Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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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. John@ Our Home From Scratch says

    This past summer, my wife saw a Danny Briere life size cardboard cutout at a run down gas station in the Finger Lakes. She begged me to ask the owner if she could have it. As soon as I saw it though, there was a deal breaker. He was in his Buffalo Sabres uniform. Only Flyers cutouts in this household. Not like you can decorate with class using a cardboard cutout anyway.

    Reply

    • Meri says

      Um, that is awesome but I totally agree…Briere can only be in a Flyers uniform…otherwise it’s just tacky. ;-)

  2. Sherry from BC says

    I think it is a great idea though it is hard to be patient isn’t it. That is one life skill I haven’t mastered. Sounds like the tweet really helped. I am not sure if it really goes with your office as I think the window in between might be too much of a separation but maybe you were thinking of a different wall in that room? You guys really rock.

    Reply

  3. Shannon C. says

    That’s funny, when I went grocery shopping this week I was thinking about doing that with a food display. I don’t remember if it was for Campbell’s or baking products, but it was an adorable little cardboard stove with a backsplash and hood. I thought my kids would get a kick out of it for a little while.
    We have several movie posters from when my husband worked at a theater and now I have a friend who builds store displays for new movie releases and she will occasionally send some stuff our way.

    Reply

  4. Kristi says

    I have the most adorable rack for my girls’ dress up clothes that I got from a children’s store that was closing. There were actually two and I still kick myself that I didn’t take both!

    Reply

  6. James says

    Did anyone see the bus rolls that Madewell had in the windows about a year ago? I asked at 3 different stores, but none would offer them to me…….I’ve worked in store display for almost 20 years and I always save old display pieces, even old mannequins , for someone who asks for them…people really don’t ask that often….

    Reply

  8. ashlee says

    sherry and john,

    i have a quick question. i opted to ‘follow’ you guys on my blog so that i’d get automatic updates whenever you post. but for some reason, you come up as suspended in my blog list. is there a reason for this? a) did i say something offensive, b) do you generally not allow people to follow you or c) is there some kind of weird blogspot glitch that i don’t understand?

    Reply

  9. Jamie says

    Funny you mention Gap. I worked at babyGap for maybe 2 months, about 3yrs ago. They were pitching these mini wooden school desks they used for their mannequins and I totally snagged 1 for my then 10mo daughter. Here’s an old cell phone pic of her almost 4years ago :http://www.flickr.com/photos/jbentley/2376450111/in/set-72157600667996805

    These days eats her breakfast there every morning, while watching her morning shows. And it’s the perfect place for painting her little finger nails! :)

    Reply

  10. Jill says

    I worked at Blockbuster for 6 years and people would request posters and standees all the time. Of course, they would have to fight us employees for them! I saved Brad Pitt (Legends of the Fall – yum!) from the dumpster. We’ve been happily living together for 16 years now. He’s currently the bartender in my wetbar…the Men In Black are my bouncers. :)

    Reply

  11. jenny G. says

    When I was planning my wedding, I was collecting green bottles like you all did for your beverages, but mine were for centerpieces, and I needed a TON. My local Anthro had an amazing green bottle display, and I asked if I could have them when they were done with them. Unfortunately, they weren’t going to be done until after my wedding. I did, however, inherit a huge box of Christmas ornaments from a different Anthro display. This was thanks to a co-worker, whose daughter used to do displays (and happens to be a design blogger that you have linked in your “blogs we love” section!).

    Reply

  12. Yezenia says

    I’ve asked for Starbucks holiday decorations in the past but got the “don’t call us, we’ll call you” that you mentioned.

    Reply

  13. MJ says

    I work for a petstore, and we had our a halloween party yesterday. There was a cardboard background that was orange and had whiteish Halloween designs on it. I took it..gonna use it as a step and repeat for my trick or treaters! LOL

    Reply

  14. Katie says

    Soo unrelated but Im curious Sherry, if you got the flu shot/H1N1 vaccine while pregnant with Clara? and any thoughts you or any of your readers have on the subject.

    Thanks so much

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      That’s definitely one of those highly personal decisions that can gnaw at ya! I had never had a flu vaccine in my life so after a lot of discussion my doctor and I came to the conclusion that I should skip it since we didn’t know if I’d have a reaction since it would be my first time (and flu-vaccine-administration time was earlier on in my pregnancy). My father also has an egg allergy, which was part of the discussion. It was definitely one of those scary choices that I was really torn about though!

      xo,
      s

  15. Glennis says

    Please let me know if you score big and get two offers for that print! It looks awesome, and my apartment has a bike theme that would work perfect with it :) Thanks!!

    Reply

  16. Beth says

    I hope you get it. We did a sailboat theme for my son’s first bday and JCrew had Nautical flags as their display. I was so excited when they called me back and they were the best decorations (real rope and real canvas flags). I always love a good deal.

    Reply

  17. Jill G. says

    Bath & Body Works had these GORGEOUS bright pink Eiffel Tower display sets a few months ago. A coworker of mine works there part time and I asked her and she looked into it for me, but the one manager was weirdly reluctant and they got tosssed :(

    For a long time I did have a Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler big ol’ display thing that a cousin “rescued” for me from Blockbuster or Hollywood video or something. She saw them throwing it away and asked if she could have it for me. I displayed all of my Gone With the Wind memorabilia on it for years.

    Reply

  18. sandra says

    My husband is a cyclist & I would love to get these prints for his office. Unfortunately, we’re expats in China so I can’t run down to the Gap and beg. If you (for some reason) get duplicates, any chance I could have the extra? A wife can hope!

    Reply

  19. Danielle says

    I worked at American Eagle Outfitters for several years during college. After a “floor-set” as they called it, I did get to take home some pretty sweet graphic square cardboard pieces that had eagles cut out of them. I ended up putting them up in my dorm room on this massive wall and it turned out pretty awesome! Good luck, I hope they call you back!

    Reply

  20. jen says

    that’s so awesome! i just made some art http://fauxtreschic.blogspot.com/2011/10/diy-trellis-canvas-art.html but never thought of asking for it off walls. i know that lots of big box stores just dump the stuff or donate them at reuse stores so it’s a great idea to try to get them before they end up unwanted, unused, and tossed around for some abuse pre-love from someone who could & would truly appreciate it. yay for saving money & getting some unique art!

    jen

    http://fauxtreschic.blogspot.com

    Reply

  21. Kim says

    I’m living in Portugal after recently getting married, and I often get “the look” when I do something overtly “American”… including asking stores at our local mall if I can buy their window displays after the current promotions are finished. The answer has been “no” for just about every request… until last weekend, when, much to my European husband’s embarrassment, I asked yet another store about an oversize world map with a gorgeous old antique wooden frame that was hung in their window display… and they said “We’ll call you!” That little response alone made my heart surge with hope… hope that I will get the map AND that asking for store displays isn’t as strange as all the Europeans think… :)

    Reply

  22. Allie says

    I worked at Victoria Secret for a few years. When they got new benches for the fitting rooms, I snagged the biggest one. Took it home, repainted it, and reupholstered it and it looked great! I still have it at the foot of my bed

    Reply

  24. Brandan WH says

    Not sure if this has been mentioned but there is someone on 20×200.com that deconstructs items. You might be able to find a print there that is similar to what you’re looking for. And I want EVERYTHING from Anthropolgie. Only if it wasn’t so darn expensive!

    Reply

  25. Marah says

    I worked at Banana Republic for 3 years right out of college and was actually responsible for placing the marketing and window displays. It always amazed me how much money was wasted on beautiful pictures/posters in store only to be instructed to throw them away a few weeks later when the sale began for that season. One year they had amazing black and white images from the African plains. I was instructed not to allow anyone to take them home and take them directly to the dumpster, I took them all out to my car and two of them are framed in my house. I allowed employees to take home obsolete marketing all the time. Why let it go to waste?!

    Reply

  26. Laurie says

    I wrote the wine company Red Bicyclette after they had a really cute, illustrated poster of a French man on a bike with baguettes in his bike basket and a little dog on a leash that kind of reminded me of my dog, Bailey. They just sent me the poster, fit perfectly in a Michael’s frame. It’s in my office with all my other international maps, globes, posters etc from when I studied overseas.
    Thought that was very cool of them.

    Reply

  27. Erika says

    I had a friend in high school that worked at The Limited Too. She knew I was/am obsessed with snow flakes. Without my asking, she brought me all of the snowflakes from the window display (about 50, 12-in snowflakes) after they had taken down their holiday display. That’s probably one of the coolest gifts I ever recieved. They’ve decorated every space I’ve lived in since (although they’ve only been used seasonally since college ;)). I guess you just really need an ‘in’.

    Reply

  28. Oona says

    Back in the day, you know before Twitter and all that, I wanted some window displays from Sam Goody. I talked up one of the guys who worked there and, lo-and-behold, I actually got my hot little hands on them once the store was done with them! I still have them at my parents… somewhere.

    Reply

  29. Rachel says

    I work at Anthropologie and they will allow you to take the displays for a donation to a charity. All you have to do is talk with the visual merchandising manager at your local Anthro for all the details. But warning not all of the displays are up for grabs, only if it can not be reused or easily stored.

    Reply

  30. Sharon S. says

    I was pretty obsessed with the 2009 Starbucks holiday decor. The yarn ball wreaths and “knitted” ceramic mugs. I stalked every Starbucks in my area (Richmond BC actually). Some were doing draws, some said no. I didn’t win, but I actually ended up making my own wreath (a square version) and was pretty pleased with the result.

    Reply

  31. Teresa says

    When I saw your post this morning, I thought the poster would be an awesome Christmas gift for my cycling obsessed hubby. You got a much better response from your Gap’s manager. Mine told me I couldn’t have it because “it must be destroyed” after the promotion. :-( Hope you are able to get it. I messaged The Public Blog to see if they could help me out. Keep us posted if you are able to get your hands on one. And if you do and decide it won’t work for you home, I will happily take it off your hands!

    Reply

  32. Deidra says

    We used decorations from a cell phone store at our wedding reception. My mom had to pick them up, put them up for the party and have them returned the next morning so they could put them up for display. It was awesome!

    Reply

  34. Andrea | HomageStyle.com says

    Every now & then you can get a store display. Back around 1996-ish, I got a giant foam core painting of yellow cat face from Tower Records. It was a promotion for Lisa Loeb’s album Tails. You can see the cat here…http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tails_%28album%29.

    It was pretty fab, but I did have to keep tabs on it. Basically had to be annoying, calling every couple of days to check on it, mostly because I was OBSESSED with it, but it had the added effect of them wanting me to buzz off, so they called me as soon as they were finished with it.

    So my recommendation is near-incessant calling!

    Reply

  36. jessica brown says

    My son’s picture was on a Pottery Barn Kids poster/sign a few years ago. I ended up with three of the signs. Different family members had them hold the poster at their local store.

    Reply

  37. Anna says

    Most Anthropologie displays (created by their designers) are available for “purchase” after the stores are finished with them. I say purchase bc you don’t pay the store, you donate to one of their approved charities. I did not know this until I saw a 3 tier chandelier made of strips of colorful book covers at a store. I wanted to take pictures of it for my son’s nursery to recreate and hang over our glider. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that you can put your name in to request it. If no one else requests it, they give you a list of charities you can make a donation to-they tell you the amount it’s worth, you pay the charity and show the receipt as proof when picking up. In my case, it was $50 which was a deal considering the amount of books I would have to buy to recreate the look. I did switch out some of the colors to better match my son’s room but the hard part (stringing of the hoops etc) was done! I am not sure what happens if multiple people request the item-it could be you bid on it and highest bidder wins…it is my favorite item and would be adorable in an office someday.

    Reply

  38. Megan S says

    I’ve totally had success with GAP giving away their posters- not since I had a college door room, granted, but they’ve definitely been generous before. I would hold out for it! Also, I am constantly stealing ideas from West Elm. CONSTANTLY. :-)

    Reply

  39. Carly says

    I’ve been looking for coral pieces for my bedroom for months to no avail. One day I walked into a womens’ clothing store (‘Seed’ in Australia) and lo and behold, coral everywhere!
    I emailed their head office but never received a reply. I wasn’t expecting them for nothing either. I did ask the sales assistant about them first but she wasn’t much help suggesting that I just go down to the beach and get myself some out of the ocean…
    which is just as illegal as taking it straight out of her shop would be!

    Reply

  41. Kayla says

    We were in Dublin for the 250 anniversary of Guinness. I was able to receive a poster from a bar in downtown Dublin. It hangs in my husbands office with the Guinness glass from the brewery.

    Reply

  42. katie f says

    Oh lordy – this reminds me. We totally decorated our dorm room with one of those giant abercrombie posters. because nothing says classy better than a half naked man. (I worked there…so thats how we got the thing. Athough I remember having to cut it into panels to get it into my car).

    I remember that whenever we did a floor change, we just dumped the posters into the mall dumpster (of course, this was 7 ish years ago. One would hope they are better about recycling now).

    Reply

  43. Megan says

    I REALLY hope you get that call…I tried that a few years ago with a summer poster and I never heard back from them. When I did call, they told me they had been thrown out already. Sad! Will be crossing my fingers for you!

    Reply

  44. Kristin says

    I’m an in-store artist for the grocery store Wegmans (upstate NY), and customers and employees ask for our displays all the time. It’s such a huge compliment! Everything is 100% handmade, by us, and I love knowing people see our work as something to display in their homes. It’s way more fulfilling than tossing it in the dumpster when the promotion/holiday is over, so ask!

    Reply

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