My younger self was a professional window and holiday display designer and visual merchandiser for high end department stores.    20 years ago when I left that world to start Embellishments Studio, I retained a few of my freelance clients.  Flash forward to 2016, I've created dozens of trims for several clients.   The trims that quickly comes to nostalgic memory are the ones I've created for my client in Vancouver, Washington called Willows.   It's a clothing and accessories boutique.

Every two to three years I create a new Holiday trim for them.   The concepts have gone from traditional, whimsical, modern and graphic to shabby and more.  This year I debuted what I'm calling Luxe Lodge.  It's an elegant trim featuring fur, deer, antlers and birch branches contrasted with rhinestones, glitter and sequins.  I refined the color palette to use cream and gray as neutrals with mixed metallics and a hint of blush pink.

I trimmed out the two store windows with studio custom framed backdrops that feature faux birch accents and fur elements.    The handmade elements throughout the store include a tree, swags, eight kissing balls, wreathes and  a grand faux birch deer head mount.

Securing and working with real birch in the ways I intended would have been quite difficult.  To work around that I utilized a faux technique that simulated the papery bark elements of the white and gray birch.

One of the things I love about the Willows trims is that we do not install them too early.  We usually wait until its a few days before Thanksgiving.  I believe it helps keep the holiday feeling special for their customers.  

I really enjoyed bringing the mixed metals together and  creating a lush foliage look without using anything that was traditional holiday green.  The presence of rose gold and copper were added as a nod to the current metals fashionable status.    

If you're out and about in Portland and see a guy with an unusual amount of metal glitters, frost and fir stuck to him it's probably me.    Stop me and say hi!  Or at least help me pick the holiday bits off.    Oh the life of a holiday geek!

BTW- My 20 year relationship with the ladies from Willows includes my designing all of their store interiors.  I love my job....