Michelle De Neys, founder of MDN is often asked what made her decide to become a window dresser / visual merchandiser so we’d like to share a story about the man who inspired her to take that path…
Michelle’s grandfather was a dispatch rider in the war and when the war was over, he went to work for Lilly and Skinner who were eventually taken over by the British Shoe Corporation. The British Shoe Corporation was the first to introduce display teams into the industry.
Michelle’s grandfather was seen as someone extremely capable of creating a display to a high standard that could be used in all the shops they owned in the UK and appointed to the role by the Shoe Corporation. Along with a team, he would design window displays in a studio at their headquarters. The displays would then be photographed and the photos were then sent to the individual shops where the staff and managers would produce the same display.
Michelle’s grandfather would then visit shops individually to ensure the windows were dressed properly. His idea of producing professional displays in hundreds of shops by using a minimum of skilled staff proved to be very successful and profitable for the company.
As the only one in the family who was creative and artistic, he must be the person who Michelle has inherited the same talent for producing eye-catching, bold and innovative displays from. We’re quite sure that he would be a very proud man today to see that his granddaughter has followed so successfully in his footsteps.
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