. I found beautiful, but totally tasteless gold vase hearts complete with veins and arteries into which I surgically inserted black roses. But to satisfy the love purists I fashioned conventional hearts, but out of grey chicken wire for a cold barbed effect. Job done!
So, now we’re the other side of the Valentines weekend, I need to get thinking about next year’s – perhaps I’ll go all out full-fat technicolour love, but in an ironic way of course!
PS. There is actually a lot of love in our studio – we love our eyewear styling appointments and we love helping our lovely clients find glasses they will love wearing!