Welcome to our New Blog Series!
In our new blog series I will be sharing visual merchandising and design inspiration, tips, and designs, including our own. I hope to inspire and share knowledge about visual merchandising, a field that I have spent 28 years in.
As this is my first blog in many years, I thought I would re-introduce myself. I'm Juliet, Founder and Creative Director of Design Merchants. From my early days, I've been passionate about bringing creativity into the retail world, transforming spaces, and crafting unforgettable experiences.
Here are 10 things about me as an introduction:
1. My final exhibition in my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree honours year at the University of Western Australia was, in fact, an art installation in a gallery in Northbridge titled "Window Display" years before I became a Visual Merchandiser!
2. I have a passion for visual merchandising which began just out of school when I was completing my Fine Arts degree but working in fashion retail in sales throughout. I carried this on when I lived in London for a few years, working in sales in a range of places including Selfridges and Habitat and as a gallery attendant at The Royal Academy of Art, Saatchi Gallery and Tate Modern. The mix of the commercial and the creative worlds has given me a perspective and focus that carries on to this day.
3. My foundational training and development in VM was at Freedom (Furniture) where I started as a Homewares Visual Merchandiser, working my way up to State Visual Merchandising Manager for WA & NT. I was with Freedom for 13 and a half years, which solidified my passion for styling and interiors as well as the field of VM.
4. I love learning and as well as Fine Arts, have studied Interior Design, Project Management & Training. All of these have impacted my approach within the retail space. During my time at Freedom, I also discovered I had a love and talent for sharing my knowledge and training my team of Visual Merchandisers as well as the sales teams which has carried on to this day.
5. In 2011, I founded Design Merchants in my home studio, and gradually expanded my team and scope of projects, eventually moving into a workshop and warehouse space just down the road in Bayswater. The bonus being that I could bring my dog Molly, and now Edgar, to work with me.
6. Design Merchants began with me running training workshops with brands like Perth Upmarket and consulting for small businesses. Soon finding a niche in the new (at the time) pop-up sphere. As pop-ups (now activations) can rarely have the budgets of more permanent fit outs, the creativity and resourcefulness that I had learned during my formative years came in very handy then as they do now.
7. One of my favourite parts of VM design is the concept phase and the mood board process. I love being able to share a client’s vision, weaving together the threads of inspiration, colour, and texture to create the basis for the final design.
8. I love my home (a fifties cottage with a big garden), which I share with my partner Jasper. I am a true collector but what I collect changes sporadically; however, it tends to be mid-century related (ceramics, record players, robots, etc.) or local art.
9. Over the years, I have kept some kind of creative pursuit in the background, whether printmaking, pottery, drawing, ikebana or photography. It is currently oil pastels where I draw mostly my collections of mid-century ceramics and florals.
10. Last year I was invited onto the executive committee of the Bayswater Trader’s Association. Being a proud Baysie local and having lived here for over 25 years it is a pleasure to be involved in the community and be able to share my expertise on a range of projects to support local businesses.
I hope that this introduction gives you some insight into my background and interests. It's the creativity in retail, the store theatre, the installations, the constantly changing store environment, and the art of display that I am passionate about, and I know in your business you are too.
I know that it is a tough retail environment at the moment, but even with these challenges, there are still untapped creative and commercial opportunities to delve into. I look forward to sharing insights on navigating this dynamic landscape as we explore the shifting face of visual merchandising and retail.
Until next time,
Juliet