You Need To Visualize

   They say you need to visualize what it is that you want in life. Well, here it is. I want to work for Anthropologie. I have for a while, and for the past few years been working on building my portfolio and style as a visual merchandiser and display artist for small business. I feel that it is time for me to become a part of something big, something that is part of the big picture. Become a member of a tight knit creative world where perfectionism is a godsend, and quirkiness is encouraged. So when I applied last week, I knew in my heart that this was where I wanted to be and that the hard work I have done will pay off. But you can still wish me luck on landing an interview for their open position :) 

   The second part of of getting where you want to be in life is immersing yourself in it. So this past week I went to 4 different Anthropologie stores. I went to look at and indulge in their displays, merchandise, vibe, and overall vibes. What I loved most is that though each store had a similar theme, you could see the uniqueness of each crafted display. I visited the stores in South Coast Plaza, Fashion Island, Pasadena and The Grove.

     The third part of this process is to ask questions. So upon arriving to one of the locations I asked about a question I had in regards to applying online. And the following day I received an email from a manager. I instantly felt that this was working in my favor. I'm a believer in the secret. And the law of attraction. So I'm going to keep doing the three parts of this process, and I encourage you to do so too! 

The following photos were taken at Anthropologie South Coast Plaza. I couldn't resist taking photos of the work that the visuals team had put together. What an amazing job. I want it all. Including the job! 

Front and side entrances featured an abstract reptile design.  Those blue hues are breathtaking.

The front entrance of the store is so effortlessly cool. Layers of textiles and home accessories.

Intimates in bright hues of salmon and neon pink caught my eye. 

Double sided  painted bag for those days when you want a bold or basic look.

Luxurious bedding, pillows and hand towels. Hard to pick just one fav. 

Gorgeous clothing featuring sequins, exotic prints and cobalt, magenta and yellow.  

An enticing view upon entering, we have spring embroidered, dyed, scents, and a floral backdrop. Everything you need to bring you right into a spring Sunday afternoon.

All photos by Maggy Slater
Taken at Anthropologie South Coast Plaza

We Built This City Window Display

Eloisa adding some final touches.

    This winter we made a mini city window display at Road Less Traveled! It's pretty cool what you can make from something that would have gone into the trash. We used cardboard boxes, markers, paint, cotton balls, fishing wire, box cutters & Christmas lights. We all had a blast putting this display together thanks to the reggae Christmas playlist on Pandora, highly recommended :) Stop by the shop to see in person! 

ENJOY!

Feeding the lights into the boxes.

Funny Reggae  Christmas song # 1

Funny Reggae Christmas song # 2

We built this city!

The city from behind.

Windows by: Eloisa Bordador, Maggy Slater, Delilah Snell, Leigh Slater

P.S. Here is last years window display  I designed with the help of Eloisa :) 

DIY Card DIsplay

Its time again for another easy and fun DIY project that we have tested out for you! This time around we created a paper goods display out of an old  door and  base boards. This is a perfect way to display cards for at a retail space or photos or even books & artwork  at home! We love how easy it was to make( we made it the night before we re-opened) and it is very customizable too. 

DIY Paper Goods Shopping List

-paint

-scale

-old door (or new depends on what you can find)

-base boards(depends on how much you display)

-nails (2-3 per baseboard)

-eyelets (2 per baseboard)

-fishing wire/metal wire 

8 Easy steps to making a paper goods display

1. The first thing you need is an old door, you can get these from a lumbar yard, craigslist or buy a new one from home dept. Once your door is selected make not of its width and write this information down.

2. Next step is selecting a variety of base boards which you can find at a lumber yard or in the scrap area of home depot. We chose 6 different base boards for our door. You will want your baseboards to have a thickness of 1" or more to display on top of. *Make sure that the base boards are cut to the same width as the door. 

3. Lay down the door on the floor and place base boards in a way that looks appealing to you and will effectively display your art/cards etc. Now you will have a visual of how you want it to look so you can either take a photo or put a pencil mark saying the number order of the baseboards. 

4. Now its time to paint those baseboards. You will do this separately from the door (less messy). We did alternating colors that matched the shop theme of citron, fuchsia and turquoise. You can choose any color you like. You can also paint the door whatever color you would like. We chose white as a background for our display. 

5. Once the paint has dried on the door and baseboards you can begin assembling them together. Once again layout your baseboards in desired places and check with a scale that they are straight. Then you can  nail the baseboards into the door. 

6. Next you will get your eyelets and assemble them onto the side of the door 2"-3" above each baseboard. You can use your scale to make sure these match up.

7. Tie fishing wire/metal wire into one eyelet and pull across the front of the door to the corresponding eyelet. This forms a barrier for the artwork/cards to keep from falling down. 

8. Begin placing your artwork, cards and books onto your super cute and easy DIY display! 

Below: Are some photos of us in the process of constructing the display. 

A few of our color coordinated baseboards ready to go. 

Beginning to nail down the baseboards onto the door. 

Finished nailing, now ready to add eyelets and begin displaying. 

Eyelets have been added, you can see them on the side. Now time to display all the cards and posters. 

Our finished project in all its glory! Now that wasnt so hard now, was it!!

If you have any questions about this project let me know and I will gladly help out. 

Hmm what should our next DIY be? Any suggestions or projects you have seen in the shop that you want to know how we made? 

MORE DIY PROJECTS

Chalk Board Wall-Raffia Pendant Light-Kitchen Re-Design

Road Less Traveled Displays Spring 2011

A few photos showcasing the displays designed for Road Less Traveled in Spring 2011. 

ROYGBIV Magazine Flower Display 

Delilah & I excited about our Spring Display

Spring In Bloom

Lovely Lady In The Garden

Picnic Basket Full of Goodies

Magazine Flowers

Caitlin and I modeling the aprons we made

Mason Jar tea towels and aprons galore

Our model wearing a wonderful white outfit

Recycled glass & concrete counter tops.

Wonder-Fall Wedding

Back in October I had the pleasure of going to a family friends wedding. It was extra special because my boyfriends Mom flew in from Florida and we got to see the wedding together.This was a beautiful ceremony, lots of joyful tears. You could really feel the love. The wedding was held at the Pacific Palms Resort in Industry, CA. The grounds of this facility are gorgeous, and include a 36 hole golf course and on a clear day there is a view of the San Gabriel Mountains! I really enjoyed walking around the resort looking for our party. 

After the wedding ceremony we strolled on over the the resort's convention center ballrooms. The architecture of this building was impressive and featured a very modern stained glass arched ceiling. The colors were bold and caught my attention. While waiting for the wedding party we had refreshments outside the ballroom on the mezzanine. Loved the way they displayed the cheese on a bottom lit glass table help by champagne glasses. The upward lighting made everything glow. I took a walk around the convention center and took a few photos of the architectural details. 

By the time I finished wondering it was time to be seated for dinner. The ballroom was TDF! So romantic and filled with warm pink lighting. I loved the floral arrangements and there was even a shield made of flowers with the grooms last initial! The DJ's played great music Pink Martini, Hotel Costes, Koop, Bebel Gilberto, Sergio Mendes! Seriously all the music I love, it was great. We danced, we drank and we had a wonderful time with our table member's including the brides father and my boyfriends family that we don't get to see often. The night went by fast, but the pics will last. 

Congrats Jenn & Dustin

So I picked out my favorite photos of the night to share, take a look below. 

As tradition goes, the single man that catches the garter is next to get married....and look who caught it :)