Rax & Dollies

Raw Finish Mannequins

2012-01-23T14:10:00.000-08:00

Rather than being painted like traditional mannequins, raw mannequins are sanded by hand to produce this edgy raw look. The raw look works well in stores wanting to portray a grungy, industrial image.

Any of our premium fibreglass range can be produced in raw finish. To see more images of raw finish mannequins, visit our galleries page here.

Wood Grain Finish Mannequins

2012-01-22T22:35:00.000-08:00

You can stand out from the crowd with amazing wood-grain finish mannequins. Wood grained mannequins can be ordered in male or female - with or without heads. The process to finish our mannequins in a wood grain colour is similar to old-school marbling. This finish is perfect for prime front window real estate in fashion boutiques and is sure to distinguish your fashions from the pack....

To learn more about this premium product please contact us

Choosing the right mannequin for your retail store

2012-01-14T21:42:00.000-08:00

When choosing the right mannequin for your retail store, you should be aiming to portray your brands image and feel.

While large chains can go to great expense with their mannequin window displays, for small retailers the same principle applies, even if you don't have the big corporate budget to dress your window. It can help to go to fashion websites or magazines and get some ideas to find poses, feels and imagery that suits your desired look.

Don't be afraid to add some touches of the exotic or flamboyant to your mannequin displays if it fits in with your brands aesthetic, after all the reason you have mannequins in your front window is to stand out from the crowd - right?!

Also, if you have time up your sleeve, custom colours and finishes are easy - we have done custom colours for both small and large orders - and it has been as simple as giving us a colour swatch from the paint colour boards at a paint store or Bunnings. And remember while you can always pick from a mannequin that is in stock and catalogued, its easy for you to "mix & match" - alot of customers love that they can pick one mannequin, add a different head or pose characteristic from our other mannequin ranges.

And, if your budget allows - go chrome - in colours as diverse as silver, gold, blue and red!

How a Rax & Dollies Fibreglass Mannequin is Made

2012-01-14T21:32:00.000-08:00

Many people ask us "how is a mannequin made"? We should note that before we begin, there is a very vast difference in the factories that make cheap low quality mannequins and the factories that make premium high quality mannequins. From the materials used to the care taken during the process (i.e quality control) through to the working conditions, there is a great chasm between the (very) rare good factory and most of the others in China.

Our factory, we are proud to say, is one of the best facilities in the world, with a determined dedication to following environmental regulations and satisfactory working conditions, as well as a meticulous quality control program.

Most of today's retail shop display mannequins are manufactured from fibreglass moulds, and here is a brief summary of the process.

First there is the actual sculpting process - where a clay model is sculpted. This model when finished is submitted for approval and if all is ok, the sculpted form is made into prototype moulds - usually moulds are made for the heads, hands, arms, legs & torso. This process also allows for changes to these parts later (eg. a different head) without having to start from scratch with a new sculpture.

Once the moulds are completed, we can begin making the mannequin.

First the moulds are filled with fibreglass, sealed and cast - above is a video of the factory floor

during this process.

The next step after removing the moulds is the sanding. This is actually the part of the process where some of the most skilled workers are required. A very labour intensive process, sanding is one of the areas where the quality level of a mannequin is determined. For instance, at our factory, the general manager is very reluctant to use workers from other mannequin factories - as their workmanship is not up to the right standard and it is hard for them to correct bad habits learnt at inferior factories. During the sanding process, all the rough edges left from the moulds are sanded back, and the surface of the mannequin is prepared properly for painting. At this point the pieces of each mannequin are inspected by the quality control team before moving on to the next part of the manufacturing process.

Next the mannequins are sent off to the painting floor, vast areas which can look like a macabre body shop, with dismembered bodies in all shapes, sizes and positions waiting to be painted! The mannequins go through spray booths and then ovens to dry, before once again, the mannequins are subject to rigorous quality control procedures - if something is not right, even if it is microscopic, it goes back to be rectified before the mannequin is allowed to progress. Notice in the first part of the video below, little stickers over the skin colour mannequins - these are the areas identified by quality control to be rectified - you can see how thorough they are!

For the headless mannequins, this is almost the end of the journey, but for the realistic mannequins, the heads and torsos now move on to the make up department, where - in a high quality factory - the make up is actually done by hand. Eyelashes are added (purchased from a local doll maker factory) and the team of make up artists work with a sample head in front of them, to ensure the mannequin's make up is correct.

Make up can either be standard designs, or can be customised to suit clients or brands.

From here, the mannequins go through one last quality control inspection - are fully assembled to make sure all the parts align correctly, and then are packed together with their base and from there, the clients order is packed into a shipping container and sent to the port.

So that's a crash course in how a mannequin is made!

How to assemble a Rax & Dollies Wheelie Rack

2012-01-14T19:35:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick how to on setting up the most popular of all retail racks - the Wheelie Rack. The wheelie rack is so popular because it is ready for use in 30 seconds after unpacking from the box. There are no tools required, and is extremely simple to assemble. It is a multipurpose rack which is just as functional in retail stores as an essential part of the travelling salesperson's toolkit. The rack collapses into a flat position to fit into back of most cars, which makes it ideal for party planners.

Click here to view large image of assembly instructions

Our fake children safely buckled up!

2012-01-05T00:21:00.001-08:00

Rax & Dollies Customised hanging mannequins spotted at Westfield Parramatta

2011-12-21T14:20:00.000-08:00

Here is a recently completed custom mannequin project for one of our corporate retail clients.

For this project we needed to mould the mannequins, leg forms and mannequin torsos from scratch. We were provided with images of head and body shape required and then we worked with our factory in China to make prototypes for the client to approve.

The client also wanted to be able to hang their mannequins from the roof, which provided some technical and design challenges which we worked with our factory to overcome and meet our client's needs.

For the full body mannequin, this necessitated us making the mannequin almost entirely in one piece so that it could structurally cope with the forces involved in hanging from the ceiling (most traditional mannequins are made up of separate body pieces).

You can read more about this project and see more photos at our website

A customer gets a few of our Chic mannequins ready to go swimming!

2011-12-08T21:46:00.001-08:00

These gorgeous dollies are from our Chic female mannequin range - a client in QLD was nice enough to send us in a happy snap!

Taking Care Of The Mannequins In Your Store

2011-12-08T13:52:00.001-08:00

A small piece of background info first - most shop mannequins are made from fiberglass, because this material lends itself best to the molding and manufacturing process. The use of fiberglass in the manufacturing process allows sculptors a virtually blank canvass with which to create shape and form with, as fiberglass can be molded into a wide variety of shapes and designs.
The one major drawback with using fiberglass is that is a relatively fragile material when used daily in commercial environments, so a fiberglass mannequin can be subject to the slings and arrows of outrageous treatment! A fiberglass mannequin does have to treated like you would treat any asset in your business - with care and regard to maximising its lifetime and aesthetics.

The quickest damage most mannequins sustain is scratching - usually from fairly innocuous circumstances - your staff change the mannequins clothes and jewellery like a ring scratches the paint surface. In some cases, if the scratch is light a basic pencil eraser can rub the mark off. (At Rax & Dollies, our premium mannequins are supplied with gloves & touch up paint, which can protect and restore your mannequin's finish). Make sure your staff wear the gloves provided to reduce the risk of accidental scratching.

Many mannequins are displayed in cramped retail window displays - and sometimes its easy for a mannequin to be knocked bumped or fall over completely if the staff are rushing, or just plain unlucky! If you drop or heavily bump a fiberglass mannequin, it WILL sustain some kind of damage, ranging from a scratch if you're lucky to a crack or dent if its a hard knock. The best protection against this eventuality is to plan ahead a bit, try to work in as much open space as possible, at a time when you're not likely to be interrupted and when you or your staff don't need to rush.

If you are moving a mannequin to another location in the store, don't pick the mannequin up by the arms or drag it along on its base - the arms might fall off, and you will weaken the attachments that secure the mannequin's feet to the base. Its best to take a few extra moments, and take it across in pieces and reassemble in the new display area.
If you are heading off to an exhibition or trade show, as tempting as it is, don't throw the mannequin in the back of a van and expect it to make it to its destination unscathed! Take the extra time to pack it back up into a box with plenty of bubblewrap and packaging - this way the mannequin will do justice to your garments at the exhibition!
Be careful with the hands too, as though some of the premium mannequin ranges these days have toughened hands, poorer quality mannequin hands will break if dropped - there is many a 3 fingered mannequin lurking at your local mall!

Also, there has recently been some great advances in the manufacture of plastic mannequins. The picture below shows a female mannequin from the Rax & Dollies Bounce! range of plastic mannequins. While the development costs associated with molding plastic mannequins restricts the range of poses available, plastic mannequins are a great option for retail environments where there is a high rotation of clothing on the mannequins and also where young staff work unsupervised (i.e. take less care!). At a recent tradeshow, we literally had people saying sorry to plastic mannequins we had on display they had bumped into, they had thought they were real people instead of mannequins!

If you would like more information about choosing the right mannequin, we invite you to contact us at Rax & Dollies - Australia's premier range of mannequins, visual merchandising solutions, retail display racks and shop fittings

How to load and use a garment tagging gun

2011-12-07T17:05:00.001-08:00

For first time users of a garment tagging gun, it can be a bit of a mystery how to load and use it! Here are some simple tips for loading and using your tagging gun. This is based on the use of our basic tagging gun kit.

So there you go! You can now start pricing!

Custom Retail Display Rack at Myer Carindale

2011-11-27T16:59:00.001-08:00

Hi Kathi

The racks at Myer Carindale are fab, fab, fab!
See attached some photos - perfect so thanks.

Nik

Our mannequins go all blokey and workwear at Masters Hardware

2011-11-21T15:24:00.001-08:00

Hi-Vis is the new black.....

Lining up a new batch of customized tailors forms

2011-11-16T01:40:00.001-08:00

We've been hard at work today adding customized neck blocks to make and female tailors forms for a national retailer. With doorknobs and rope and other nik - naks sourced from auctions and building material recyclers, we've guaranteed our client has a look unique to them!

You can read more about this project here

Never forget the advantage that size brings

2011-11-10T16:34:00.001-08:00

Great article from StartUpSmart Website:

Advantages small business has over big business:

http://www.startupsmart.com.au/management/never-forget-the-advantage-that-size-brings/201111104501.html

Rax & Dollies tailors forms at Superdry Parramatta Westfield

2011-11-05T16:53:00.001-07:00

Rax & Dollies mannequins spotted in the wild at Castle Towers

2011-11-02T21:07:00.001-07:00

Garment Steamers Help Fashion Retailers Save Money by Reducing Returned Goods

2011-11-02T03:42:00.000-07:00

Garment Steamers Help Fashion Retailers Save Money by Reducing Returned Goods

Rax & Dollies Garment Steamer

Steam Power Helps Fashion Retailers Save Money by Reducing Returned Goods

A poll of fashion retailers carried out by Displaysense in the UK has revealed that using garment steamers can significantly reduce the amount of returned and damaged goods at a store.

Now the company is urging fashion retailers to consider the benefits of clothes steamers, not only in keeping clothes looking fresh, but also when it comes to preventing damage to products.

Steve Whittle from Displaysense, explains that positive feedback from retailers about their clothes steamers prompted the firm to carry out its research.

"We have recently been receiving numerous positive comments and reviews from our fashion customers about their garment steamers, so we wanted to find out just how good they really are," he comments.

One surprising outcome of the survey was the significant reduction in damaged and returned goods, with Mr Whittle noting that this is a key benefit of using clothes steamers that is often not considered.

"We already knew that clothes steamers are great at keeping garments looking at their best, which can boost sales, but we didn't realise they are so effective at reducing the number of damaged and returned goods for stores," he states.

Mr Whittle points out that this could be a further compelling reason for fashion retailers to purchase a garment steamer when economic pressures are forcing them to find ways to increase sales at the same time as cutting costs.

"Clothes steamers provide a cost-effective solution for fashion retailers. It's important to remember that garments in stores don't just hang in shop displays, they get tried on, dropped and stored in stock rooms, which can all result in general wear and tear.

"Although garments may not look damaged, this wear and tear can shorten the life of clothes and could increase the chance that garments will be returned," Mr Whittle points out.

He stresses that, as Displaysense's poll has shown, retailers who look after their products by using a clothes steamer will be able to significantly reduce the number of items that get damaged and subsequently returned.

"As well as saving time and money, this will also help a store build its reputation for selling high quality goods, which could in turn result in more custom," Mr Whittle concludes.

We help Lorna Jane open a new store in Mackay recently

2011-11-02T02:03:00.000-07:00

The challenges of opening and fitting out your new retail store

2011-10-29T22:19:00.000-07:00

Fitting out a new shop has many challenges - and right to the moment when you finally open your doors for business, it can be a stressful and expensive exercise as you juggles budgets, deadlines and random events conspiring against you. Even the best planned shop fitout might have things go wrong - it only takes one small event to trigger a snowball of misfortune and bad luck! The tradesman doing your floor could run over schedule, which then means your shop-fitter has to reschedule, and before you know it, your original opening date blows out. Or your shop mannequins could be stuck in a freight depot in Sydney, when your shop is in Brisbane - events like this are out of your control.
So, the first piece of advice is to build some time or slush into your fitout project to allow for problems like this. Don't expect everything to go perfectly to plan, because most likely, your plans are going to need to adapt to circumstances as your shop fitout project progresses.
Freight especially can be a real X factor - especially if you are fitting out a shop in a newly opening shopping centre or mall - the days leading up to a major opening like this are chaotic - and many freight companies can be unreliable in delivering your shop fittings to your store - don't be surprised how often a delivery driver will simply decide this delivery is just too hard, and take your delivery back to the depot. Make sure you get the freight company consignment note details from your shop fittings supplier, and be pro-active about chasing your orders up - don't wait until 3pm on the day before opening to wonder where your order is - chase it up early, and regularly until the order is delivered to you.

To save costs, do as much of the work as you are able to - of course hire experienced contractors to handle things like electrical work and anything else outside your level of ability, but other things, like putting the wall posts up in your shop and painting for example are surprisingly simple to do as long as you do your homework first and use the right materials. And make sure you ask the company you are buying your shopfittings from for advice, and ask for instructions for the products you are buying if they come in flatpacked form. Also ask them if they can recommend a shop fitter if you need one - the good companies will be able to make a good recommendation for you.

Beware of the "online only" shop fittings suppliers - those without a bricks and mortar shopfront themselves, whose product knowledge and after sales service is notoriously fickle. A good rule of thumb is, if you can't call them and you can't visit them, touch and feel the products - proceed with caution - its when something goes wrong with your fitout that the relationship you have built with your shop fittings supplier is most crucial. Its also the time where the better companies in the industry stand out.
Prioritise where your money goes - if your budget is tight - spend your money on the shop fitting and display products that will generate the quickest return and that are in your customers direct line of sight. If you can find quality second hand shop fittings or mannequins, and they are in a condition that won't dilute your shop's image - consider that option if funds are scarce - and from that point designate a certain percentage of profits into re-investing in your shop fittings and mannequins as your revenue picks up.
And lastly, as with all major projects, be pro-active - politely follow up with your suppliers and contractors, and if something or someone does not arrive at the time you expect it to, chase it up immediately and early in the day.

Opening a new retail shop and need some advice? We invite you to contact us at Rax & Dollies - Australia's premier range of mannequins, visual merchandising solutions, retail display racks and shop fittings.

Use Acrylic Shoe Inserts to Display Sandals

2011-10-25T19:19:00.000-07:00

Quick tip for the day - when displaying sandals, use handy acrylic shoe inserts to fill the space between sandal and strap. This fills out the sandal to give a more natural display!

Spotted At Spotlight.....

2011-10-24T01:40:00.000-07:00

We bumped into a couple of old friends at a recently opened Spotlight store in Wetherill Park.

More info on our classic tailors form mannequins

Rax & Dollies Raw Mannequins At Rouse Hill Marketplace

2011-10-23T20:40:00.000-07:00

We recently snapped some of our raw finish mannequins showing off at Rouse Hill Marketplace....

Rax & Dollies mannequins recently spotted at Westfield Sydney.....

2011-10-21T01:33:00.000-07:00

Mannequins for Islamic Apparel

2011-10-21T01:07:00.000-07:00

A great client of ours runs a group of stores for Islamic apparel. Our client had very definite requirements when finding the right mannequin for the stores - soft features and natural poses were important.
Here they are in store!

Bridal Boutique In Woollahra

2011-10-21T00:38:00.000-07:00

Here's a custom sized hanging rail we recently made for a new bridal boutique in Woollahra!
We supplied 2 rails for this boutique, one 2.8 metres and one 2 metres long. Both walls had recesses built into them which meant we had to customise the rail to be supported from 2 different depths on each wall.

A Bounce Mannequin Goes Medieval

2011-10-21T00:24:00.000-07:00

Hello Kathi

Mannequin has arrived and is all dressed.

We think she looks great!

Thanks for all your help.

Regards

Karen