A couple of weeks ago we were at the Gap and I spotted this on the wall.
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.
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…
katecooks says
i wish i could get the displays from anthropologie once they’re finished with them! i am always in there turning over items that i want to purchase only to discover they’re marked as “display.” i just dont think i’d be able to muster the courage to ask…
Giselle Medina says
My sister would hate me for posting this, but she was a HUGE Ricky Martin fan when she was in her teens. She had everything of his, and asked for those life size cardboard ones from Kmart and they gave it to her. She still has it to this day.
YoungHouseLove says
Hilarious!
xo,
s
Mandi White says
I didn’t exactly “snag” anything from Anthro, but a few years ago they had this tree display that I loved
(similar to the one here: http://www.thedesignslice.com/2009/12/shop-anthropologie.html only it took up a huge section of the store). Obviously it would have been difficult to take home, but the store contacted the designer and he sat down with me to tell me exactly how to recreate it! I wanted it in my classroom at the time. This was my interpretation (couldn’t make an exact replica due to school policies): https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.544952274455.2132026.34400520&type=1#!/photo.php?fbid=544952823355&set=a.544952274455.2132026.34400520&type=3&theater
Hope the links work! I’ve never linked anything in a comment before…
YoungHouseLove says
So cool! Love it.
xo,
s
Steph says
My cousin was able to decorate her entire wedding reception hall with the christmas decor from Sears for her January wedding. She had tons of plaid 3d cardboard trees in all different sizes, garland and lights. I think my aunt still uses some of them to decorate her house for christmas. Can’t beat free wedding decor.
Letitia says
Like many of the A&F commenters, I worked at American Eagle throughout high school and college. We had wall length posters of super hot guys in our dorm rooms. Although, unlike the A&F peeps, my posters were mostly CLOTHED men, not half nekkid. Even the summertime posters of dudes in swim trunks were tasteful. ;)
Elizabeth says
HAHA! Take THAT A&F! ;-)
Meghan says
My friend in college sweet-talked managers into giving up store art all the time. You just have to be persistent and probbaly a little bit charming (or lucky – my mom has gotten stuff by just asking at the right time). It’s not like the stuff is going back to headquarters or anything – most likely, it’ll just be thrown out.
I used to work at the real estate company that took over the old Tower Records company – we got calls about buying the sign at least once a day!
Ashley W says
I worked for GAP, Inc for many years (at GAP, BabyGap and Banana Republic). Most of the display stuff gets chunked in the trash when the promotion is over. I got lots of stuff for free including a HUGE (like 16 ft across) round wooden display table which I used as a dining table, an awesome shallow wooden salad sized bowl which I use on my coffee table to hold coasters and remotes, tons of floor samples of perfumes and lotions and a sparkly pink and white 8 ft tall fake Christmas tree from an Old Navy window display. The other cool thing was sometimes (if you are lucky and work the right shift) when final sale markdowns were completed, you could score things for SERIOUSLY cheap. In high school I got a pair of jeans for $1 and tons of accessories like belts and hats for like $.25. Working retail has its perks!
Needless to say, don’t give up asking! Try to find out when they will switch out to Christmas displays and ask again then. good luck!
mribaro says
Have you noticed your guide to painting fireplaces is on Apartment Therapy? http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/fireplaces-stoves/step-by-step-painting-a-fireplace-young-house-love-158845
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo! Thanks for the heads up.
xo,
s
Katie says
I always purchase the store decor from Yankee Candle at their semi-annual sale each season!! They place everything $5 or less!
Heather says
That is awesome about the posters!!
Target is the worst about displays! They had some really cute ones one Easter that I really, really wanted but was told me they couldn’t give them tome but that they had to throw them out! I considered stalking their dumpsters after Easter but in the end decided that possibly gettign arrested wasn’t worth it! :)
Carly says
I loved this huge canvas piece of artwork that came from Stika (Vancouver,BC based company) – anyway the local surf shop had this canvas picture up forever and I LOVED it. My brother on the other hand was obsessed with it, so I went in and asked the owner when they were done with it, if I could purchase it or have it. 4 months later I got a call and got the canvas art work – which I then gave to my brother. It is now proudly displayed in his home and whenever I want to see it, I can go visit. Have to love free art!
Katherine says
I’m conflicted about the Anthropologie displays. They are always great, but they look like works of art because they are *notorious* for ripping off artists. A Seattle artist tried to sue them; they’ve had displays that are blatant copies of works by Tara Donovan and Kirsten Hassenfeld, among others….
YoungHouseLove says
Oh I’ve never heard about that!
xo,
s
Holly says
I am a photographer teacher and my students did a project similar to this based on the artist Todd McLellan’s disassembly projects : http://www.toddmclellan.com/
They sell his work on the 20×200 website!
YoungHouseLove says
Love those prints!
-John
heather says
stole a ripped cherry coke poster from a bus shelter in college once…quite the rush..haha!…i think it only hung in my room for a month and then i threw it out…
Leslie says
In college and during Christmas break, I noticed the local car parts store had a giant Timken ball bearings banner hanging in their window. My roommate was actually related to the guy who invented those ball bearings, so I talked to the store and they gave me the banner! It was the most impractical gift to give someone, but my roommate got such a kick out of it!
Ruth says
Oh I love this post!
My older sister and I have worked at the Talbots in our hometown through our respective highschool and college years. Between the two of us, we’ve been there for over a decade. Anways, we have scored some awesome loot over the years. Multiple tables, a Christmas tree, nice fake flowers, vintage suitcases, those cute cardboard organization boxes. Most of our Christmas decor is courtesy of Talbots. I loved working there for the great people and the great stuff.
'Cite says
What is that’s so alluring about in-store décor? It’s like the flame to which many moths are drawn — which certainly doesn’t hurt the store! I wonder how many purchases are made simply because a customer was passing by and admired a shop’s fancy wall art and had to have a closer look…
As for home store décor, a few of my friends and I happened to be hanging out at a Starbucks one night when the employees were replacing the to-go menu panels. We thought they were merely switching them out with breakfast-related panels — and we realized we were wrong when the dudes just pitched the pile into the nearby dumpster! So, for caffeine-inspired grins, we asked whether we could rescue the panels. The employees laughed and shrugged and relayed that they didn’t mind.
We needed no further encouragement than that, so we quickly retrieved our new decorating treasures from the trash. The six of us were now the proud new owners of bona-fide Starbucks wall art! And that Frappuccino menu has been posted in my room ever since. (When I’m old and coffee is obscenely priced — well, more than it is now — I’ll be able to point to that panel and cackle, “Why, back in my day, a grande caramel Frappuccino was only $3.75!”)
'Cite says
The internet ate the “it” that was supposed to appear in the first sentence and make it grammatically correct. Urk.
YoungHouseLove says
No worries! I have typos all the time!
xo,
s
Courtney says
When I was in college I worked at Victoria’s Secret and scored a few cool things (NOT dirty…we’re talking pink striped hat boxes and wings). My friends have two HUGE B&W pictures of Matthew Fox and some other celebrity from Gap years back, but they actually look really chic with their decor.
Francesca says
I love Anthropologie’s displays. I always want to recreate them all but haven’t had a chance yet… one day soon though! I enjoy the bicycle prints, but I think I would prefer it if they faced opposite directions, instead of matching up like they do. :)
Sam says
Growing up we’d visit record/cd stores and ask for whatever album posters we liked, so as soon as the push for the new album was over they’d call us and we’d pick up the displays, my brothers room and our basement has everything from the doors posters to deftones flags…free and very rock n’ roll rooms!
Stefanie W. says
My mom is absolutely pining for this awesome giant word art canvas in the Marion Cage jewelry store in New Orleans – the manager on duty didn’t know anything about it and neither google nor Pinterest has turned up anything yet. Oh well – we keep looking.
Rachel says
Good luck! I used to work at Abercrombie in college and I know they did not give away the display pictures. People used to come in and ask for them all the time. One of my coworkers was scheming up a way to steal some and sell them on ebay.. not sure if he ever did!
Charlsie says
Starbucks one year had really cute Christmas decor, my friend worked there and so she snagged it for me, really cute cardboard doves and fake yarn balls in holiday colors! Good luck with your bike poster!
courtney says
Wow…reading though some of these posts, it’s amazing to me how many stores THROW their displays away when they are done with them. I wonder how many tons of “trash” they are putting in our landfills every year? Why not give away or sell really them cheap and do their part to help save our earth? I have heard that Bath & Body Works throws out any seasonal things that don’t sell and have actually FIRED employees who have taken things out of the dumpster….so sad!
Anna says
About 10 years ago, when I was still young enough to wear Abercrombie, I fell in love with a gorgeous camisole on a display mannequin. I couldn’t find it in the store and asked if I could buy the one off the mannequin. They said it wasn’t for sale and was just for display. What sort of clothing store displays clothes on a mannequin that you can’t buy? Thinking about that irks me again. Stupid A&F.
Good luck on the posters!
Rebecca says
All these comments about cool scores are making me realize I need more friends who work in retail. :-)
Lori says
My husband asked for a “Wilson Pepperoni Display” at the Grocery store while I was pregnant with our first son. It was a big display with 4 Wilson baskets stacked together. It said, “Pick a Pepporoni” in huge letters on the side, but we just painted the sides to match the nursery decor and filled the baskets with stuffed animals, baby books, etc. It’s a beautiful display with our name on it, made even more special because my husband was so determined to get it for his unborn son! :)
Meaningfulgrrrl says
My late grandfather appreciated a Red Baron Pizza display at a grocery store because it referenced WWII – in which he served. The store employees were very helpful in making arrangements for him to receive it. Very sweet.
jaime says
okay, so i love your blog and i know youre always up for some inspiration/browsing…i LOVE this blog, she is an interior designer but she blogs about pretty much whatever…her house is freaking cute but her kitchen has the open shelves (if you browse through she does other peoples kitchens too) you can find that here… http://blog.urbangrace.com/….i feel weird recommending a blog, but I love her bold, earthy style and every room she does just feels like it has this crazy cozy history. Her daughter nursery is way impressive and so elegant. I just think you’ll appreciate it. Again, love you guys!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much Jaime! I actually already love Erika’s blog! And her sweet little girl Sloane! It’s a daily read for me!
xo,
s
Rachael A. P says
I don’t have any “decor” from a store display, but when visiting my nearby liquor store I was telling the owner (who absolutely adores my son) that the only thing that was working with the potty training was my hubby promising our son a kite after a week of no accidents. He picked up the Yellow Kite Beer display kite and told me to come back after the 4th of July and my son could have it. On the 4th, my hubby and son went on a father-son outing and stopped to get some beer and came back with the kite! Luckily the beer label was completely removeable!
Riva says
A woman I used to work out with at the YMCA takes billboards after their advertising campaigns end. She and her husband recycle them into bags that are pretty neat – http://www.etsy.com/shop/drivebybags.
Also someone I know posted on Facebook today something really creepy – they found a house listing on Zillow and one of the interior pictures (11th one in) involves a lurking cardboard cutout of Robert Pattinson in the corner. Not sure if that bedroom actually had that as decor or if someone stuck it in there as a joke to make people think the house comes with a sexy sparkly vampire… http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5437-Westwood-Cir-West-Des-Moines-IA-50266/68165972_zpid/?
Forget bike posters. You need vampire cutouts!
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahahahahahah, I love it.
xo,
s
Jennifer says
I used to work for Gap at the store in college and took home many a poster! Then when I went to work at corporate learned that it wasn’t allowed bc the photos were copyrighted and on and on. But this was late 90s early 2000s. Funny that my career while even though in fashion & later “THE yellow lip balm company” ALWAYS included copyright.
Good luck, bc that is super fun art!
debbie c says
The ol’ college try will often work in your favor! A few years back, my coworker and I saw some beautiful wreaths at the Starbucks downstairs in our building. After Christmas, I asked a barista what they did with the wreaths (that were now gone), and they said they were sitting in a pile to be taken to the dumpster. I asked for them and they gave me both! They’re pretty heavy and I lugged them 1/2 mile to the train station. Score!
Aly Wags says
I used to work in DC and I was a regular at the Starbucks next to my office. Once I told the manager how much I loved the Christmas decor, and he let me buy it a few weeks later! He only charged me $14 for three wreaths and a tree! Luckily the tree folded somewhat flat – it would have been hard to bring it on the subway… I still have all of it.
Never hurts to ask!
Lindsay says
I own a Public bike and they’re as awesome as they look! I hope you get to snag the poster!
Luke says
I regularly borrow merchandising ideas from Arhaus. I was planning on DIYing a tree made from real branches and vellum paper “leaves”, but now I think I’ll ask if they’ll be discarding it when Christmas decorations go up. Thanks for the tip!
Amy K says
Bath & Body Works is usually a great place to snag Christmas ornaments on the cheap when they’re about to take down their Christmas displays.
One year, I happened to go in the store on the right day and got over a dozen beaded snowflake ornaments from their Christmas tree displays for $1 a piece.
Nam says
Hopefully that manager won’t get in trouble for getting you that poster. As a former GAP employee I know they have a strict don’t give the posters away policy (if you have an in with a really nice manager and you pick up shorthanded holidy shift you might be able to snag a holiday print). But they’re more lenient than Jcrew, who actually rips the posters up before pitching them
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- that’s so strange! It sounds like it does vary from store to store. Definitely not trying to get anyone in trouble though!
xo,
s
Tara Jane says
I love those posters too! I once asked for awesome red earlenmeyer flasks they had in Bath and Body Works for valentine’s Day. No Luck. My friend from the UK loved the little model tents they have on display at sporting goods stores. I have been tryiing to get him one for years.
Heather says
A few years ago Bath and Body Works had a window display of faux birch logs stacked upright and used as tables. I asked if I could have one as my daughter’s room was decorated very natural / Waldorfy. I was lucky to ask a very nice manager because otherwise they are required to break them before throwing them out.
Rena says
I’m surprised Target has turned you down. A friend of mine who is a teacher asked her local Target for a display poster for her classroom and they gladly gave it to her. I guess it all depends on the management. Good luck!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so nice of them!
xo,
s
Tara says
I used to work in a children’s clothing store, and although I never used our store art (for some reason, large photos of stylishly-dressed toddlers has never been my decor taste…), I had some coworkers that found creative uses for some pieces. Once we had a display of fake TVs, and a coworker who was selling her home took one to use as a display in her living room, so her real TV could be moved to their new place.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- that’s funny!
xo,
s
Wilhelmina says
I, too, have been disappointed by the lack of love in giving out Target displays. I asked a friend, who’s a Target “executive” (read: manager), and she told me that a lot of their big signs are finished with scary chemicals and they legally have to throw them away once they’re done with them!
malibou says
Oh how I need that bike poster. We recently converted part of our garage into a bike bench area, as my husband keeps building bikes. This would be awesome on the wall.
Guess I will have to brave the mall and see if I can get my name on the list for one.
Michele says
I was in Borders many years ago and spotted a Jamiroquai album release poster. I flipped out, did a little dance and found the store manager (all at the same time mind you). I very bluntly told the manager that I was huge Jamiroquai fan and asked if I could come back and get the poster when they were ready to swap it out for something new. He flat out said no. Then he randomly looked at me and said, “You know what, you can just take it now.” I just about freaked out.
That was many years ago. The release date of the album was 9/11/01 and the detachable part of the poster with the date printed on it is still attached. I still have that poster taped to my kitchen wall all college style like. Highly debating getting it framed to go in my craft room of my new house.
I’m a in-person asker kinda of girl. All they can do is say no. And then I just pout and ask again. (I’m a big fan of getting my way about these types of things!)
Natalie says
I too, was on the Abercrombie boat. When I worked there in HS and college, the ONLY way you’d get a poster is if you were on the campaign team and you got to put the posters up when a new campaign came in. You would have to write your name ALL over the back of it so no one would take it. Even then, you still had to be careful. I never got one :( But that didn’t stop me from covering my books with Abercrombie bags! And we also got the belts and scarves that came with pants when we removed them to make them look like a new item. Oh merchandising!
Heather Beals says
I used to work for Hollywood Video when I was about 18 and they had tons of old posters in the back room, I asked about them and my boss let me take home a gigantic wood plaque of singing in the rain! It’s my absolute FAVE piece of artwork now!
JB says
Thats actually pretty funny because my mom worked in visual for 20 something years at Macy’s and then Nordstrom and we always had the craziest things! We lived in a tiny 2 bedroom duplex and every year for Christmas that place was bedazzled up and down with every Christmas decoration known to man since 1954. We even lived with a giant 10 X 5 feet tall chandelier that they took down from an old Macy’s store which we decorated like a christmas tree for 2 years with the hopes of one day selling it for the big bucks…This was all pre craigslist days or else we would have been gazillionaires!
YoungHouseLove says
That sounds like a good concept for a sitcom. I would totally watch it to see what strange and amazing things the characters would bring home. Haha.
xo,
s
Kyley and Ammo the Dachshund says
ha! It is a really cool print!
My husband has always wanted one of those Giant old man Heads from Ollies (discount store). sadly apparently everyone wants one so they don’t give them away – which I’m sorta glad about because I really don’t want a giant cartoon head hanging in my home. Thank goodness!
kristin says
when i worked at mcd’s (8 weeks, that felt like forever) i scored a vinyl thing that went above the soda fountain that said ‘ahhhhh’ .. i used it at university. another one of my friends worked at AE and she kept all the posters from the store and basically used it as wallpaper in the living room. it looked sweet! way better than the old-people-floral action going on underneath.