Featured Projects & Brand Showcases
Transforming Concepts into Retail Reality
At Custom Display Works, we bridge the gap between creative vision and manufacturing precision. From high-end cosmetics counters to immersive tech launch booths, we engineer and build physical displays that not only attract attention but drive sales. Explore our global portfolio of custom retail fixtures and see how we elevate brands worldwide.
Real Production View: No Filters,Just Quality
Manufacturing Capabilities & Service Standards
1. Material Expertise: Acrylic Body + Reinforced Metal Base
We specialize in a hybrid engineering approach. We use 100% Virgin Cast Acrylic for the main display body to ensure optical clarity and visual impact, integrated with Heavy-Duty Metal Bases for structural stability.
Visual Brilliance: Our acrylic offers 92% light transmission (clearer than glass) and is UV-resistant (non-yellowing).
Unmatched Stability: To prevent tipping, especially for tall floor stands, we engineer weighted metal bases (powder-coated steel or stainless steel). This ensures a low center of gravity and safety in busy retail environments.
2. Premium High Gloss Finish (Diamond Polishing Process)
Unlike wood displays that require spray painting, our acrylic’s flawless high-gloss finish is achieved through precision polishing.
Precision Cutting: Industrial laser cutting seals edges instantly, ensuring clean lines.
Diamond & Flame Polishing: This is our core technique. Rough edges are diamond-polished to remove tool marks, then buffed to a crystal-clear, mirror-like finish.
Seamless Bonding: We use proprietary UV bonding to join parts without visible glue marks, creating a sleek “one-piece” aesthetic.
3. Production Lead Time
Design & Rendering: 2-3 business days.
Prototyping: 5-7 days (Includes laser cutting, polishing, and metal base fabrication).
Mass Production: 20-25 days for orders up to 1,000 units.
4. MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity)
We support growing businesses. Our standard MOQ starts at 50-100 units for custom displays. For complex bespoke projects, we offer flexible pilot runs.
Frequently Asked Questions about Custom Displays
Q: Why do you use a metal base for acrylic displays?
A: While acrylic is beautiful, it is lightweight. For freestanding floor displays, a pure acrylic base might be too light, causing the unit to wobble. We use weighted metal bases (steel or iron) to lower the center of gravity, ensuring the display is sturdy, safe, and tip-resistant in high-traffic stores.
Q: Can you match the metal base color to the acrylic body?
A: Yes. We use Powder Coating technology for the metal base. We can match any Pantone color to blend seamlessly with the acrylic body, or use a contrasting finish like brushed stainless steel for a luxury look.
Q: Do you offer design services if I only have a rough sketch?
A: Yes, our in-house engineering team can turn your sketch into a professional 3D rendering and technical drawing within 48 hours. We ensure the structure is both aesthetic and cost-effective for manufacturing.
Q: How do you pack these mixed-material displays?
A: We usually use Knock-down (Flat-pack) packaging to save shipping costs. The acrylic body and metal base are packed securely in reinforced cartons with PE foam. We provide clear assembly instructions and hardware tools, making it easy for store staff to set up in minutes.
Case Study: Pilot Pen – A Landmark Display for an Iconic Brand
When a product is as iconic as the Pilot Permanent Marker, its retail presence must be equally memorable. Pilot Corporation approached us with a challenge: to create a high-capacity, freestanding floor display that would not only organize and showcase their products but also become a powerful, unmissable branding statement in any retail environment.
The Vision
The goal was to move beyond traditional shelving and create a “destination” display. The design needed to be instantly recognizable, leveraging the iconic shape of the Pilot Permanent Marker 100 to attract customers from across the store. It required a large product capacity, 360-degree accessibility, and the durability to withstand a busy retail setting.
Design & Engineering Highlights
Our solution was to transform the product itself into the display—a giant, scaled-up replica of the Pilot marker that serves as a beacon for the brand.
Iconic Replica Design: The core concept is a large-scale, structurally sound replica of the Pilot Permanent Marker 100. This “product-as-display” approach is a powerful form of visual marketing that creates immediate brand and product recognition.
High-Capacity Helical Shelving: Wrapping around the central column is a series of tiered, jet-black acrylic shelves. This spiral or helical arrangement provides exceptional product density while allowing customers to view and access the full range of markers from any angle.
Custom-Molded Pen Trays: Each shelf is fitted with precision-molded trays. Every slot is perfectly sized to hold a single marker upright and secure, ensuring a consistently neat, organized, and professional presentation, even in high-traffic conditions.
Robust Freestanding Base: The entire structure is anchored by a weighted, circular metal base, providing excellent stability and a low center of gravity to ensure safety and durability in the retail space.
Advanced Manufacturing & Craftsmanship
Bringing this ambitious design to life required a precise blend of industrial techniques and expert craftsmanship.
Acrylic Thermoforming & Cylinder Fabrication: The main challenge was creating the large, perfectly cylindrical body of the marker. This was achieved through large-format acrylic thermoforming, where premium-grade blue acrylic sheets were carefully heated and molded into the iconic shape. The pieces were then seamlessly bonded and polished to create a flawless, continuous surface.
High-Fidelity Silk-Screen Printing: To replicate the marker’s branding with absolute accuracy, we employed a multi-pass silk-screen printing process. This technique ensures the “Pilot Permanent Marker 100” logo and text are incredibly sharp, opaque, and durable, perfectly matching the brand’s official typography and color codes.
CNC Fabrication for Shelving: The intricate, multi-level shelves were precision-cut from high-gloss black acrylic using CNC (Computer Numerical Control) routing. This guaranteed that every shelf was identical in shape and dimension, allowing for perfect alignment and stability when assembled around the central column.
Structural Integration & Assembly: A hidden internal metal framework reinforces the tall acrylic structure, ensuring long-term rigidity. Our skilled assembly team then meticulously fitted each component, from the base to the final cap, ensuring a seamless and structurally sound final product ready for the showroom floor.
The Result
The Pilot Pen floor display is a triumph of form and function. It serves as a highly effective sales tool that can hold hundreds of markers in an organized fashion, while simultaneously acting as a powerful, three-dimensional advertisement for the brand. This case study demonstrates our ability to transform a simple product into an unforgettable retail experience through innovative design and precision manufacturing.
Authentic Factory Shot: Assembly & Testing Phase
Project Case Study: The Bobbi Brown Interactive Beauty Counter
This project showcases the design and fabrication of a luxurious, multi-functional countertop display for the prestigious cosmetics brand, Bobbi Brown. The goal was to create an immersive and interactive brand experience that not only showcases a wide range of products but also invites customers to engage, test, and discover.
The final result is a sophisticated “beauty station” that functions as a powerful centerpiece in any retail environment, perfectly embodying Bobbi Brown’s ethos of modern, effortless beauty.
Design Philosophy & Key Features
Our design was centered around creating an intuitive and elegant user journey. We moved beyond a simple product showcase to develop an interactive hub that encourages customer participation.
360-Degree Circular Layout: The display is built on a multi-tiered, circular base, allowing for customer access and visual appeal from all angles. This open design creates a welcoming and high-end feel.
Central Interactive Mirror: The centerpiece is a large, beautifully framed mirror, transforming the display into a personal makeup vanity. This encourages customers to try products on the spot, significantly increasing engagement and conversion.
Integrated LED Illumination: Soft, ambient LED lighting is seamlessly integrated throughout the structure. It glows from the edges of the tiered base and within the vertical towers, creating a sophisticated ambiance while ensuring products are presented in their best light.
Modular Product Bays: The unit features a main circular display with dedicated slots for lipsticks and other core products, complemented by separate satellite trays for showcasing new collections like the “New Weightless Skin Foundation” and “Luxe Velvet Matte” lipsticks. This modularity allows for easy updates and promotional flexibility.
By blending interactive design with flawless execution, this Bobbi Brown display successfully elevates the in-store customer experience, driving both brand loyalty and sales.
Design & Engineering Highlights
1. The Art of High Gloss: Diamond Polishing & Precision Bonding
To match Bobbi Brown’s prestige brand image, we utilized a “Piano Black” and “Crystal Clear” acrylic combination.
Diamond Polishing: Unlike standard buffing, we use industrial diamond polishing machines on all edges. This eliminates tool marks and creates a jewel-like, refractive finish that captures the retail lighting.
Seamless UV Bonding: The clear mirror frames and product slots are assembled using museum-grade UV glue. This ensures invisible joints with no bubbling, maintaining a sleek, monolithic appearance.
2. Material Advantage: Why 100% Acrylic?
Optical Clarity: We use optical-grade Cast Acrylic (PMMA) with 92% light transmission for the product risers, ensuring the makeup colors are displayed without color distortion.
Stain Resistance: Premium acrylic is non-porous and easy to clean, essential for testers handling creams and foundations.
Integrated Illumination: The structure serves as a light guide. We embedded 6500K (Daylight) LED strips within the acrylic housing to illuminate the face mirror and products evenly, simulating natural light for perfect makeup application.
3. Production Specifications
MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity): 50 units. (Optimized for brand roll-outs and counter updates).
Production Lead Time:
Prototyping: 7-10 days (Includes electronic circuit testing and light box debugging).
Mass Production: 25-30 days for 500+ units.
4. Assembly & Quality Control:
As seen in the factory shots, every unit undergoes a 24-hour “Burn-in Test” to ensure LED stability before packaging.
FAQ: Custom Cosmetic Counter Displays
Q: How do you prevent the mirrors and acrylic from breaking during shipping?
A: We use ISTA 3A standard packaging. The display is wrapped in PE film to prevent scratches, encased in 2cm thick EPE foam molded to the display’s shape, and placed in a double-wall corrugated carton. For shipments containing glass mirrors, we add an external wooden crate for extra protection.
Q: What happens if the LED lights fail? Are they replaceable?
A: We use UL/CE certified high-quality LED strips with a lifespan of 50,000+ hours. Our design features an accessible back panel, allowing store staff to easily replace the power driver or LED modules without discarding the entire display unit.
Q: Can you customize the product slots for different makeup collections?
A: Yes. We often design interchangeable inserts (trays). This allows you to keep the main expensive display structure but simply swap out the acrylic tray when you launch a new lipstick or foundation line, saving costs in the long run.
Q: Can you match the LED color temperature to our brand standards?
A: Absolutely. Whether you need Warm White (3000K) for skincare or Cool Daylight (6000K-6500K) for color cosmetics, we can customize the Kelvin rating to ensure true-to-life color representation.
Project Case Study: The Maison Francis Kurkdjian Architectural Wall Bay
For a brand as synonymous with Parisian luxury and olfactory artistry as Maison Francis Kurkdjian, a standard retail display is not enough. The objective of this project was to create a complete architectural statement—a permanent wall bay that serves as an immersive backdrop for the world of MFK, blending sophisticated textures, materials, and light.
The result is a masterful fusion of a retail fixture and an art installation, providing a versatile canvas to showcase fragrances while embodying the brand’s core principles of elegance and craftsmanship.
Design Philosophy & Key Features
The design is a study in contrasts and harmonious balance, creating a rich sensory experience even before the fragrances are explored.
A Symphony of Textures: The display creates a powerful tactile and visual narrative. It masterfully contrasts a raw, artisanal concrete-effect finish on the left with a clean, vertically fluted wood panel at its center. This is balanced by the smooth, matte white finish of the lower cabinetry, creating a composition that is both modern and timeless.
Asymmetrical Elegance: The design rejects simple symmetry for a more dynamic and visually engaging asymmetrical layout. The subtle debossed branding (“MAISON FONDÉE EN 2009”) and cantilevered shelves on the stone-finish side are balanced by the integrated lightboxes and tester units on the right.
Integrated Multi-Layered Lighting: Lighting is not an addition; it is a core component of the design. A backlit brand marquee provides a powerful focal point. Soft downlighting, vertical ambient light strips, and illuminated display boxes work in concert to create a warm, inviting glow, sculpting the display and highlighting the products with dramatic effect.
Brushed Gold Accents: Accents of brushed gold-toned metal are used with precision to elevate the design. From the sleek, minimalist drawer pulls and decorative inlay strips to the elegant trim on the shelving and the main logo plaque, these elements add a touch of warmth and luxury.
Functional Sophistication: Below the stunning visual display lies a foundation of practicality. The seamless, handle-integrated lower cabinets offer ample, concealed storage, ensuring the visual focus remains on the product presentation above.
Manufacturing Process & Material Craftsmanship
Executing this design required a blend of traditional woodworking and modern fabrication technology to achieve a flawless, high-end finish.
Core Construction & Woodworking: The entire structure was built using high-density fiberboard (HDF) and solid wood supports to ensure absolute stability and a perfect substrate for the various finishes. All components were precision-cut using CNC (Computer Numerical Control) technology for flawless alignment.
Specialty Finishing: The distinctive stone texture was achieved through a multi-stage process of applying a specialized cementitious plaster, which was then hand-finished by artisans to create the desired look and feel. The main body and cabinetry received multiple coats of premium matte white lacquer, hand-sanded between coats for a perfectly smooth, durable finish.
Metalwork & PVD Coating: All metal accents were fabricated from stainless steel. To achieve the rich, consistent brushed gold color and a highly durable finish resistant to fingerprints and wear, the components underwent a PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) coating process.
Precision Fluted Panel Creation: The vertically reeded back panel was crafted using CNC routing to ensure every groove was identical in depth and spacing, creating a perfect, rhythmic pattern that interacts beautifully with the integrated lighting.
Seamless LED Integration: The LED lighting systems were meticulously integrated into milled channels within the wooden structure. This technique hides all wiring and hardware, allowing the light to emanate organically from the display itself and creating a truly seamless, high-end installation.
This Maison Francis Kurkdjian wall bay is a testament to our capability in translating a luxury brand’s essence into a physical form, demonstrating excellence in both complex design and multi-material fabrication.