With an increasing amount of micro market operators using the Fixturelite Design Tool, taking a hands-on approach to market design - it may be a good time for operators to apply some traditional wisdom to optimize results. More than 2500 years old, Feng Shui is the Chinese ancient art of placement. It helps arrange interiors and create environments that are a source of harmony, health, well-being and prosperity.
Shelley Sparks is a Feng Shui expert, Author, Licensed Landscape Architect and Certified Arborist who has been studying, teaching and practicing Feng Shui for more than twenty-five years. She has served businesses of all sizes, including Fortune 500 firms, and believes that Feng Shui can have a very positive impact on your client’s breakroom.
“People are a lot more comfortable when they can see the door from their seat”
Sparks encourages operators to take steps toward bringing a sense of comfort to the employee break room and offers four suggestions.
- Ideally, make sure that seating in the breakroom allows for a view of the door. That’s where the energy comes into a room. “People are a lot more comfortable when they can see the door from their seat,” said Sparks.
- Consider the use of mirrors to open the room up – especially in a small space. If there is seating that faces a wall or the market instead of the door, you can change that by integrating mirrors into the design. “Ideally, every seat either has direct or a side view of the market entrance,” said Sparks.
- Avoid product overload – clutter. “In looking at pictures of micro markets, I’ve seen some that simply have too many product varieties,” said Sparks. “Overwhelming choice and a lack of thoughtful product placement does not promote a sense of comfort.”
- Make it easy to find the top selling items. “You can easily have your “eyes go blind” in a location when you become accustomed to it and forget about the basics of product placement,” said Sparks. “Have a friend walk into the breakroom and look at the micro market. Ask them where their eyes went first. That is probably a good place to put your top sellers or the items with the greatest profit margin.”
“A sense of comfort is critical in a breakroom,” said Steve Orlando, an experienced operator of ten years who co-founded Fixturelite, a leading supplier of micro market retail displays, seating and design features. “Our goal is to deliver a breakroom environment that provides a place to collaborate, relax and recharge. We do that by helping operators use the Fixturelite Design Tool to design a market environment that has comfortable, well placed furniture, products that are easy to locate and visually pleasing design features.”
Shelley Sparks is a Feng Shui expert, Author, Licensed Landscape Architect and Certified Arborist who has been studying, teaching and practicing Feng Shui for more than twenty-five years. She has lectured at major universities as well as various conferences, private venues and botanical gardens throughout the United States. She is the author of “Secrets of the Land, Designing Harmonious Gardens with Feng Shui.”
She can be reached through her website, www.harmonygardens.net, email, [email protected] or phone 818-505-9783.
