February 2012
7 posts
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How About Gardening or Golfing at the Mall? →
After decades of decline, malls across the country are being redeveloped by communities and planners trying to forge new gathering places out of vast lots with empty buildings.
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Ideo Offers 4 Strategies For Reinventing The... →
IDEO knows a thing or two about designing things that sell. Their suggestions for reinventing the retail experience should be considered money in the bank.
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September 2011
2 posts
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August 2011
3 posts
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The power of Life-Like mannequins →
Interesting NPR Story on Life-Like Mannequins effect on shopping
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July 2011
8 posts
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Empty Spaces to Creative Ones
Empty spaces at shopping centers are something we get called about quite frequently. While leases are being worked on, management and landlords don’t want these spaces to be an eye sore so we are asked what can we do.
Blank canvases are our specialty. Windows are a great form of advertising; turn these unproductive spaces into creative profitable ones. It’s a great way to highlight...
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Planet Ice & The Tundra Train
Once our windows at Waikiki Shopping Plaza were complete, we did a quick trip to Las Vegas for this year’s GlobalShop 2011. Will post about that later after I review my notes, but I will say the highlight of the trip was seeing the B-52’s in concert at a private party…awesome!
After getting back from the show, we jumped right into designing and installing this year’s...
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Waikiki Shopping Plaza-part 2
Continuing onto the interior of Waikiki Shopping Plaza (WSP), we highlighted again Tanaka of Tokyo, services and events and WSP’s 3rd floor Big Kahuna Marketplace.
Tanaka of Tokyo
Tanaka of Tokyo requested 2 locations; one on Seaside Avenue and one on Kalakaua Avenue. This was the longest bank of windows that we created; over 40’ wide! Again, we recreated the entrance to their...
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Waikiki Shopping Plaza-part I
With the constant opening and closings of retail stores, most landlords do not want to highlight any vacancies. This was true for Waikiki Shopping Plaza (WSP). They have prime real estate in Waikiki; their location is the 5th Avenue of Honolulu.
The GUESS? store had closed their location on the corner of Kalakaua & Seaside. Another tenant was slated to move in but not for 6 months. To...
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Shop a Le‘a 2011
Sorry for the lack of posts recently. CS has been extremely busy building sets, store windows, prepping for summer promotions and even did a quick trip to this year’s GlobalShop 2011 in Las Vegas. Since we have a little down time, we wanted to post everything we have been up to.
We gladly partnered with Ala Moana Center again this year for it’s premier fashion event, Shop a Le‘a....
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June 2011
1 post
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WatchCongratulations to Interisland Terminal and Sig Zane for a bringing wonderful retail experience to Honolulu. Fun times!
May 2011
1 post
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March 2011
2 posts
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January 2011
3 posts
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Pantone Color of the Year 2011
It’s official, Pantone Color Institute® has announced the new color of the year. Out with last year’s calm and cool Turquoise (my personal fav) and in with the invigorating Honeysuckle. It’s an uplifting color that elevates the psyche to manage the challenges of everyday life.
“In times of stress, we need something to lift our spirits. Honeysuckle is a captivating,...
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Lei Chic's Best of 2010 →
We heart Lei Chic and were proud to be a part of Tim Gunn’s appearance at Ala Moana Center.
December 2010
1 post
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November 2010
4 posts
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“Welcome to Nordstrom
We’re glad to have you with our Company. Our number one...”
– An interesting thread inspired by the Nordstrom Employee Handbook discussing the idea of trust versus control regarding employees and customers. What type of employer are you and to what lengths will you go for a ‘good’ customer experience?
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2010 Ho‘okela Awards
The Retail Merchants of Hawai‘i celebrate the retail industry each year with the Ho‘okela Awards. This award recognizes Hawaii’s outstanding retailers and retail employees. To receive such acclaim in an industry so vital to Hawaii’s economy.
We were invited by our clients to attend this year’s celebration and wanted to post this year’s winners.
2010 SHOPPING CENTER...
October 2010
2 posts
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Top 10 Holiday Trends for 2010
To find the golden ticket for holiday trends it takes a retailer hours of methodical research, forecasting and trend analyzation.
With the recession in full effect during holiday of 2009, it left many looking for any inclination of what the American consumer would buy. This year, the National Retail Federation has done the homework for you. Check out the Top 10 Holiday Trends for 2010.
...
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September 2010
2 posts
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Tech: Fast Mall App
Ever been lost in a new mall with no idea of where things are? Fast Mall seems poised to solve that problem with their phone app - FastMall 3.0. Built on a continuously updated database of shopping mall maps from around the globe, FastMall signals the end of an era “looking for the nearest bathroom”. The website claims it is
“the world’s first true turn by turn based...
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Fashion's Night Out 2010-Hawai‘i Edition
Had a great time working on Ala Moana Center’s stage. Hope you all had a wonderful Fashion’s Night Out!
Beats by Eskae.
August 2010
3 posts
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Dinosaurs: Moments of Zen
“Dinosaurs!” at Pearlridge finished up over the weekend. Hope you got a chance to check them out. Below are a few moments that sum up the experience nicely.
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Reading: Paco Underhill
The business of retail often falls into two distinct categories: small and large. Depending on your entry point into the retail world, you’ll rarely find a manual in the glove box. Either through trial and error or endless training seminars, existing in a retail environment will have challenges at every step. Thankfully, there are people who take notes. Paco Underhill’s popular...
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Reed Space HNL
In collaboration with local non-profit group Interisland Terminal, CS/HI was fortunate to work with New York City menswear icon - jeffstaple of Staple Design. Invited by Interisland Terminal to open a temporary retail store in Honolulu, designer and founder, Jeff Ng (jeffstaple) imported the book shop of his Reed Space art gallery to the Waikiki Parc Hotel. Before doors could open to...
June 2010
7 posts
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Shop a Le‘a 2010
Taking a break from dinosaurs, we wanted to post the 3rd Annual Shop a Le‘a fashion event, held this past March. CS was hired again to create a fresh look for the stage (click Here to see previous stages).
Tying in with marketing, we elaborated on the floral icon used this year in advertising and GWP’s (gift with purchase). We took the imagery and enlarged them 1000% to create large scale...
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Dinosaur Installation-Day Three
On the home stretch, all of the decor has been loaded in and the environments are being built. Here are some images of Day Three:
Completed set in the downtown phase.
Have a wonderful weekend. More posting on Monday.
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Dinosaur Installation-Day Two
About to head out the door for Day 3, but wanted to post some images from yesterday.
Headlines: Dinosaur gives birth to man!
We “upcycled” Pearlridge Center’s christmas trees by turning the bases and frames into willow and hapu‘u trees.
Sneak peek!
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Dinosaur Installation-Day One
It’s been one year since we began this blog. Thanks so much for your feedback and support, it’s been fun posting our projects and retail info we find useful.
Our first entry last year was the installation of “Giant Insects” at Pearlridge Center. Well this year it’s Dinosaurs!
CS is responsible for creating the environments in which the dinosaurs live. Over the...
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Tech: Space planning via your browser
Autodesk, a company that builds Hollywood grade special effects software, has released a browser based web application called HomeStyler. The app allows users to create and manipulate a three dimensional space in real time. Their legacy of 3D experience is put to good use in creating a simple and productive experience within the browser. No software downloads are needed, only a fairly snappy...
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The Future of Retail
Savvy trend forecaster PSFK has released their latest report, this time it focuses on the world of commercial retail. While the majority of the information deals with internet technology trends, some of the major highlights are more community centric: new forms of pop-up shops, group purchasing power and retail stores as curated lifestyle centers. This is not a stat filled street level perspective...
May 2010
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From Bits to Bricks: Online blog turns into a...
NiceKicks.com is a website for shoe fanatics. Period. They uncover every possible style, color way, prototype and limited release they can get their hands on. From deciphering what NBA players are wearing on the court to blurry camera phone shots of Jay-Z on the town, shoes are their game. In the video above, founder Matt Halfhill explains the transition of the Nice Kicks website into a brick...
April 2010
2 posts
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Designing Customer Experience
The video above demonstrates a new generation of capsule hotels, overnight lodging similar to motels in the West, being developed in Japan. Sleeping in miniature pods is still a foreign concept to western society but the act of sleeping is equally shared across the Pacific. What the 9 Hours Hotel achieves in this video is the simplification of a very personal activity, going to bed. From the...
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What is your store communicating?
If your store had a voice, what would it say? How would it describe itself to passing shoppers? What tone of voice would it use to attract your attention? Is it soft or loud? Insane or intelligent?
As your store lacks the vocal ability to convince customers through it’s threshold, storefront and interior decor are the next best thing. Do you know if your store is communicating the right...
March 2010
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Will online shopping change what we shop offline?
The graphic below wonderfully illustrates the variety of product categories that we consume, and a noticeable shift from physical to virtual shopping for a few. Are some businesses increasing profitability online compared to their physical counterparts? A quick observation tells us that shipping is still ‘too slow’ for some categories; but probably not for long. It’s a good time...