Also unique to the area is the study mahogany shelving, a stark contrast to the everyday items they support

The walls, more like mini dividers fashioned in a contemporary wave pattern, separate the somewhat cylindrical room into three distinct areas: 1) something pretty, 2) the meat and potatoes, and 3) the hands-on room. Confused? The phrases used by the folks at TriMark to describe the china and glass display, smallwares section and display kitchen, explain the logic behind the layout and design of these areas.

The China and Glass Display

When customers come into the showroom, the first thing they see is the china and glass display area, which was in the back of the showroom at TriMark's old location. It was Egan's idea to move it up front, ensuring that customers would see the "prettiest part of the showroom first" instead of last. More times than not, she says, passersby would never make it to the back of their old showroom because they were either in a hurry or didn't feel like trekking to the display (which didn't necessarily hurt tabletop sales, but it definitely did not help them).

Placing the china display in the front of the store also serves as a welcomed distraction for customers waiting for an order. "It might take six or seven minutes to get an order from the warehouse," Egan says. "That's a long time when you're waiting, but our customers don't seem to mind because they have plenty of beautiful things to look at. If they're not looking for china, something at one of our tabletop displays catches their eye. Then, they spot the meat and potatoes area."

The Smallwares Area

The first thing you notice about the smallwares section is that it doesn't look like one. Yes, there are the salt and pepper shakers, food cutters and all of the other day-to-day necessities that are difficult to arrange into an orderly, and at the same time attractive, display. But this particular section is just as big on the aesthetics as the function. Because the bulk of the product comes from the warehouse, there are no open boxes or crates and very few product groupings. Although there are exceptions, like the row of coffee pots pictured on page 14, usually only one of each item is displayed.

Also unique to the area is the sturdy mahogany shelving, a stark contrast to the everyday items they support. But the fact that tumblers and baking pans meshed with such high end fixtures adds to the unexpected is the very reason why the dealer chose to dig a little deeper in its pockets. "It was more expensive than the standard shelving but the impact it has on the rest of the showroom makes it worth the cost," Hyman says.

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