[ Don't forget to nominate your favourite shop by clicking hereOpens in new window ]
A shop window is the calling card of any business. It tells you something about its personality and makes you want to touch, savour and, ultimately, should tempt your over the threshold to buy.
"An enticing window is the continuation of a shop's magic," is how reader Siobhan Daly puts it, nominating Nook, formerly known as Re-Loved, an interiors gifts and upcycled furniture shop on Loman Street in Trim, Co Meath, as having these qualities.
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Susan Kenny concurs. She loves window of
[ The Gourmet Tart CompanyOpens in new window ]
, Galway City, because “it tells a story rather than just displaying food,” she writes. “It is always seasonal, features lots of fun props and displays their yummy products.” The Easter design was a favourite. It featured edible bunny rabbits made of meringue jumping in and out of rabbit holes.
The nomination is a swansong to Aoife Quinn’s talents. Under the business name Creative Bird she has been Gourmet Tart’s window mistress for a decade. She learned her craft working under Best Shops judge John Redmond at Brown Thomas, Galway, for ten years before setting up her own window display company. At GT’s Abbeygate Street premises she has installed bread gnomes for last year’s Galway International Arts Festival and created a miniature horse track for the 2014 Galway Races. Because the shop is being refurbished to better accommodate its growing customer base there will be no more delicious windows to entertain customers and passers-by.
“Many large corporations with massive merchandising budgets and large creative teams would envy what Aoife has created for Gourmet Tart,” says owner Michelle Highland, who explains that the shop struggles with customer queues at lunchtime. She is trying to resolve this with an extra till area at the window and an express queue. The windows of this jewel-box-sized set up will be missed.
Grainne Galvin loves Nassau street-based Knobs and Knockers, in Dublin, for its traditional approach. “I love the way it haven't changed its style, that the shop has stayed true to its personality. It really brings me back to my childhood.”Grinko Florists on Upper Baggot Street in Dublin makes full use of its floor to ceiling glass frontage. You never know what it will come up with next, writes Brigid Murphy. "Always topical, it reflects the season, some event, or just pure fun. The colours of the flowers and plants and the arrangements are really eye catching. The shop has a wonderful ambiance and the staff are professional, friendly and pay great attention to detail." Notable displays include a Little Shop of Horrors theme for Halloween and the cardboard boxes that featured cartoon-like illustrations of him and her for Valentine's Day.
Olivia Hoskins singles out
[ The RestoreOpens in new window ]
, in Fermoy, Co Cork for its “explosion of colour creative ideas and extraordinary use of recycling practical items for around your home. It's a window that draws you in, a must see when in town.”
Linda Brunetti loves the creative, fun and vibrant displays at The Italian Wardrobe, in Sligo town because "each time it tells a different story, a story about women and their multiple roles in society: wives, working women, lovers and mothers."
Votes have been flying in in other categories too, with campaigns taking place in-store and on social media. Have a look at a selection of some of the tweets below.
Tweets us @IrishTimesLife or with #bestshops15
Best Shops 2015 is sponsored by Clover, a First Data product from AIB Merchant Services
