Storefront Improvement Series
Sponsored by Lakeview Roscoe Village
Chamber of Commerce
Join the Lakeview Roscoe Village Chamber for our Storefront Improvement Series.
The webinar series is provided by nationally recognized storefront and commercial interior design and displays experts from Retailworks, Inc., headquartered in Milwaukee, WI.
Webinars
Storefront Design, Part 1
Are you using your storefront real estate to create an attention-getting and memorable first impression?
Tuesday, September 15, 2026
9 to 9:45 AM
Description:
Your storefront is working 24/7, whether you’re paying attention to it or not. It’s the first impression a passerby forms before making a decision to enter, keep walking, or worse, never notice you at all. In a pedestrian-heavy district like yours, how is your storefront grabbing attention, and what kind of statement does it make? Does it promote your brand, engage the passerby on an emotional level, and spark curiosity?
This webinar breaks down what actually makes people take notice of a storefront, covering overall building style, maintenance, lighting, signage, and window displays.
4 Key Takeaways:
- Learn how thoughtful lighting, well-designed signage, attractive window displays and decorative sidewalk elements can convert those passing by, to those who stop, look, remember, and enter or return.
- Learn how to maintain a storefront on a budget.
- Have a building on the historic register? Find out how to work with this designation versus against it.
- Examine how individual design choices add up to the overall look of the area; improving one storefront benefits the district, not just the business behind it.
Storefront Design, Part 1 I
Window Displays – Don’t underestimate the power of your glass panels and what you can present behind them.
Tuesday, October 13, 2026
9 to 9:45 AM
Description:
Whether you run a retail shop, restaurant, salon, or a service business like a dental office or investment practice, your windows are working real estate, even if you’ve never treated them that way. Building upon the Storefront Design session delivered last month, this webinar focuses on the tried-and-true techniques of building displays that turn a plain window into a business asset, one that catches the eye and inspires people to step inside.
Two display experts will walk attendees through simple, budget-friendly ways to activate windows for any type of business, not just storefront retail.
5 Key Takeaways:
- Learn three of the most powerful window display techniques to attract attention from: across the street, a moving automobile, or pedestrians walking by.
- Learn how to use graphic decals to best communicate your brand and what your business does, at a glance, even if you don’t sell physical products.
- Discover how certain vinyls, neon and lit signage, along with highly illuminated window displays can extend your storefront’s visibility into evening hours and on darker days, even if you have tinted glass.
- Learn how seasonal display props keep a window feeling current and give regular passersby something to look forward to seeing.
- Learn how to refresh a window display on a simple rotation so it never goes stale between seasons or promotions.
Quick Holiday Decor Tips
Still hanging tired, dusty garland, and fluffing out-of-date evergreen trees? STOP it.
Tuesday, November 10, 2026
9 to 9:45 AM
Description:
Holiday decor shouldn’t look like it came off of a generic store shelf, where everyone else got theirs. This third and final webinar of the year, focuses on how to bring the holidays to life in a way that actually reflects your brand. All your decorations should feel like an extension of your business instead of a seasonal afterthought.
Retailworks brings back its retail design experts to share practical, budget-conscious ways to refresh holiday decor for any type of business, because seasonal decor should never be dull, overdone, or serve to detract. Its sole purpose is to attract attention while supporting your brand and service offerings.
3 Key Takeaways:
- Learn ways to move beyond generic trees, wreaths, and garland, toward holiday decor that actually reflects your brand.
- Discover budget-friendly ways to refresh existing decorations instead of buying new ones every season.
- Learn how to build a display calendar, define a budget, and assign roles to others to make sure holiday decor gets planned, paid for, and installed, well before the season’s rush.
Your Speakers
Lyn
Falk
Suzanne
Rafenstein
Lyn Falk is the Founder and President of Retailworks Inc., and an award-winning store designer, author, and international speaker. She has over 30 years of experience helping retail and service businesses create purposeful, productive, and profitable spaces. Her work integrates consumer psychology, sensory design, and neuromarketing to create emotionally engaging spaces that meet and often exceed her clients’ project goals
Suzanne Rafenstein is the Director of Display and Merchandising at Retailworks Inc. She has 40 years of experience working in the retail industry, from small independents to corporate brands like Neiman Marcus and Kauffman’s. She ran her own home-furnishings shop, Embelezar, for 20 years, 12 of them in nearby Bucktown. Her work today integrates inventory strategy, brand identity, and display & merchandising to help her clients elevate their store’s visual presence.
CountDown to the First Webinar
The webinar series starts soon.
Retailworks
Retailworks, Inc., is an award-winning commercial interior design, display and branding firm located in downtown Milwaukee. For over 30 years, they have worked with diverse groups of businesses nationwide. Their talented team of display artists, interior designers, consumer behavior experts and brand fanatics, create environments that perform, attract, communicate and connect. As active participants in the Main Street American program, they not only work with the individual businesses but with those who oversee the identity and economic vitality of downtown main streets.
