Paul Thompson often finds it difficult to explain what he does for a living. "In fact," he says, "It's probably easier to say what I don't do." As vice president of visual merchandising and trends for OneCoast, a national sales rep group providing services to suppliers and retailers of home accent and gift products, Thompson wears many hats in a multi-tiered, multi-channeled role that combines his interests, handiwork and marketing skills. "I always knew I'd end up in show business, and I did," he said. "I'm definitely in the business of show."

Thompson grew up in west Texas "where everyone knows how to shingle a roof and paint a house," and received his undergraduate degree from Texas Tech University. His merchandising and display efforts began with the candy store he ran in grade school and continued through college when he started renovating houses. Early days in New York, where the 42-year-old now resides, were spent designing and redesigning sets and showrooms.

When Thompson joined OneCoast in 2004, he brought more than 15 years of product merchandising experience from The Pfaltzgraff Co. and Department 56. At OneCoast, he identifies and reports on industry trends, and helps maintain a consistent look and feel in OneCoast's showrooms across the country by creating and ensuring best practices and visual standards.

Thompson says OneCoast's Northeast Home showroom in New York's Chelsea High Line neighborhood may be his favorite project to date. "Creating a destination here for Home has been a great experience," he said. "People love coming here to shop — they spend more time here, say such nice things and place bigger orders."

After just 15 minutes spent touring the space, which is a former factory built in 1873, he had two days to turn in a rough spec design for budget. "I knew instantly what I was going to do with this showroom," he said. "Sometimes, though, what you see in your head as you design doesn't get produced that way. When it does, it makes you feel good because you know you made the right decisions." He's also quick to give credit to a good team of contractors and architects.

Thompson gets creative inspiration from travels to Europe which he says allow him to "step back a little bit," adding, "I'm in Paris a couple of times a year, Frankfurt, Milan ... when I'm there, it's always a creative energy for me, and I never get tired."

In fact, he's been a world traveler from the age of 16, which has made him sensitive to the influence of people and ideas from different backgrounds.

"Immigrants coming into this country bring styles and beliefs from other parts of the world that contribute to product choice at market, from religion, education and social norms to a whole different way of thinking."

Thompson also draws upon his perceptions of human nature — what and why people do, buy and appreciate. "For example, I look at the energy in the booth, what buyers look at and why, what brings them there. I love that about working a trade show, watching people to see what they're moving toward."

"Home fashions are turning faster, which results in an energized and exciting industry these days, but it's a bit more difficult to keep up with the nuts and bolts of what the consumer wants," Thompson said. "It's also important to understand the aesthetic of what the vendor or retailer wants and to find a way to work with them that makes them comfortable."

He compares his business to a funnel, explaining a lot of people with many ideas have to go into the funnel cohesively to make it work. "That's the magic, the part most people never see," he said, explaining the importance of understanding what is done at each step in order to put a good team together.

"If it involves a skill, then hire talented people who love to do that kind of work," he said.

While he's sometimes amazed by the sophistication of the retailers he visits, Thompson says some just need a different perspective. "Some retailers know how to do everything, but because they're stuck in the store they lose track of how they're perceived," he said. "A fresh set of eyes comes in and suggests creating more space by doing this or that ... if it ain't broke, don't fix it, but if you've been doing it a long time it may need a little oil."

One Coast's New York showroom shows Williamsburg products and Bauer International