Display Dynamics: Paper Goods: Put on Your Party Hat

Life is sometimes a dizzying merry-go-round. Just when you think you know your goal, you spin around and view the same object or situation differently. We all need to save the trees by recycling paper products, but it seems all we use is wrapped in paper. The receipt of fast food is impossible without paper encompassing it. Coffee to go requires a paper filter, a paper cup, and paper sleeves so we don't burn our hands. You can't give a gift without wrapping it with paper. Cocktails can't be served without cocktail napkins, and a proper party deserves the dispensation of an elegant paper invitation.

Celebratory paper products fascinate me. I love the creativity that obviously went into making them. I am amazed at the long shelves stocked with paper party plates in various colors, sizes, and shapes. Why, the solid color selections sometimes exceed 20 or more. The sophistication of patterned paper plates is impressive, replacing as it does the cartoons and cutesy flowers of the past. Now fine art is commonplace on paper plates, napkins, and gift bags.

This trend seems to have emerged due to our lack of time and the convenience provided by disposable products. It is so much easier to have the merchant put the serving package together than to go home, survey all your dishes, tablecloths, and napkins, and then try to formulate a visual plan. Plus, we don't have the party dishes and table linens of past generations who would have never accepted paper servingware from a fine caterer. Now, it's accepted and expected, even for more formal occasions. We are a more casual society but a fast-paced one and therefore, cleanup must be a snap.

Gourmet retailers and independent gift stores are adding whole categories and departments of paper goods to their selections. Paper now spells parties and subsequent enjoyment.
Generally, I find paper tableware and paper products across all categories to be one dimensional in their appearance and less exciting in displays than hard goods or specialty foods. Paper product displays really test your creativity. My approach is to create a multidimensional feel and visual excitement via a few tricks.

This month's display was done entirely with items from the paper category. I was going for the popular Parisian shabby chic look. My usual display philosophy is, "Less is more," but when it comes to a paper display, a frivolous, busy, or "more" philosophy serves best. Making this display as attractive as a kitchenware or tabletop display was challenging. Pink, lavender, pastel blue, teal, chartreuse, and yellow comprise the current palate for shabby chic, so I contrasted light and dark colors in that palate to draw the eye from a greater distance. To create a strong centerpiece color, I chose a teal centerpiece bag because teal always blends in well with any color palate and doesn't become too demanding visually or detract from the other colors, even when it is dominant in presence.

Even though this is a disposable paper display, if you are going to promote the products, then the standards for their presentation need to be as high as with any other display. Therefore, I ironed the tablecloth as though it were silk using a fabric buffer cloth. I added interest to the flat-textured lavender tablecloth by setting a contrasting, shiny, heavy, dark purple square and a polka-dotted piece of wrapping paper on the diagonal beneath the centerpiece. Plus, I included Mylar, the foil-like reflective decorative display and party accessory, to add an element of drama. Dimensions for this table were created by the large, dramatic gift-bag centerpiece with numerous spikes of Mylar stars and shapes in various colors anchored into florist foam.

The power in this display arises from the Mylar shapes that move in the breeze and as they do so, change reflections. As I've said many times before, movement is any display's most exciting visual feature. The same applies for the Mardi Gras beads and Mylar streamers lightly placed about the tabletop. As a customer moves around the table, the changing reflections create a sense of movement. The Mylar streamers draped over the table's edge catch the eye and add dimension to the hanging tablecloth's flat, hard edge.

To add interest, texture, and dimension to the flat plates, I made chargers from scrunched-up tissue paper in complementary colors. Completing the table setting are solid paper napkins, contrasting chartreuse paper cups, and clear plastic eating utensils.

When I had finished all this and stood back to examine it, the display still seemed two dimensional, with the third dimension missing. Knowing that successful displays are about details, I returned to the paper department where I discovered spiral wires covered with Mylar confetti shapes. I spread the spiraling Mylar wires over the table and throughout the display, filling in the space over the table. It was just the detail needed to create three dimensions and tie the whole display together. The change was amazing. Good luck with this challenging display category and remember that all the parameters you learn about a table display apply equally well to a single shelf display or a cubbyhole display.

Renee Chappelle is principal at Retail Projects Unlimited, a retail store design and visual merchandising firm. She may be reached at 707-442-0276 and mpu@humboldt1.com.