shop design files: window dressing with ribbon

One of my favorite things about our new shop is how colorful and creative it is! It inspires me to think outside the box, and come up with fun design ideas for the space.

Summer is a slow season for us, and we had several big moving expenses — dismantling and relocating the walk-in cooler, for one — so we’re trying to be really smart about our spending, especially when it comes to decorating. Armed with Pinterest inspiration, some spray paint, a glue gun, and supplies we have hanging around the shop, we’re DIY-ing up a storm to make our new space feel like home. While you may not have a flower shop to decorate, I thought it would be fun to share some of the projects we’ve tackled that you may be able to use in your own spaces. Starting with a super easy ribbon curtain I used to jazz up one of our window displays.

I have a slight obsession with window displays. I could spend all day perusing photos of Anthropologie storefronts {does anyone do it better?!} If the eyes are the windows to a person’s soul, a shop’s windows are equally compelling. They’re the first impression someone receives of your business, and set the tone for what a customer can expect to find inside. I want our windows to send a message that we’re creative, professional, approachable, and fun!

The inspiration for this project came from The Glamourai. When she posted photos of the window displays she styled for Cynthia Vincent earlier this season, I pinned this image immediately and made a mental note that I. must. have. ribbon. curtains. I finally got around to it today.

Fortunately for me, ribbon is a well-stocked staple in a flower shop. We have a lot of it around here. In fact, I didn’t realize just how much until I hauled it all out of the boxes from the move. (This is one of two wall racks, and there’s more stored in the back.) I figured we wouldn’t miss a few yards…

I started by measuring the space in the window I wanted to fill. I didn’t want all of the ribbons to be perfectly symmetrical, so I chose different colors, widths, and textures and cut them to various lengths that fit my measurements.

I bought a yardstick last week that I planned to spray paint and use as the “curtain rod,” but later found this cardboard tube lying around that was even better. I’ll have to use that yardstick for something else.

Here’s where things get tough. I wrapped one end of the ribbon around the tube. And secured it with a staple. Repeat. Whew!

If you’re less lazy or impatient, you could probably glue the ribbons, or get fancy and secure them with cute colorful brads. I figured people wouldn’t notice the staples from a distance.

We have great exposed ceilings in the new shop, with tracks that make suspending things super easy. I hung the lightweight ribbon curtain with clear fishing line, and once it was centered and straight, trimmed each ribbon to clean things up.

Voilà! 

Side note: In case you ever wondered, our flower shop’s name is pronounced Lass-uh-ter. It was the last name of the family that originally started the business more than 50 years ago! In all those decades, it’s been owned by three families, the last of which is ours :)