Having traded in Tetbury for almost eight years I have decorated several Christmas windows. The themes have been bold or understated, as we have a fairly small shop window the display has to have pavement power to draw people in to the shop. I rarely use stock/products and rely more on decorative impact. Two of my favourite windows have been a painted black backdrop, black painted twigs decorated with red glittering leaves and exotic red birds of paradise - at night the window was stunning. The second was all white with white suspended twigs, crystal drops and white doves, a base of fake snow and iridescent glitter - it looked magical.
Last year I went totally over the top with a burlesque theme to promote Wolford hosiery. Weeks were spent creating a theatre themed backdrop which consisted of gold glittered columns overlaid with a black flocked baroque design. Behind these were red silk drapes edged using antique gold/red bullion fringe - the finished effect was bold and dramatic. Centre stage was a doe-eyed blonde haired mannequin wearing Wolford stockings and French lace basque. In my naivity I didn’t realise how controversial the display would be. Opinions fell in to two camps - those that understood the tongue-in-cheek humour and sadly those that found it too provocative! We even had people coming in to the shop asking if we were a brothel as it looked like an Amsterdam red light district window - please! A lot of people did like it for it’s originality and a lot of men put the model on their Christmas wish list!
After last years mixed response we decided to play it safe and work with a product based display. Over the summer we collected fir cones which I painted white, twigs which I covered with crystal encrusted garlands and using the trusty glue gun fixed the cones to the branches. The finished result is simple but effective - all prospective customers are now clear about what we are peddling!
Last year I went totally over the top with a burlesque theme to promote Wolford hosiery. Weeks were spent creating a theatre themed backdrop which consisted of gold glittered columns overlaid with a black flocked baroque design. Behind these were red silk drapes edged using antique gold/red bullion fringe - the finished effect was bold and dramatic. Centre stage was a doe-eyed blonde haired mannequin wearing Wolford stockings and French lace basque. In my naivity I didn’t realise how controversial the display would be. Opinions fell in to two camps - those that understood the tongue-in-cheek humour and sadly those that found it too provocative! We even had people coming in to the shop asking if we were a brothel as it looked like an Amsterdam red light district window - please! A lot of people did like it for it’s originality and a lot of men put the model on their Christmas wish list!
After last years mixed response we decided to play it safe and work with a product based display. Over the summer we collected fir cones which I painted white, twigs which I covered with crystal encrusted garlands and using the trusty glue gun fixed the cones to the branches. The finished result is simple but effective - all prospective customers are now clear about what we are peddling! 
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