From Windows To Stages
By Stephanie Lake
Co-owner and Creative Director of Creative Solutions
Creative Solutions is celebrating our 10-year anniversary this June. Initially focused on visual displays for retail storefronts and interiors, our business has since expanded to seasonal and event décor for shopping centers around the state, event support for the NFL, marketing consultation and performance assessment for a variety of local businesses.
Debbie Hedrick, David Porter, Bob Badham, Stephanie Lake
Originally work colleagues – via fashion label Polo Ralph Lauren – my business partner Debbie Hedrick and I decided to take fate into our hands as the retail industry suffered massive cutbacks from the trauma of 9/11. Approached by Aloha Tower Marketplace to fill empty storefronts, we were armed with a tool-box of borrowed supplies from the family garage and our combined retail experience – and Creative Solutions was born.
If there is a mission for Creative Solutions, it is our dedication and passion for improving and protecting the customer experience for a client’s business, big or small. Both new and existing businesses rely on us for guidance on a variety of tasks, including interior design, fixture acquisition, in-store promotions, catalog design, customer service, visual display and product assortment.
Moving beyond the glass storefronts, we began working directly with shopping centers to support seasonal and holiday promotions. In addition to seasonal decor, we provide stage design for fashion events such as Shop a Le’a and the Tim Gunn event at Ala Moana Center.
Now tasked with larger projects, we have assembled a team of experienced artists, craftsmen and local vendors to assist with these installations.
One of Creative Solutions’ earliest clients, Pearlridge Center, continues to collaborate with us, providing some of our greatest challenges to date with its annual summer family exhibits.
Recent promotions include life-sized Lego sculptures, prehistoric landscapes for 20-foot-tall dinosaurs and, now, a Hall of Heroes promotion that opened May 25. With Hall of Heroes, we’re creating a fun, comic-inspired experience.
There is always a creative solution to your retail needs. For more information visit cs-hi.com.
