Tag: palette

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Color in Your Store

color palette

Color has a powerful impact on consumers. By understanding how to use color to your advantage, you can create a welcoming and engaging shopping experience for your customers.

Selecting a palette

When selecting a palette for your store, start by considering your brand. Your palette should consist of at least three colors:

  • A dominant color (the main color used in your logo)
  • An accent color
  • One or two neutral colors

Using color in your store

To effectively use color in your store, consider the following tips:

  • Use your dominant color on walls and displays that you want to draw attention to, such as the checkout counter or a specific department. This will attract customers’ eyes and encourage them to explore.
  • Use your accent color sparingly, as a way to add visual interest to your displays, shopping bags, or other areas.
  • Choose neutral colors for the rest of your store. Consider options such as cream, beige, tan, or taupe, which can create a calm and welcoming atmosphere.

Warm vs. cool colors

Different colors can evoke different emotions in customers. Consider the following:

  • Warm colors like red, yellow, and orange can create a sense of energy and excitement. However, be cautious about using too much red, as it can also create a sense of urgency or even anxiety.
  • Cool colors like blue and green are generally calming and relaxing, and are often preferred by shoppers.
  • Colors like purple and orange can be more controversial, but if they align with your brand and the overall feel of your store, there’s no reason not to use them.

This post was inspired by “Color on Your Sales Floor” by Lyn M. Falk, published in the April 2023 issue of Creative Retailer. Falk is the owner and president of Retailworks Inc., a registered interior designer and a retail consultant.

If you’re looking for more information to guide you in owning a retail business, subscribe to Creative Retailer today. Already a subscriber? No worries—join our Facebook group for insights and dialogue from industry specialists like you. And don’t forget, you can always purchase single issues if you prefer that instead.

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Trends from Quilt Market

Trend

Everyone knows that one of the best benefits from attending Quilt Market is finding out what’s trending this season in the craft industry. Check out this list to stay up to date on what consumers want.

What’s trending this season

  1. Ombré. Ombré is back, only this time in prints. The design is the same as the solid color gradient, just with polka dots or other shapes thrown on top.
  2. Butterflies. Just in time for summer, everyone’s favorite insect is adding it’s beauty to inspire quilts and fabrics.
  3. Nontraditional bom. Quilts featuring a variety of bom (or bill of materials) are everywhere in quilt design. Think Scandinavian design, or lines that form one overall pattern (instead of the traditional repeated block). The techniques used to create these quilts also differ, with regular piecing and applique used in the same project.
  4. Wool. Wool doesn’t have to be drab, this material offers an abundance of colors differing from the usual reds and browns. The texture wool provides continues to be a fan favorite, for both crafts and quilts.
  5. DIY Softies. Thought to attract a new generation of crafters, softies prove to be great gifts for babies and little ones. Think beanie babies or small pillows, it doesn’t get any cuter than this.
  6. Farmhouse style. Nostalgia for the farm doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, with curly script and farm animals, country icons are sprinkled through all sorts of craft and fabric design.
  7. Fantasy. Even though the most-watched TV show, Game of Thrones,  is over, the love for all-things medieval isn’t. Designs range from pretty pink unicorns to fire breathing dragons.
  8. Deep blue sea. Continuing with the summer theme, ocean animals are this season’s trend.
  9. Old becoming new. Staying true to it’s beginning, reusing old material and making the most of what you have was trending at Quilt Market. Rugs made of old rags and flannel shirts recycled into quilts were just some of the projects on display.
  10. Soft color palette. Even though Easter is over, soft color palettes can still be found everywhere. The lighter the better it seems this season.

Find out more

Don’t worry if you couldn’t attend this year’s Quilt Market, check out our digital issue to catch up on what you missed!

If you’re looking for more information to guide you in owning a retail business, subscribe to American Quilt Retailer today. Already a subscriber? No worries—join our Facebook group for insights and dialogue from industry specialists like you.