HOME DECOR FEATURE Following the Signs

Decorative Signs Point the Way to Sales at Gift Shops

Gift shops are continuing to follow the signs to strong sales – in decorative signs.

Stocking decorative signs are a big part of the merchandise mix at West Arrow Trading Post in Encinitas, Calif., according to Owner Nuryah Ben-el. “We carry hand-made decorative signs from a Florida company called Southern Mesa. They are doing very well for us. Because our shop is basically desert meets the beach décor, we have beach signs and desert signs that both do well.” For Ben-El, simple styles sell best. “We have one with just a Saguaro cactus on it, and one that says “Pray for surf,” and they are both very popular,” she reported.

Sales have been very “even keel,” she said. “Everyone likes that kind of signage.” She noted that the signs she carries are “pretty special. I am carrying oneof-a-kind signs, and I am selective in who I purchase from. We buy from a lot of women-owned businesses, for example. Most everything we carry is handmade, and that includes the signs from Southern Mesa. I choose everything here by hand, and when it comes to the signs, I select both the frame and text.”

At Beach Basket Gift & Clothing Shop in Gig Harbor, Wash., Sales Associate Mike Schmidtke is a part of the long-term family business, founded by Julian and Leslie Schmidtke. He explained that most of the signs, like many souvenir items that the shop carries, are imports, and the businesses that provide them are

“low on manpower since they’ve opened up. So normally we have more decorative signs than we do right now; we are waiting on them.” Most of the signs the shop carries are nautical-themed he says, because the shop is located close to the Puget Sound. “We do well with signs like ‘Beach This Way’ and ‘Beach House’ or ‘Beach House Gig Harbor, Washington,’” he related. “We also do well with mermaid-related signs, ‘Sandy Toes,’ ‘Fresh Crabs,’ things like that.”

When in stock, Schmidtke said, “Signs do pretty well. It’s not as big a category as T-shirts or mugs that are a little more practical, but they are still good sellers.”

In Jackson, Wyo., Camille Neilsen , sales associate at Lucky You Gifts, speaking for Owner Victoria Pambelle, said, “We have a lot of classical, family-oriented signs, and we have comedic signs. We do best with the family-related warm and friendly ones. They’re created using refurbished farm wood and feature loving quotes on them.” Neilsen described the most popular are signs presenting sentiments such as “You make me happy when skies are grey” and “What I love about my home is who I share it with.”

The use of refurbished wood is a strong attraction for buyers, according to Neilsen. “Our signs sell really fast for us. They’re very popular overall. But right now, I’m seeing a trend toward specific kinds of signs, like loving mom and daughter signs or signs featuring quotes from John Muir that are very nature-oriented.”