Mike and Kat Liebschwager used popular quotes to market the Ruth & Ollie glassware. Photos by Brandy Brubaker.
Kat and Mike Liebschwager find inspiration for their approach to Carytown window shopping in obscure places.
Lately, one of their muses has been 1990s pop culture.
Since their furniture and accessory shop Ruth & Ollie moved into 3108 W. Cary St. last year, its window dressings have tried to turn the heads of passersby with the hope of luring at least some of them in to shop.
“It’s so old school, but the power of the windows has been amazing,” Mike Liebschwager said.
When they relocated to Carytown, the Liebschwagers blacked out the windows and transformed the display into a “peep show,” offering free views of some of their loveliest furniture.
The Ruth and Ollie August display was hard for Carytown shoppers to ignore.
To correspond with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ Hollywood costume exhibition, they did up the display to look like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz’s house – complete with ruby slippers and a bicycle with a basket.
In August, Ruth & Ollie set out to find a clever display to show off a bevy of colorful glassware the store had just received.
That’s when Sir Mix-A-Lot, the 1990s rapper, came to the rescue.
“We were trying to come up with an idea to tie into the glassware and the song ‘I like big butts’ came on the music system,” Kat Liebschwager said, referring to the song “Baby Got Back.”
The tagline “I like big glass and I can not lie” was born.
Then Kat Liebschwager took a list of popular movie quotes and came up with a few more glass-inspired slogans, including “Say hello to my little glass” and “Nobody puts glass in a corner”.
“We try to create something each month that is fun and eye-catching,” she said. “We always have a new theme.”
The displays can get elaborate, and it takes the whole Ruth & Ollie staff to put them together. The Wizard of Oz design, for example, inspired them to paint the display walls emerald green. One month, they had wallpaper put up.
Fresh Prince-inspired displays will be installed in Ruth and Ollie today.
The shop sets a monthly budget of $1,000 to $2,000 for each display and considers it an advertising expense.
Starting today, Ruth & Ollie’s September display will replace the glass quote theme.
The new décor involves graffiti and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”, the ‘90s sitcom that helped make Will Smith a household name.
The Liebschwagers hired local artist Matt Betts to spray paint several backdrops for $1,600. It’s a little over their normal budget, but Kat Liebschwager said she thinks it is well worth it.
The display, she said, “is going to be one of our best ever.”
Mike and Kat Liebschwager used popular quotes to market the Ruth & Ollie glassware. Photos by Brandy Brubaker.
Kat and Mike Liebschwager find inspiration for their approach to Carytown window shopping in obscure places.
Lately, one of their muses has been 1990s pop culture.
Since their furniture and accessory shop Ruth & Ollie moved into 3108 W. Cary St. last year, its window dressings have tried to turn the heads of passersby with the hope of luring at least some of them in to shop.
“It’s so old school, but the power of the windows has been amazing,” Mike Liebschwager said.
When they relocated to Carytown, the Liebschwagers blacked out the windows and transformed the display into a “peep show,” offering free views of some of their loveliest furniture.
The Ruth and Ollie August display was hard for Carytown shoppers to ignore.
To correspond with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ Hollywood costume exhibition, they did up the display to look like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz’s house – complete with ruby slippers and a bicycle with a basket.
In August, Ruth & Ollie set out to find a clever display to show off a bevy of colorful glassware the store had just received.
That’s when Sir Mix-A-Lot, the 1990s rapper, came to the rescue.
“We were trying to come up with an idea to tie into the glassware and the song ‘I like big butts’ came on the music system,” Kat Liebschwager said, referring to the song “Baby Got Back.”
The tagline “I like big glass and I can not lie” was born.
Then Kat Liebschwager took a list of popular movie quotes and came up with a few more glass-inspired slogans, including “Say hello to my little glass” and “Nobody puts glass in a corner”.
“We try to create something each month that is fun and eye-catching,” she said. “We always have a new theme.”
The displays can get elaborate, and it takes the whole Ruth & Ollie staff to put them together. The Wizard of Oz design, for example, inspired them to paint the display walls emerald green. One month, they had wallpaper put up.
Fresh Prince-inspired displays will be installed in Ruth and Ollie today.
The shop sets a monthly budget of $1,000 to $2,000 for each display and considers it an advertising expense.
Starting today, Ruth & Ollie’s September display will replace the glass quote theme.
The new décor involves graffiti and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”, the ‘90s sitcom that helped make Will Smith a household name.
The Liebschwagers hired local artist Matt Betts to spray paint several backdrops for $1,600. It’s a little over their normal budget, but Kat Liebschwager said she thinks it is well worth it.
The display, she said, “is going to be one of our best ever.”