Eight Pullman businesses, the Pullman Chamber of Commerce, an apparel, merchandising, textiles and design professor, and 125 students joined together to spruce up Pullman just in time for Mom’s Weekend.

Assistant professor Meriem Chida had an idea in the fall to pair stores with students to create more customers for one and a learning experience for the other. She contacted Tammy Lewis, Chamber of Commerce executive director, who helped her reach businesses willing to participate.

Eventually, Chida chose eight businesses for her visual merchandising and promotion class to work with: LilyBees Consignment, At Home Designs, Crimson and Gray, Moments in Time, Atom Heart Music, Design Effects, Global Travel and Wild Ivy.

“It was a learning experience for the students while at the same time, gave business owners access to new fresh ideas for window displays,” Lewis said.

The project was called “Help Give Pullman a Makeover.” The students split into 24 groups of about five, then two or three teams were assigned to each store. The teams each came up with a window display design for their assigned store, and at a trade fair March 27 the stores picked their favorites.

The winners installed their designs this week in hopes that the displays will catch Cougar moms’ attention this weekend.

The students used what they learned in the class, but also looked outside the classroom for ideas. Dustin Larsen, junior apparel, merchandising, design and textiles major, and his team who won the Wild Ivy window display researched interior design, fashion and color trends to incorporate into their display.

The team that installed its design at LilyBees Consignment admired Anthropologie’s window displays, so members flipped through their catalogs for ideas, said Anne Demme, junior apparel, merchandising, design and textiles major.

They used a backdrop as inspiration and had pieces of yellow paper on a gradient from dark to light in the background of a mother and daughter tea party including dresses with a fun vintage touch, Demme said.

The Wild Ivy team also had a mother-daughter tea party element. The theme was a serene, secret garden, Larsen said. He said he hopes the design will get people excited to come into the store.

“Students can get away from the hustle and bustle of Mom’s Weekend and have some time with their moms,” Larsen said.

The team with At Home Designs used the custom framing aspect of the store and incorporated a theme of a Cougar Family, said team member Kourtney Sullivan, a junior apparel, merchandising, design and textiles major. The background is black with framed photos of graduating seniors arranged on a silver tree to represent family and connectedness.

Atom Heart Music has a clean and symmetrical design in its window, said team member Max Ortiz, a freshman undecided major. The display has three guitars and hanging albums with a theme of WSU colors.

Moments in Time’s display is a dress made out of photographs, melding the store’s two elements of photography and clothing, Lewis said.

The teams all had great designs, and the judges had a difficult time deciding on a design for their store, Chida said. Generally, the more competitive teams with a positive group dynamic and high expectations and dedication won, she said.

“With this project, they all wowed me,” Chida said. “It’s amazing what they can do when they are creative and engaged.” The project gave the students valuable real world experience, Lewis said. They had to not only come up with a design, but be able to communicate and convince the business owners that their idea was best at the trade fair.

“It’s easy to come up with brilliant ideas when cost is not an issue and space is not an issue,” Lewis said. “You can only get so much out of the book, eventually you have to go out and do it.” The experience will give the students a tangible edge in the job market, Chida said, and something to discuss at interviews.

Most of the students put the competition on their resumes and feel the project gave them hands-on experience that prepared them for careers after college.

“It was fun and got us thinking,” Sullivan said.