Behind Our Latest Window Display
One of the things we love most about having a shop in Marple is seeing people's reactions to our window displays.
Children often stop to point things out, adults take photos, and plenty of dogs drag their owners over for a closer look. Because our window has become such a talking point, we try to keep it fresh and create something new whenever we can.
With this year's Marple Carnival theme celebrating films and musicals, we knew we had to come up with something special.
The Brainstorming Stage
Like most of our ideas, it started with a conversation.
We knew we wanted to put a dog-themed spin on a well-known film or musical, so we spent some time throwing ideas around. Some were sensible, some were definitely not!
Among the ideas discussed were:
- The Greatest Showdog
- The Dog King
- The Dog of the Opera
- Beauty and the Dog
- Cats (but Dogs)
After much debate, one idea stood out from the rest and we have to give credit for this idea to our lovely friend Rob from B and V Trading (he is an expert on musical theatre)
The Dog Wears Barkley and Fetch.
A canine take on The Devil Wears Prada felt perfect. It was recognisable, fun and gave us plenty of opportunities to add our own dog-loving twists.
Creating the Artwork
Once we'd settled on the theme, I sat down at my Mac and started designing the main graphic.
These days I probably could have asked AI to create something similar, and it may well have been quicker. But graphic design is something I genuinely enjoy and it's a skill I've carried with me throughout my career in fashion and design.
Creating the artwork myself was all part of the fun.
Once I was happy with the design, I sent it over to my friend Angela at Kitsch Republic who printed it onto fabric using her digital textile printing equipment.
Thank you Angela!
Choosing the Colour Scheme
We decided early on that the entire display would follow a simple colour palette of red, black and white.
Sharon completely stripped out the existing display, gave the window a thorough clean and covered the base with some red fabric we've had tucked away for years.
The black display cages went back in and we started dressing our dog models in outfits that fitted the colour scheme. Accessories, coats, collars and leads were all carefully chosen to keep everything coordinated.
We saved the two stars of the show until the very end.
Casting Miranda and Andy
Every production needs its leading characters.
The role of Miranda Priestly was an easy choice.
The largest dog in our collection is a rather imposing Dalmatian toy. Standing above the others, she naturally looks down on everyone with exactly the right amount of judgement and disapproval.
Perfect.
Dressed entirely in black, complete with a coat casually thrown over her shoulder and a pair of sunglasses, Miranda quickly took charge of the office.
Andy, meanwhile, had to begin her story in the same way as the film. If you remember, she first arrives wearing brown, so we dressed her in a stone dogtooth outfit before she eventually worked her way into the world of high canine fashion.
Creating the Props
The little details are often what make a display come alive.
The office keyboard was simply printed onto paper and mounted onto cardboard.
The coffee cups started life as old Costa cups before receiving a Barkley and Fetch makeover. I designed custom sleeves and renamed the coffee shop DOGSTA.
It's probably the most dog-friendly coffee chain in existence.
Introducing WALKWAY and DOGUE
No fashion magazine office would be complete without magazines.
In the film, Miranda rules over RUNWAY magazine, so naturally we needed our own versions.
First came WALKWAY, a canine fashion publication dedicated to the latest trends in collars, coats and accessories.
Then came the slightly more obvious parody...
DOGUE.
Some ideas are simply too good not to use.
Come and See It For Yourself
The best part of creating our window displays is seeing people stop, smile and discover all the little details we've hidden throughout the scene.
If you're passing through Marple, come and take a look at our latest theme. If you have any ideas for future window displays, we'd love to hear them.
After all, our brainstorming session has to start somewhere.
Window Display FACTS
- Time spent designing: 3 hours
- Time spent installing: 3 hours
- Number of dogs in the display: 14 (plus 1 cat)
- Number of coffee cups consumed during installation: Probably too many ☕🐾