VMSD - July 2014 - (Page 4)

FE FROM THE EDITOR Portrait of an Artist A visual pied piper creates community. On a sunny Sunday afternoon in late May, I stood in the entrance to the recently refreshed Hickey Freeman store on Madison Avenue in New York, flanked by a small army of nattily dressed male mannequins, cleverly positioned to show off the latest spring fashions by the venerable American menswear retailer. Bright-patterned shirts, creamy linen slacks and jauntily positioned hats adorned the fashion vanguard, ties magically held aloft as if lifted by a gentle breeze - a signature visual element of the designer I was there to visit. I glanced outside the glass front door and across the busy avenue - seemingly oblivious to the human and vehicular traffic racing past him - stood a slim, cool-casual dressed man, munching on an apple while intently studying the narrow store façade above me. Catching my gaze, he ditched the core and sprinted across the street to greet me, a human hurricane of gestures and exclamations. Tom Beebe, Hickey Freeman/W Diamond Group's vp, creative director and our industry's tireless promoter of all things visual merchandising, is a design dynamo and industry legend, and yet he shies away from the spotlight, letting others shine. Case in point: the Algonquin Wits & Wizards event (see page 12), that started as a casual coffee klatch of Tom's industry friends, and has since grown to thrice-yearly gatherings of industry insiders, with sponsorships and noted guest speakers. And yet, Tom remains determined to retain the fun, casual atmosphere of those small early get-togethers (where he scrambled to scrimp together a few bucks for cheese and crackers and everyone went dutch on the drinks), artfully wrangling a growing guest list while remaining committed to including eager young design students and struggling artists. Tom led me on a whirlwind tour of his refreshed store, generously crediting outside designers and suppliers who helped achieve the retailer's vision. In a tiny back office, delicate pencil drawings of future displays lay strewn about his desk, evidence of a playful, vivid imagination and attention to visual craftsmanship. Later, over drinks at a nearby bistro, we laughed and gossiped a bit, and pondered the ephemeral nature of visual merchandising and the vagaries of retail: here today, gone tomorrow. Tom is old-school professional: committed to his craft, passionate, not afraid to get his hands dirty (rubber bands stacked on his wrist, T-pin in his lapel) but also future focused and open to the new. And then, as quickly as he had appeared, he was gone, dashing uptown on his weekend night to offer support and counsel to an emerging young artist, his familiar sign-off echoing in my head, "As we spin, spin, spin..." 4 JULY 2014 | vmsd.com 11262 Cornell Park Drive Cincinnati, OH 45242 P: 513.421.2050 / F: 513.421.5144 vmsd@stmediagroup.com / VMSD.com EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief Patricia Sheehan patricia.sheehan@stmediagroup.com Managing Editor Robin Donovan robin.donovan@stmediagroup.com Art Director Don Heyl don.heyl@stmediagroup.com Assistant Editor Carly Hagedon carly.hagedon@stmediagroup.com New York Editor Eric Feigenbaum European Editor John Ryan, London Contributing Writers Steve Kaufman, Gina Ragone, Julie Thompson, Sarah Whitman Contributing Photographer Richard Cadan BRAND & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Senior VP/Group Publisher U.S. / Canada Murray Kasmenn murray.kasmenn@stmediagroup.com P: 770.578.2577 Senior Market Strategist Ben Skidmore ben.skidmore@stmediagroup.com P: 972.587.9064 International Market Strategist Patricia Iannelli patricia.iannelli@stmediagroup.com Via G. Rossini 16, 21100 Varese, Italy P: +39.0332.240285 Integrated Marketing Specialist Brittany Lucero brittany.lucero@stmediagroup.com P: 470.545.3667 Publishing & Brand Services Coordinator Christine Lewis christine.lewis@stmediagroup.com P: 770.874.7834 C O R P O R AT E President Tedd Swormstedt Senior VP Content Steve Duccilli Audience Development Director Christine Baloga Production Coordinator Mark Kissling Book Division Director Mark Kissling Reprint Information 717-632-3535, ext. 8265 SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES P.O. Box 1060, Skokie, IL 60076 P: (847) 763-4938 / F: (847) 763-9030 VMSD@halldata.com http://www.VMSD.com http://www.vmsd.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of VMSD - July 2014

VMSD - July 2014
Contents
On the Edge
High-Rise Hutong
Brick, Mortar and Pestle
From the Editor
VMSD Editorial Advisory Board
The Goods
Showroom: Mannequins
Showroom: Props & Decs
Ad Index
Checking Out

VMSD - July 2014