'red hot' opening

as friday the 13th approached-- students, professors, family and friends combined their efforts to get through many late nights and early mornings to prepare the store for a very 'lucky' opening. all the final touches were made including graphics, merchandising, and displays:

MERCHANDISING

GRAPHICS

WINDOWS

DRESSING ROOMS

i saw the sign...and it opened up my eyes i saw the sign

today was a VERY exciting day because our exterior sign was installed!!! matt and i [having never been involved in a project where a sign was custom made and installed for us] were interested in the process of how sign-a-rama were planning on installing the letters and shield individually. each individual letter was spread out on the pavement while a large printed version of our sign was hung on the exterior of the building. this was used as a placeholder for each letter so each letter was placed in its correct position. then as each letter was drilled into the brick- piece by piece of the paper came off.

each letter was laid out before the installation

installation sequence

matt, suzanne and i getting ready for the SHIELD to go up!!!

....and 'TA DA' the SHIELD is up!

we had each letter lit white from the front and the shield is backlit using red LED's

if only we could complete our TO DO list...

with the help of JIF peanut butter and nilla wafers -- we plow on through the night to finish the second coat of white paint on all the drywall in the built-in fixtures and red on the endcaps. we had to switch red paints because our original red clashed with the orange tints in the carpet-- i think the second time is the charm! i can't wait to see the banners in front of the endcaps! now where to get the banners??...

moving on UP

while waiting on the drywall to dry/finished getting installed we started painting the drop down ceiling [since its FINALLY fixed!].

step 1...

step 2...

step 3! DONE!

happy halloween.

due to time restraints [as always] we had to hire drywallers to come and install the drywall for us within our built-ins cabinets instead of us doing it ourselves. even though we hired out to speed up the process-- it still pushed us back a few days and won't be completed until wednesday. so this weekend will be busy finishing the painting and fixtures for the back and front......

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

shoes with soul

photo by Tim Robison

If you've rounded the curve from Pisgah Church onto North Elm lately you may have noticed something a little out of the ordinary....dozens and dozens of red shoes marching toward the new store. These shoes, dipped in red paint and labeled with information about The Salvation Army, are one of several installations created by the Revisioning Retail studio to drive donations and generate attention for the new store. The shoes, all either missing mates or beyond repair, were given new 'souls'...just like the rest of the used items that are kindly donated to The Salvation Army each and every day.  No longer destined for the landfill, these shoes will continue to live through future displays in The Salvation Army Select.

and we're up and running...

runway ready

...okay- not quite ready but we are getting close! carpet has been installed in both the entryway and office/break room thanks to right touch interiors. it is really unbelievable to start seeing our vision coming into reality and also relieving at the same time to know one thing is complete-- the FLOOR!

since both the concrete is refinished and carpet is installed-- we are now going to be covering up the carpet so we can begin framing the built-in cabinets. we are still waiting on the electrician to come and adjust the track lights because some are going to be shinning directly on top of the cabinets??! we have decided to have him come back to move the lights once fixtures are in place so he can accurately adjust them.

nice shiny new floor

the concrete floor has been sanded and is now dry with a clear sealant.......and is very SHINY! even though the checkered pattern + remnants of the previous brown stain haven't been completely erased- it gives the space a sense of where its been and where it is now. the floor is now prepped and ready for carpet install tomorrow.....red carpet- here we come!

meanwhile back at uncg

Third and fourth-year interior architecture students studying retail design are contributing to the effort through unique and resourceful store displays using broken, worn-out and otherwise unusable goods.  In addition, the energetic group is unleashing innovative guerrilla marketing ideas to drive donations and generate attention for the store. Much of their effort thus far has been, well, dipped in paint. More details on this to come...

In the meantime, feast your eyes on these images, all through the lens of student Tim Robison.