photo by: Nick Krug

Passersby give a glance to a display window featuring a Norton motorcycle on Thursday, May 24, 2018 at Weaver's Department Store, 901 Massachusetts St.

A special window display at Weaver’s Department Store will have two novel additions for this month’s Final Fridays: live models and vintage motorcycles.

The inspiration for the windows came from an exhibit at the Watkins Museum of History earlier this year that featured pictures of Weaver’s windows, said Cyn Lester, Weaver’s visual merchandising director. One of the photos was of live models from the 1940s, Lester said.

“I think it was that photo that kind of planted the seed of doing that whole project,” she said.

The four motorcycles that will be featured in the display are on loan from members of the Wheelsport Vintage Motorcycle Club, said Kenn Peters, who is Lester’s husband and a member of the motorcycle club. All of the bikes are European, he said, and the oldest dates back to 1967.

Because the entrance to the windows is too narrow for the motorcycles to fit through, Peters and Lester had to get creative. They were able to remove two window panels with the help of Kennedy Glass and roll the bikes into the window, Peters said.

This isn’t the first time Peters and Lester have worked together on a project. Peters, a carpenter, often helps Lester with her displays.

“[Lester] has been doing this for about 25 years at Weaver’s and she makes … about 95 percent of the props she uses,” Peters said. “She makes them, and I help her set them up. We’re really good at collaborating.”

To find models for the display, Lester and Peters reached out to their friend Margo Holland, who worked as a model two decades ago in New York City. Holland, who is working on a volunteer basis, recruited seven volunteer models from around the community, most of whom are local high school and college students. She saw it as a good opportunity for the models to go outside their comfort zone.

The models are preparing for the event with meetings and video tutorials, Holland said.

“I think it’ll take a big 20 minutes to really get warmed up and not be so worried and nervous,” Holland said. “We don’t have any practice with this so it’s basically one and all. Hopefully it will go off without a hitch.”

Because space is limited with the motorcycles, only two models will be in the display at a time. They will have a number of outfit changes throughout the night, all featuring summer trends like rompers and summer dresses.

“They are all super confident, which I was not at their age, so I think it will be great,” Holland said.

The event is 6-8 p.m. Friday. Until then, the display can be seen in the front windows of Weaver’s with mannequins instead of live models.