In this new blog we’ll take you to the picturesque Belgian village of Sint-Martens-Latem. This is where we had the opportunity to build a showroom for L-SHOP-Team that changes shape as you look at it. The smart solutions devised by our designers also turned out to function perfectly at the Sign2Com trade fair. Click here to find out more about the Sint-Martens-Latem chameleon.

The Sint-Martens-Latem chameleon

The German group L-SHOP-Team has over 6500 items from international brands and 10 branches and is the market leader in Europe for promotional and professional textiles. L-SHOP-Team Belgium was formed in 2015 through the acquisition of WIC and attends to Belgian customers from its branch in Sint-Martens-Latem.

To shift its activities up a gear, the Belgian branch wanted a new showroom and an exhibition fair stand that would attract attention. It wanted them at the same time, or as close as possible to this. We first handed over the showroom, with the participation in the Sign2Com trade fair firmly in the back of our minds.

We needed to find a stylish, but above all flexible presentation solution for this, namely, a design that could be altered rapidly and without the need for technical interventions. This would enable the Belgian team to respond quickly to the marketing campaigns developed at the headquarters. Their campaigns range from new fashion colours, a week themed around safety clothing or bathroom textiles, to a back-to-school special. The team needed to be able to alter the showroom quickly and impeccably without the need for any building work.

On the subject of building work, the L-SHOP-Team showroom is leased which means that drilling and demolition, among other things, are not permitted. It needs to be possible to return the building to its original condition with a coat of paint, if necessary.

For this reason, all of the shelving, storage areas and dividing walls are free-standing modules that can be combined in almost endless ways to create a different result each time. The meeting room where the team puts its heads together each morning needs to become a demonstration area half an hour later where the samples and cotton coatings can be shown. This makes optimum use of every single square metre of the building.

The beating heart of this chameleon-like showroom is a series of 20 bespoke...um...’thingies’. Are they displays? Yes, but they are also storage cupboards! Could you call them dividing walls? Yes, but they are also sample units. How about atmospheric elements? Yes they are, but they are also clothing racks. Our designers came up with 9 variants on the basic module, each with a different division and a variety of functions.

As a result, the entire layout is never boring or monotonous, while the modules are all clearly part of the same family.

A bespoke floor covering and a generously sized table are key parts of the space and act as visual anchors. The visitor’s gaze moves from there to the various thematic presentations that are spread over the remainder of the space. Simply move the modules slightly to change the sense of depth, and new parts of the collection become visible.

For the exhibition stand at the Sign2Com trade fair in Kortrijk, we took several of the modules from the showroom to act as exhibition elements. We used a handful of accessories to create the informal atmosphere of a garden: a vertical garden with real vegetation, a clothes line and several vintage linen baskets, a picnic table and two deck chairs. For visitors, the L-SHOP-Team exhibition stand felt a little like coming home to their very own urban garden.

Less is better

The principle of ‘less is more’ also applies to the way in which you create a particular atmosphere on your exhibition stand. You often only need a few details to leave a lasting impression on the visitor. Thanks to our sound experience, we know exactly which features and accessories will create the desired effect.