You may have seen the YouTube video of the blind man sitting cross-legged on a city street in London. A tin cup sits in front of him, and to his side is a cardboard sign that reads, “I’m Blind. Please Help.” Occasionally, someone drops a few coins into his cup, but for the most part he goes unnoticed. A young woman passes by and then turns around, grabs his sign, and writes on the back “It’s a Beautiful Day and I Can’t See It.” She places the sign next to the blind man. Soon his tin cup is overflowing. The subtle change in messaging creates an emotional connection with pedestrians who would have otherwise passed him by. Words matter. Just like the story of the blind man, it’s words that take center stage in the boutique retail store experience we helped to create with the awesome team at Little Words Project.
Courtesy of Little Words Project
Little Words Project is a specialty jewelry company founded by Adriana Carrig whose vision was to create wearable affirmations as a way of reminding us of our self-worth, encouraging us through tough times, and inspiring us to be kind to others. The company quickly became the leader in the word-bracelet market by creating a community of followers who saw value in beading bracelets as a way to share positive messaging like “You Can Do It” and “Be the Change” with others. By leveraging the power of unofficial Brand Ambassadors like Taylor Swift and building a successful wholesale business with over 1000 retail partners, including Target, Nordstrom, and others, the company began its own brick-and-mortar expansion. Physical stores offer a unique opportunity to build community by enabling groups of friends to gather, socialize, and bond through a shared beading experience.
Courtesy of Little Words Project
In the true spirit of a boutique, every Little Words Project store is different and offers a unique experience, although all stores share many common design elements. Let’s look at the recently opened Austin, Texas boutique retail store as an example. Pink painted walls and polished concrete floors set the overall tone for the store. The picture below shows the POS checkout table and a merchandising table we fabricated out of wood with aluminum laminate bases and solid surface countertops. The fixture package is designed with lots of curves which fits the female customer demographic. The wall-mounted mirror also features a unique curved design.
Courtesy of Little Words Project
The boutique retail store features open curved archways and recessed wall archways throughout the store. We fabricated the round single beading station below using a wood structure and added a textured concrete-like finish. We made the shapely 2-sided mirror with an MDF frame and a metal stand to complement the 3D-printed beading tray, bracelet t-bar with its pink faux leather finish, and circular riser that was designed to match the table.
Courtesy of Little Words Project
We built the 2-tier merchandising table below to match the single table beading station. It features many of the same tabletop merchandisers along with several additional displays for necklaces and other jewelry items.
Courtesy of Little Words Project
The picture below shows how the large and small merchandising tables work together to create a boutique feel, which is further reinforced by the background décor.
Courtesy of Little Words Project
We fabricated a large beading table to accommodate groups of friends who want to socialize and bead together. Ideal for parties and get-togethers, this area of the boutique retail store is set aside for community-building and is distinct from the area with merchandised products. To welcome groups and encourage new friendships, we made the wall-mounted neon sign (shown unlit) which says, “You can sit with us.”
Courtesy of Little Words Project
The Little Words Project’s Austin, Texas store is a great illustration of how to create an experiential boutique retail store and combine it with more traditional merchandising. The store leverages beautiful design and tasteful décor, both of which are tailored to a to a female demographic ranging from young girls to young adults.
Courtesy of Little Words Project
Like the blind man who discovered the magic of creating an emotional connection with total strangers through clever messaging, Little Words Project is using the power of words through positive messaging not only in creating its products but also in creating a powerful retail experience. Words matter.
Jim Hollen is the owner and President of RICH LTD. (www.richltd.com), a 35+ year-old California-based point-of-purchase display, retail store fixture, and merchandising solutions firm which has been named among the Top 50 U.S. POP display companies for 9 consecutive years. A former management consultant with McKinsey & Co. and graduate of Stanford Business School, Jim Hollen has served more than 3000 brands and retailers over more than 20 years and has authored nearly 500 blogs and e-Books on a wide range of topics related to POP displays, store fixtures, and retail merchandising.
Jim has been to China more than 50 times and has worked directly with more than 30 factories in Asia across a broad range of material categories, including metal, wood, acrylic, injection molded and vacuum formed plastic, corrugated, glass, LED lighting, digital media player, and more. Jim Hollen also oversees RICH LTD.’s domestic manufacturing operation and has experience manufacturing, sourcing, and importing from numerous Asian countries as well as Vietnam and Mexico.
His experience working with brands and retailers spans more than 25 industries such as food and beverage, apparel, consumer electronics, cosmetics/beauty, sporting goods, automotive, pet, gifts and souvenirs, toys, wine and spirits, home improvement, jewelry, eyewear, footwear, consumer products, mass market retail, specialty retail, convenience stores, and numerous other product/retailer categories.