Chicago Collective Spring 2013 Hart Schaffner Marx

Hart Schaffner Marx is another of the HMX Groups' menswear line of tailored clothing and sportswear. HSM is celebrating it's 125th anniversary in 2012! It's another "Made-In-The- USA" line of clothing from HMX Group. They are manufactured in the Chicago suburb of Des Plaines near O'Hare airport. President Obama has had some of his suits custom made by Hart Schaffner Marx including the one he wore to his inauguration in 2009.

The Hart Schaffner Marx booth at Chicago Collective has smooth, slick booth components in glossy white laminate. Laminate is notorious for chipping - but with customized crates made especially for each merchandiser unit and furniture piece, all the moving in and out of freight elevators and trucks has not affected the condition of any of the pieces - all are in pristine shape 7 years later.

Chicago Collective Hickey Freeman Spring 2013

Chicago Collective Spring 2013 ended last week August 13th. The HMX Group's Hickey Freeman label is pictured here with their logo blow up as the main back drop for the booth. This is a very effective sign system utilizing a self standing frame with a cloth banner sign that slips onto the frame for a very snug fit. The cloth banner sign comes in a cloth bag and once it is stretched onto frame - there are no wrinkles! A great feature for storage, and for shipment. The metal self standing frame collapses down into several pieces for additional ease of transport and shipping.

The Hickey Freeman line of tailored clothing & sportswear is the HMX Groups' higher end menswear line. It is manufactured in the US - Rochester, New York. The fabrics are incredible for Spring 2012- the linens especially - very luxurious.

Chicago Collective August 2012 / Bobby Jones Spring 2013

The Chicago Collective show later this week will showcase Spring 2013 Men's Wear Collections. It takes place August 11, 12 & 13 at the Chicago Merchandise Mart 8th Floor Market Suites. It is an industry professional event - buyer credentials are required to obtain admission.

The previous show Bobby Jones moved from an awkward 20' x 30' space directly behind where it presently is located. The 20' wide x 30' deep space was extremely difficult to properly space plan. A trade show booth should never have a front that is more narrow in front as it is deep. The new location is a corner position 20' x 30'.

The company that owns all four of the labels that are showing - HMX Group - wanted to squeeze in a fifth label last show - Austin Reed - onto the end of the Bobby Jones booth. This would position Austin Reed to face it's other label - Hart Schaffner Marx  - across the aisle. The two tailored labels blend well together.  Bobby Jones is a performance golf & country club label. So, having a tailored and a sportswear label in one booth is not optimal in my opinion. This was a last minute adjustment at the January show.

I am making an attempt to have a better layout this show. The initial floor plan is pictured here - we'll see how it works out.

A Store Re-Model

This is a story board for a store "face lift" in the Chicago suburb of Hinsdale. It's a small convenience store just down the road from a very big country club. The owner sells the typical convenience store items: soda, various junk food items etc., but as well sells expensive imported cigars, has a huge inventory of wines - some very pricey and - live bait! There is a local lake that's stocked with fish as well as a pond in the confines of the country club.

The owner is also adding a deli counter and is currently waiting for the Village of Hinsdale approval on that as well as the back prep area. More to follow! I will have before and after pics at some point. Wish me luck!

The Chicago Market July 2012

The Chicago Market is a trade show event at the Chicago Merchandise Mart that takes place four times a year. The January & July shows are the bigger of the four events that include both the permanent showrooms on 13 and the 8th floor temporary gallery suites. It showcases product across a broad spectrum of categories that includes gift items, home decor, jewelry and - Christmas. Anything and everything for Christmas - from ornaments, Christmas trees, lights, gifts - and a life size Santa Claus if you should so desire one.

It runs from July 19 - July 24 for the permanent showrooms on the 13th floor & July 21 - July 24 for the temporary gallery suites on the 8th floor.

The Sales & Marketing team showcase special displays on the main floor lobby of the Mart as an introduction to buyers as they enter. A Christmas themed display was added for the July show this year.

The Merchandise Mart lobby is an Art Deco masterpiece - grand, beautiful - and cavernous. This particular section of the North Lobby was remodeled in the early 1990's when there was a shopping mall there and on the second floor. The escalators were added at this time. The Christmas display was to be located under the escalators.

My biggest concern was that product would just be overwhelmed by this huge space - but the escalators actually help to contain it. It doesn't hurt then to have two 10 foot Christmas trees and a life size standing Santa!

I created a floor plan using google sketchup - it really helps to have a floor plan - even if you have to adjust it upon installation - which I did.

The Merchandise Mart has a tremendous staff of carpenters, painters & electricians - all of which were utilized into bringing this project to completion.

Go to www.shopchicagomarket.com and check out all details of the show. It is open to shop owners, retail buyers of department stores etc - credentials are required, so be sure to check the web site for all pertinent details.

Before The Trade Show Opens: Bobby Jones / PGA

A lot goes into getting a trade show booth together for a big trade show event like PGA. It's kind of like a store opening in that you've got mannequins to unpack, dressed and styled. Walls need to be merchandised, furniture placed etc. But with a new store, you can push back the opening date if you need to. A trade show is more like a stage show in that it has a finite opening and closing - you've got to have it ready by the date the show opens. Sometimes that means staying very late the night before. The exhibit company gets to the show site days before I do - freight load in - start building walls etc.

The Bobby Jones booth here - a 40' x 50' - also has a double height banner that - without the theatrical lighting company that we contract - just would not look the same:

The clothing samples themselves can be problematic because you are working a season ahead and there is a finite number of samples - sales reps need theirs for their sales calls, the showrooms etc + they may still be in production and simply not be ready.

The mannequins patiently waiting to get dressed and styled:

A Display Window For A Big Box Retailer

This is a Bed Bath & Beyond in the River North area of downtown Chicago. It's situated on the ground level of a residential high rise on a very busy pedestrian street. The architect had given them an awkward, very large (18' high !) display window that was right in front of an escalator - which made for a partial back wall. It also made for visual distraction in the background. This is not a very good pic - a scan of a not great print from a digital image - I lost the original pic in a computer crash several years ago. You can actually look down into the display window as you go up the escalator.

The store staff had been putting a fully made bed in the window with a nightstand, a mock up of a shower etc. There was no "Visual" person per say - just some staff people. Vendors rotated usage of the window. The store needed a versatile display set up that could be used for multiple categories of merchandise.

I project managed the design and installation of this set up with local display manufacturer Opto International. The posts can hold shelves or graphic holders and is very adaptable to different products. I've seen them in the past few years with the Dyson vacuum cleaners and I also used Simple Human waste containers in a later installation.