The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes
but in having new eyes.
–Marcel Proust
Would your shop benefit from having a fresh set of eyes looking at it? Can you force your eyes into a fresh look, or do you need a trusted friend or retail peer to help you?
What will they see that you don’t? Sounds like a good project for this weekend.
Auntie Kate The Resale Expert 
Lori,
I’m glad I could help 🙂 It only took me 8 years to figure it out, but at least I did… finally 🙂
Sherry
I recently had a feng shui analysis done on my shop and it was really eye opening. Although most people seem to love my shop and are always remarking about how cute it is and that they love the decor, I have always been fascinated with the more subtle things you can do to make people feel more comfortable. It’s that x-factor that they can’t even put their finger on. I highly recommend it! It will improve the flow of your shop, the attitude of the customers, YOUR attitude and might even make you feel like you have a secret weapon that’s making you more successful than your competitors 🙂
I will say that the key to good feng shui analysis (because there is plenty of nonsense out there) is that the advice and suggestions should be practical. Moving your cash wrap so that it faces east or other silly suggestions are not what you are looking for. You are looking for the balance of elements, harmony and an atmosphere that appeals to every customer. An atmosphere that puts people at ease, improves their mood and is functionally more productive.
Thanks, SCB. In other words, paying attention to that which “puts people at ease, improves their mood and is functionally more productive” is what’s important. I can agree with that!
I LOVE the idea you had for those pine shelves, Sherry! My store (an antique, vintage and next-to-new furniture and home decor shoppe), is set to open next Friday. I have a couple of those shelves in the garage but didn’t want to use them in the store because, like you said, they look cheap. With your creative solution and a bit of vintage-look fabric, they’d look like a million bucks!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing!!!
That’s exactly what I did. I own a small (240 sq ft) gift store and am constantly trying to find a way to make it look like I see it in my head. I’d change things around and ask my regulars what they think, and don’t spare my feelings… they always said “it’s nice” well nice doesn’t tell me anything.
Finally a friend happened to drop in one day and I asked her the same question and don’t be afraid to tell me the truth. Well, she said “meh” I asked her what she meant my “meh”. She said “it doesn’t feel cozy”. My heart broke and I wanted to burst into tears, but at least I new the truth!! We talked a bit about what she saw and didn’t like and said she’d come down the next day to help me try to change things around… again… Well, she never showed, but I got busy, I moved EVERYTHING from the cash wrap to the candy counter, I even got rid of a couple of display shelves.
My display shelves are just the cheap pine shelves that you can pick up at places like Canadian Tire or Zellers. I hate them but the are what I could afford and they look cheap. I painted them all white and wrapped white fabric around the sides and back. Now they look like display cabinets! Most people don’t even realize that the backs are fabric!
After doing all this work and re-displaying the product, I have found that people are actually staying in the store longer, looking longer and actually making purchases!!! Before, they would just step in the door, do a little pirouette while saying “oh, it’s small” and leave.
So the old saying is true, no pain, no gain. It hurt both emotionally and physically (I found a slew of bruises later) but in the end it was worth it.
I’ve still got some tweaking to do, and it’s still not what I see in my head, but I’m getting there 🙂
Sherry Campbell
Sherry’s on Main