Behind the scenes at the shopfront: how to make a business look busy
Sat, Oct 12, 2013, 01:00
Pop-up population: the vacant former HMV shop on Grafton Street, Dublin. Photograph: Virtual Shopfronts
Underneath the HMV sign on the front of the former music shop at the top of Grafton Street in Dublin is what looks like a functioning men's clothing store. It's actually a series of photorealistic vinyl images of a men's clothing store. Within the shop, customers appear to be perusing racks of clothes, all overseen by a slightly bored-looking virtual shop assistant.
In its realism – I know this isn't an art review but "bored shop girl" is a triumph – it's a long way from the aspirational images of high living that surrounded boom-time apartment buildings. It's the work of Virtual Shopfronts, whose owner, Nicholas Polley, believes his company's products help bring life back to depressed retail areas.
"When the recession hit we had to think on our feet. I saw a problem – vacant retail units – and thought of a way to help address that problem . . . You go to our library, virtual-shopfronts.com, choose the images you want and we'll modify them to fit.
"We've installed them all around the country: in Portlaoise, Cork, Dundalk and Drogheda."
He says there has been interest from the Netherlands, the UK and the US. The main objective is to help let empty premises, but Polley also believes it brightens up depressed areas. "When you have a vacant unit, it has a detrimental effect on neighbouring units," he says.
Others find it fake, however. In June, in advance of the G8 summit in Northern Ireland, local officials were criticised for decorating empty retail space in the Enniskillen area in a similar way. These virtual shopfronts were not done by Polley's company, but he's aware that some people feel it's misleading. "I say it's a hell of a lot better than having [what looks like] a vacant unit . . . We're not just painting over the cracks: we're bringing positivity back to something very negative."
Virtual Shopfronts
Lives Lost The rich and full lives of the people behind the Covid-19 death statistics
Classroom Central
Subscribe to Classroom Central for The Irish Times' monthly guide to education news, features, opinion and classroom resources.
Sign up to receive our original eight week Beginner course to get running!
Please update me on features, events, exclusive offers and competitions from The Irish Times
Sign up to receive the Stay on Track eight week programme to keep running!
Sign up to join our 10km Advanced running course
Read the digital edition of The Gloss magazine
The Irish Times Women's Podcast - Ep 465 Ten Truths to Change Your Life with Caroline Foran 32:25
The Irish Times Women's Podcast - Ep 464 The Book Club: Untamed - Glennon Doyle 49:05
The Irish Times Women's Podcast - Ep 463 Things can only get better in 2021, right? 35:28
Irish Times Life & Style
Follow @IrishTimesLife
Ross O'Carroll-Kelly - 'Do Dry January? That's crazy talk' 06:21
Ross O'Carroll-Kelly - 'I want a Christmas that Tony Holohan would approve of' 06:34
Ross O'Carroll-Kelly - 'How much moo are we talking – for, like, midnight Mass in, say, Foxrock?' 06:44
Life & Style Videos
6:09 Our Test Drive: Ford Kuga EcoBlue
5:40 Inside an Irish ICU: 'We are nowhere near the Covid-19 peak'
6:50 Our Test Drive: the Audi A5 Sportback
Sign up to be the first getting the offers, competitions, and a sneak preview of what's coming up over the weekend