Tropical Boho Store Window Display

Who doesn't love a good tropical vibe?  My latest installation for my client Willows, in Vancouver Wa. was a bohemian tropical trim.

My client and their customers enjoyed the live plants, making them well worth the trip.  You see, Willows is in Vancouver, Washington just across the river from my home base Portland, Oregon.  Neither of these cities can play host to tropical plants, it's far too cold in the winter.  You don't really see great quality plants at the big box stores, so I needed to come up with some other option.

So I hit the nurseries in Phoenix, Arizona and Palm Springs, California with a U-haul.  I partnered the trip up with some other business.  I rented a truck and began my quest for tropical boho beauties.

I'm an avid gardener and a bit of a tropical denial plant enthusiast.  I'm my Portland garden, I've gathered as many tropical looking plants as the garden could hold.  Many of them are knocked back severely if we happen to have an extreme winter but otherwise bounce back from our more mild ones.  Anyway, I've learned a lot about tropicals and selected varieties for the store that would endure the intense window light and the drier humidity of a store environment.   I also incorporated timber bamboo into the displays.  As a matter of fact, the timber bamboo is from my garden.  After a decade plus of growing freely, there were some great 3 and 4 inch diameter pieces to harvest.

The addition of macrame added a bohemian charm to the displays.  There are a ton of great macrame tutorials online.  I found them easy enough to follow and I think  I came up with some simple yet fun pieces.  The lanterns were from different sources.  They were originally table top lanterns with glass votives to hold candles.  I tore out the inner workings and nailed in some plywood bases to hold a lamp socket.  The 10 ft. wiring follows the weavings and turns them into hanging lanterns.  

The tropicals were planted in various pots and planters.  To accentuate the curated tropical theme and throw in a bit of on-trend garden love, I created various pot stands from a white oak and teak.  They smelt so good when I made them.  There's nothing better then the scent of wood shavings.

It was amazing how much the plants grew during the 3 month display.  The store was looking so lush and event had the fragrance of the tropics.  You see, I also dangled a real pineapple in a macrame hanger.  The fruit gave off the perfect aroma.

In one of the displays I also included a baby pineapple.  It was a great novelty to have a growing pineapple in a Northwest store.  It continued to thrive but didn't grow to more than 3 inches wide or so before it started to ripen on the "vine".  

The boho tropical themed summer display was a hit.  My client loved it and the customers were surprised and delighted.  

If your visuals need some help or you need some fresh ideas, I'm available for consultations and/or I can provide you information on my visual display services.  Contact Info