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Using A Display From The Gap As Home Art

A couple of weeks ago we were at the Gap and I spotted this on the wall.

Gap Poster

It’s a bicycle from Public Bikes that was disassembled and shot for this in-store display (thereby they’re not for sale). I thought they were pretty darn good looking. I’m more of a bike admirer than an actual bike rider (apologies to my cycling enthusiast father), so I feel like a bit of a poser saying this, but… I really want those posters to hang in our house. Not sure where, but somewhere. Here’s a better shot of one of the panels from the Public Bikes blog.

Gap Public Bikes Panel

I talked with the manager at my local Gap and they “made a note” to call me when they’re done using them for display. This was promising because I expected to hear “sorry, we’re not allowed to give those away” (which I’ve heard at other stores when I’ve asked, like Target). But it wasn’t totally confidence inspiring either – because it sounded a bit like a “don’t call us, we’ll call you.” So I also decided to randomly tweet about wanting them once the store is done with them, and a Gap manager elsewhere heard my plea and is going to try to snag me a set once they’re bumped for holiday decor. Oh the power of Twitter. Who knows if it’ll actually work out, but I gave it the ol’ college try.

Is there any store display out there that you’ve been admiring (or thinking about recreating/DIYing)? Perhaps something at Anthropologie? Have any of you used actual store decor in your home? If so, how’d you go about getting it? Was tweeting involved? Or just regular old fashioned in-person asking? We always hear about folks who just get a call weeks or months later when the store is done with something (like friends of mine who got movie posters from Blockbuster when they were finished displaying them as new releases). Fingers crossed…

Comments

  1. Trista says

    My husband enjoyed the Eragon books, so when the movie was about to come out, he begged the local movie theater to give him the huge promo banner with a massive dragon on it.

    Too bad the movie was a bust, so we never even unrolled the banner. I think I made him toss it when we moved this summer.

    Reply

  2. Kate says

    My mom allegedly got about a dozen white coffee mugs for free from a clothing store, when she asked if she could buy them. Not sure how they were worked into the clothing display or if she didn’t just make off with a purse full of mugs, but there it is.

    Reply

  4. Rachel @ We Heart Minnesota says

    That’s awesome that they are going to try and get it to you. Anthropologie used to have a whole wall of toast. Like this:

    http://eattoast.com/post/4611379332/anthropologie-toast

    Our store’s was a little different with a sort of continuum of lightly toasted to burnt. It certainly was an attention getter and I thought “why didn’t we think of that?” But that would be kind of out there for a home display. Like when Hildi did a wall of straw on Trading Spaces back in the day.

    Reply

  5. Haley @ thedistractedblogger says

    There was a Mervyn’s going out of business and we bought their ad display frames for super cheap. You can kind of see the large ad frame with the original ad in it in the following link, http://thedistractedblogger.wordpress.com/2011/08/31/nifty-thrifty/.

    My boyfriend keeps saying he wants to put some other art in it but I have become attached to the ad picture. I really like the colors. And yes it is an add for underwear. :)

    Reply

  6. Jane says

    Actually, now that you made me think about it, I visited Crate and Barrel couple of months ago and they had this cool “wine barrel looking” basket. And they had lots of it spread throughout the store holding some of their decoration items.
    I asked a salesperson how much it was since I didn’t find a tag and they told me “not for sale”. But they had so many at the store. Really? Not for sale? “No”. I didn’t even think about leaving my name and asking them to contact me once they stopped using it. Lesson learned!

    (Sorry for double post, realized I posted at the wrong blog entry. This one is correct).

    Reply

  7. tina says

    I love targets displays. I have a friend that works there and she said they have to trash everything. They don’t want to be liable. That’s sad, because they have some cool stuff !!

    Reply

  8. Julia@a-living-space says

    That bike poster is amazing. I hope you get it!

    I used to work at an Anthropologie store in Oregon (oh, those wonderful days of 40% off…), and of course their displays are always amazing. One time they built a giant tree out of cardboard over chicken wire with roots that curled across the floor, and the branches looked like they went up through the ceiling. I would love to build a smaller one of those someday in the corner of a playroom or kid’s room.

    I remember there were very specific rules about what could be done with the displays when they were taken down. They definitely could not be sold to anyone in the general public, and mostly they wouldn’t let us keep them either, as they would try to reuse as much of the material as possible. Sometimes they had things that were alive that they would try to give (or sell for cheap, I can’t remember) to the employees, like plants or fish (yes, live little betta fish were in a display once). I never got any display bits while I worked there, but it was amazing to see how the creatives put it all together.

    Oh, just thought of another one I want to make. It was a bunch of maps intricately cut to be little strings of roads, state borders, etc, and they were all layered together to make this beautiful web of map bits. Wish I had a picture of it! (Sorry for this novel of a comment!)

    Reply

  9. Jess says

    My husband has worked at Ebbie Bauer for years and has brought home a lot of display items. Most of the items are useless, but we do have a little christmas tree, perfect for a small room and two wine barrels…one we use to store stuff in the shed, and the other we use in the house as a bedside table.

    Reply

  10. Elizabeth says

    I did have some store decor from Starbucks for a while, but I had a friend that worked there so it wasn’t like I had to ask a someone I did know to give it to me. I have more than once wanted to ask for something from a store, but I can never get up the nerve.

    Reply

  11. Ms. Stork says

    When I was in college my girlfriend worked at Abercrombie and she used to bring their posters home. So I guess working at the store helped when getting the display items.

    Also I worked for Bath and Body and I was able to get some of the holiday decorations that they had on the trees and in the vases for super cheap after the season. Again I think working at the store helps but good for you for asking for it! I hope you get it and I am kind of excited to see where it will go in your house!

    Reply

  13. stacy says

    i bought a 8 x 8 wood wall display with shelving, brackets and wire baskets on tear down and remodel from my local REI – I had to haul it away (2 trips!)
    Best 40.00 I ever spent – it was in my sons room as toys, our old mud room and now organizes the bulk of our sports equipment in the garage:

    Reply

  15. Eileen says

    I used to work at H&M and they let us use the old display stuff all of the time. At one point my entire room was decorated in huge fake flowers and butterflies(from spring – yes, I’m secretly a 12-year-old girl), fake holiday gift boxes (which were great for cute storage), and a big fake trunk in black and gold that I put at the end of my bed as a bench. I got rid of the flowers and only use the boxes in my closet, but I still use the bench. I actually really wanted one of the wire dress forms that they used in the lingerie department, but those are permanent and not stuff you can give away.

    Our company did have a lot of stuff that we had to send back to HQ though (like big picture displays) and we never had customers ask for any of our decorations, so I’m not sure if our managers would have let people have our old stuff.

    Eileen

    Reply

  16. Larissa says

    When I first started teaching I shared a storage closet with the art teacher. She had a life-size cardboard cutout of Johhny Castle (Patrick Swayze from Dirty Dancing) in the back corner of the closet that scared the bejesus out of me every time I went in there. And then I’d have “She’s Like the Wind” in my head for the rest of the day.

    Reply

  18. Kevin says

    Panera Bread has a painting of a dog sitting in a kitchen at the edge of the island looking up adoringly at a loaf of bread. The dog is a chocolate lab, just like our dog (who also likes to steal food). I thought it would be a perfect tribute to him, and it would fit nicely in our breakfast area.

    Reply

  19. Laurie says

    I once admired a rectangular glass vase at a clothing store. I must have gone on at some length about how I would use it myself, the manager just got out a ladder took it down and wrapped it in tissue for me.

    Reply

  21. Kendra says

    There is a picture in Starbucks that says “Panama” on it. I want it SOOOOO bad, because my sister is an avid Starbucks fan and was born in Panama. I asked Starbucks who made it (hoping to contact the maker) and they said they weren’t allowed to give out the information. Sad day. So…any Starbucks workers out there who are willing to spill the beans??? haha

    Reply

  22. Jeremy says

    I’ve recently fallen in love with Hollister’s decor…the tiled/wood floor combo, tiled ceiling, old chairs, and spanish-y/indian rugs…maybe one day I’ll use this as an inspiration in my next house?

    Reply

  24. Roxana says

    I really hope you get it! I hope more people ask for decor after reading this post, and I hope that the stores oblige.

    I work for a garbage department and I am constantly renting out temporary dumpsters to different chain restaurants and retail stores so that they can dispose of tons and tons (literally) of their old displays. It’s sickening, and one more reason why I try not to support major consumerism!

    It’s amazing to think how many billions of dollars are probably spent annually on designing, distributing and displaying these seasonal decorations.

    Reply

  25. Jules says

    We had a Rock ‘Ola Cafe that came to town in the late 90’s. As you walked in the door there was this huge framed collage of Rod Stewart albums and album covers. Everytime I went in there I drooled over that thing. They closed a couple years ago and I just happened to be introduced to the owner through work so I asked him if I could buy it and he gave it to me!!! It is the most awesome thing ever. Never did I dream in a million years that I someday would have it hanging in MY house.

    Reply

  26. GreenInOC says

    Nordstrom has a policy in place that you can order nearly anything from the store displays.

    I used to LOVE on of the pieces they used on their make-up counters. It was metal and it had spots for all of your goodies (q-tips, sponges, etc…) and it had a lid. It was the perfect way to keep everything organized but in a beautiful container.

    I told the girls at the counter that I wanted one and they had the store manager call me. I could have it delivered in two weeks, I was soooooo excited. I just needed to let her know which credit card I wanted the $375 charged to?!?!?!

    Reply

  27. linda says

    i love that poster!!!! when i first saw the pic i thought it was a real bike that someone had put in some sort of display case and was all ready to send the post to hubby! either one (disassembled bike or the poster) would look so good in our garage (avid cyclists with many bikes hanging on the wall here!)

    i agree with the earlier comments: MORE KITCHEN! i’m on the edge of my seat waiting to see the progress!!!

    Reply

  28. Liz says

    Great minds think alike! I just feel in love with those on Wed when I saw them in GAP for the first time! I think I stared at them longer than the clothes. I don’t bike either (more of a swimmer and runner) but I am a graphic designer and was already thinking of using that concept of laid out parts for a brochure I am working on. When I saw this poster in the GAP, it seemed like a sign that it just might be the way to go. Ha! So glad I am not the only one getting inspiration and enjoyment out of store artwork. :)

    Reply

  31. Tashauna says

    I used to work for J Crew doing window displays and sales and I once asked for a huge poster triptych they had behind the cash wrap and they gave it to me! Retails stores have great art that’s hard to get anywhere else, so good luck–hope you get it!

    Reply

  32. Victoria says

    My fiance works at the local Chrysler dealership and they have these awesome huge poster prints of different car things (like the SRT8 emblem and a big Ram head). Might not be for everyone, but for two car peopls like us they would look awesome above our couch. Too bad we can’t find them anywhere, and the dealership won’t tell me where they purchased them. ): I hope you have better luck with your GAP posters.

    Reply

  33. Susan says

    A few years back I was walking into the Galleria Houston entrance by Tiffany’s and noticed some awesome giant paintings in each window. I was so inspired I went in an inquired about them and mentioned I would be interested in buying one when they were through using them. Well, they took my name and a few weeks later I got my choice from about 10 paintings. I purchased a beautiful 42 x 42 inch acrylic original for $200. Wow. It cost me more than that to frame it.

    Reply

  35. Janelle says

    My mom has gotten seasonal shop decor from Target that way before. It’s usually more effective with smaller, local establishments, but you might luck out, especially with two different managers looking out for you. Good luck!

    Reply

  36. Stephanie says

    I went to summer school at Middlebury College and I used to jog by a travel agency with a beautiful poster of Rome (somewhere I’d always wanted to visit!) in the window. At the beginning of the summer, I asked the agency if I could have the poster before I returned to “the South” in two months. Surprisingly, they agreed, and two days before finals, I went by again and–true to their word–they took the poster out of the window and rolled it up for me. I hung it in my dorm room/apartment for three years after that and then framed it and hung it in my folks’ beach house when they were decorating it. That cute poster got a lot of love!

    Reply

  37. Katie says

    I used to work in visual merchandising (aka making things pretty) at a store similar to GAP – all that stuff gets thrown out usually, so when people wanted things it was usually easy to give to them, just hard for us to remember to call them.

    I am the proud owner of a lovely store display disco ball, looks great on top of my bookshelf :)

    Reply

    • Elizabeth says

      OMG I totally want one now…and I wonder if he is in any of the shops at Disney World’s Tomorrowland as a display?

      Too funny.

  39. Cassy says

    Hey Guys! Love your blog, read it every morning! If you like the Gap posters check out this photographer. He’s Canadian but his “disassembly” series will blow your mind and those posters out of the water. :) Here’s the website – hope you like it!

    http://www.toddmclellan.com/

    Cassy

    Reply

  40. Anna says

    I had a friend, co-worker actually, that almost lost her job because of a store display. I used to manage a grocery store and one of our cola merchandiser was taking down a holiday display, I was assisting him. My co-worker asked what they were going to do with it; he said toss it in your dumpster. She asked if she could have it. The merchandiser didn’t care, I didn’t care, however, the head of Loss Prevention, at the time (who happened to be in the store and overhead the conversation), told her that if she accepted it, she would be fired because that could be seen as a bribe. The LP guy was a real jerk. Apparently, if you work for the company, you cannot accept gifts, of any type, from merchandisers, because it could be used to vie for premium space in the store. It was quite rediculous and got completely out of hand. However, a customer overhead the LP guy giving my co-worker grief (on the sales floor, I might add)and offered to take it instead. Then called my friend off property and gave it to her.

    That has no bearing on your post, I hope the display comes your way, but it’s just one of those things that have stuck with me since it happened.

    Reply

  41. Sam says

    I worked at Gap in high school and took home some large posters of clouds. My coworkers and I would also fight over the ones of scruffy male models too!

    Reply

  42. Alex Grace says

    I work for Starbucks. A couple of years ago for the Holiday Season the decor theme was based around red and green yarn balls. Some of it was actually kind of cute and traditional looking. I definitely snagged a couple of wreaths. They still get put up for Christmas each year in my house!

    Reply

  43. Amie says

    My high school art teacher used to snag window displays all the time. He just sweet-talked the managers to give them to him, “For his art class” and he would put them up in the studio and do a study on the design concepts of them.

    Reply

  44. Sarah says

    I did the same thing at a book store! It was such a surprise months later when came over to the shop I own and said they were done using the poster I was admiring! It is a Kate Spade Paper poster with big red peonies. I’m saving it for a girl nursery or an office one day! Hope you score it soon!!

    Reply

  46. Sarah says

    a month or two ago, madewell had these AWESOME design drawings of eames/lowey/etc. designs hanging around the store. so AWESOME, in fact, that my husband was totally hooked and actually asked if we could go shop in “that store with the sketches.” for real? i thought he was joking. unfortunately, the store is like 2 hours from our house or else i would’ve asked if we could have them when the season changed. i checked on ebay, but no luck. oh well… it got the manfriend excited about clothes shopping. that’s enough for me. ;)

    Reply

  48. Lizz says

    I have scored some sweet posters this way from Borders (RIP)! When new CDs came out, they would have big posters hung to advertise them. I’d just ask, they’d jot down my name and phone number on the back and call me when they took them down. Still shocked that it worked out so well!

    Reply

  49. Jen says

    I worked at the Gap in high school and college and used to grab the displays that I liked as well…they were so fun! I would recommend asking for the specific dates they will be taking the displays down so you can magically show up the day after and take them home with you! Good luck :-)

    Reply

  50. Anna says

    A few years ago my husband and I had our moving van stolen while moving across country (yeah it sucked…but moving on). We’d had our sonicare toothbrushes with us in the hotel, but our charger was in the moving van. So suddenly we could not recharge them and sonicare doesn’t sell replacement chargers. It was lame to the max.

    Then about a year later a local store, “Linens and Things” was going out of business. They had a charger on display and we asked if we could buy it. They just gave it to us since they’d cut off the power cord and glued a toothbrush inside it.

    My husband spliced a cord from home depot to the back and removed the glued on toothbrush. We were really unsure if it would work. But it DID!

    Several years later we are still using that charger. It was a total DIY miracle! Bless you linens and things, my teeth thank you. :)

    Reply

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