We took on a visual merchandising project recently and as the designer explained the theme to us, it was not surprising to find out that it revolved around the stories that books tell us. Not necessarily the words in the books, but the stories that accompany the possession of the book. Who gave it to you, why you love it, what it means to you. It’s personal and unique -- these stories of why we keep books in our lives. Just like our real life love stories.
At Denver Bookbinding Company, we expect our new projects to be accompanied by a story. Every family bible comes with stories — many are actually mentioned in the front of the bible where births, marriages, and deaths are often listed as a record for future generations. When someone brings us a series or set of books like Nancy Drew mysteries or an old set of Chronicles of Narnia, we are often told the story of who gave them to the owner and why they are precious. Every cookbook that we rescue from completely falling apart is invariably filled with notes from the cook who passed it down to the current recipient.
Gail Lindley, the bindery’s owner says, “We are in the memory business. We preserve the memories of family elders in the hope that they will be passed on to a younger generation.”
So it was not surprising when we were approached by Christine Davidson of Composition Design, a visual merchandising company here in Denver, to help create displays for Hyde Park Jewelers. Our part of the design was to create an open book that would be the foundation of the display out of which would pop the stories of love that lead to engagements, marriage, anniversaries and a lifetime of memories. When asked to tell us about the project, Christine said, “The theme for this year’s bridal event is ‘Your Love Story is Uniquely Yours’ so we wanted to create various ‘love stories’ to communicate that.”
Here are the photos of the displays, but if you are at a loose end you can check the displays out for yourself. They are housed at the Hyde Park Jewelers at Cherry Creek Shopping Center and have also been installed at the Hyde Park Jewelers in Scottsdale, AZ and Newport Beach, CA.
Photos courtesy of Christine Davidson, Composition Design and Hyde Park Jewelers.
