FIREPROOF DECORATIONS.
Not infrequently we hear of a bad fire occasioned by draperies or decorations catching from a lighted match or other similar cause, the inflammable nature of the material used causing a rapid spread of flames and consequent damage to property. Whether this occasions great loss of life, as was the case at the great bazaar in Paris, or is a minor blaze, such as often occurs in a window when a lighted gas jet approaches too near the trimmings, such accidents are desirable to avoid.
Quite recently a method has been discovered of treating material used to decorate halls, booths and windows, which absolutely precludes the possibility of a blaze. The material is simply dipped into a solution of tungstate of soda and allowed to dry. Bunting, cheesecloth and other material so treated are slow burning when ignited, and never blaze up. Therefore they are easily extinguished and cannot readily set fire to woodwork or other substances. No hall or booth where people congregate should be decorated without using this simple and effective precaution against fire, and all loss in a show window may be avoided in like manner. The solution does not injure the fabric.
CHAPTER VII.
PLANNING A WINDOW.
There are two ways to plan a window. One is to draw on paper a diagram of your framework and lay out your plan as carefully as an architect will design a house. Another is to plan as you build, and gradually add to your window until it is completely trimmed. Both ways are practiced by the best trimmers, and each method has been defended by its votaries as the best.
At first thought it would seem best to make a plan of your window, but sometimes it will not look as well when completed as the plan would seem to indicate. And, again, if you build up a window without any forethought, it is just as liable to be a disappointment as a success. Perhaps it is best to have some plan formulated if only in your mind, and then work as closely to it as your window and your material will allow. If you see a chance to improve it as you work, you may easily do so. Often I have carefully thought out a window, and, after fairly starting, changed its plan by degrees until it was totally different from what I had first intended.
For a symmetrical window a centerpiece is always necessary. It may be an arch, a pair of steps, a circular recess, or whatever you choose, but the center is always the most important point of your trim. Good windows are sometimes made by building out the sides uniformly and drawing them toward the center, but it requires much skill to do this successfully, and even then you cannot ignore the center, where the eye of the observer rests first and most frequently. This is the reason a small window is often as effective as a large one. A large window can, of course, show more goods and more detail, but all this is accessory to the centerpiece, and the main idea of any big window can always be reproduced in a smaller one by leaving out some of the details and accessories, and, perhaps, reducing the size of the centerpiece. Circles or sections of circles are best for frameworks, as nothing is so graceful as a circle. Squares, triangles, etc., are stiff as compared to circles, and are difficult to trim. Even steps, or series of shelving, are best made in circular form. Pillars are useful in many ways. They support arches or platforms, and may be used independently for many lines of goods.
Aim to have the heaviest part of your trim in the center. The extreme sides, or ends, of your window may be next heaviest or fullest. Between the center and the ends the trim should be lightest; but this depends considerably on the shape of your window and the character of the trim. If you have no judgment don’t attempt to trim windows. Aside from an artistic eye and deft workmanship the only other requisite of a successful trimmer is common sense.
Do not place your trim too near the window pane, as it destroys the effect of the best display. Unless goods are very small indeed they will look better the farther they are removed from the pane. The floor space in front of the main trim may always be utilized to good advantage.
And, speaking of floors, I am not in favor of what are called “floor trims” in any line of merchandise. They do not attract one unless he deliberately stops to gaze into a window, and few people do that in this busy age. Raise your trim to the center of the window, even if it is composed of small wares, and then it will arrest the gaze of the passerby.
The suggestions I have offered are of necessity general in their scope, and I advise you to study all the good windows you may see. Don’t be content to copy them, however, but improve upon them. Some other man’s idea will frequently give you an idea of your own that is vastly better. Originality alone does not always win. It is better to copy a good window than to originate a poor one. And to originate a good window is better yet.
Where the window dresser is required as a salesman during the day, the decorating is done late in the evening, when a screen is not at all necessary.