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Spotlight On... Christmas Decorations
Deck The Halls The main trends, themes, colourways and concepts for Christmas 2019 are revealed by the some of the industry’s leading suppliers. As well as traditional strong reds and greens, think grey, soft pink and blue, say companies, who have also suggested some top tips for eye-catching displays.
A Twist On Tradition “Christmas is all about tradition, and our 2019 collection strongly supports tradition in colour and style in many of our ranges, but new ideas can and do creep through to modify that,” explains Gisela Graham’s sales director Piers Croke. He continues: “For instance, who would have thought that peacocks and peacock colours would make it to the Christmas tree? Yet they have, and we offer a wild version of the trend for 2019 featuring ruby reds, purples, green and deep blue. Meanwhile, for people who like their Christmas to be pretty, we’ve also created Swan Lake, with a hint of blue finding its place onto the Christmas trees of the fashion conscious. Copper too, is making an appearance, something that we’ve added to accent our Doves & Roses cream-and-gold collection which also features a hint of green. In addition, we offer ranges that are a riot of colour featuring the wackiest of imagery to include Animal Fantasy.” Piers’ top display tips: “Success in selling tree decorations is all about display. For those retailers that haven’t got trees to decorate, or room to have one, a good idea is to try to decorate a tree bough. But either way, it’s important not to stint on the display budget. A decorated tree or bough will bring customers in to do their more serious Christmas gift shopping with you.“ Left: Gisela Graham’s Doves & Roses collection. Below: Frosty Snowman from Joe Davies.
Shades Of Grey “Grey is currently popular in home décor and has made a natural progression into Christmas,” says Joe Davies’ buyer Mary Caputo. “A key trend for Christmas 2019 is the handcrafted look, whether in traditional red and green colours or the more modern new colours of soft pink and grey. New is our Frosty Snowman collection featuring cute handcrafted decorations, an example of both the new colourway and the trend.” Mary’s top display tips: “The introduction of new concepts and products into a Christmas display will create interest as will theming by colour or style. Plus, highlighting key price points and value price points is also vital to maximise sales during the festive selling period.”
Above: Visitors are shown looking at Christmas decorations at last year’s Autumn Fair.
Going Wild “Wild creatures are a big theme for Christmas 2019,” confirms Parlane’s head buyer Matthew Baldock. “Within our Woodland Christmas look, the collection features lots of bears in particular. However, we’ve also included Christmas decorations in the form of squirrels, foxes, reindeer, owls and cute mice.” Matt says that another of this season’s trend is for a mythological Scandinavian character called a Tomte - meaning ‘homestead man’ - which is thought to protect the home. “With his long white beard, large nose and tall pointy hat, this comical looking fellow fits perfectly into the Parlane range,” highlights Matt. “Each one is individual in size and material and is either depicted sitting or standing.” Colours for the look are soft greens, cement grey, fresh white and platinum. Sue Inward, display manager’s tips: “Twinkly fairy lights around displays create a festive atmosphere, but retailers need to make sure that tree decorations are hung so that they can be properly viewed in situ to inspire customers’ imagination. Plain wreaths should be dressed with tree trim, ribbons, lights and faux flowers or berries. For more a more contemporary feel, wreaths can be hung in a more creative way from the ceiling, with decorations and lights effectively cascading down. “ Above: Parlane’s new mythological Tomte collection.
Progressive Gifts & Home Worldwide
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