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.

at last...some color!

the painting in the front of the store is now finished! we kept our brushes busy in order to coat the walls in paint before we had our concrete re-finished. concrete surface alternatives will be re-finishing our concrete tomorrow-- by sanding down the existing concrete then applying two coats of clear sealant on monday. bye bye mixed matched concrete...hello new pretty shiny concrete......

bringing it to the back...

the mural is now complete-- THANK YOU and well done sage! as sage finished up the mural- matt and i FINALLY finished up the brown coats of paint in the front and back! i don't think either one of us wants to see brown paint for a very long time....

we have also received our carts from global industries- these will be used to sort the donations once they arrive at the store into things that will stay and things that will be trucked over to the family store. we also received some nice donated desks and filing cabinets from a law firm that was moving-- we now have the office stocked! now how about that lounge....

...and keeps going....

day after day as sage continues painting the mural-- we continue taping and painting the walls brown. along side preparing the store- matt has also been busy in the woodshop at the gatewood studio arts building- working with the product design studio that is building the in-store fixtures and fixtures for the back donation center [pictures to follow soon...]

the painting continues...

sage has now started the mural with a nice capture of greensboro's skyline and will continue expressing the salvation army's mission in pictorial form as the painting continues.

and we're off......

...with the first coat of brown to prep for the mural painted by artist- sage hanna. the mural will be placed under the drop-down ceiling behind the cash wrap to act as a backdrop and focal point within the store.

lights, camera, action...

city inspections have passed...YAY! so now it is time to move in and start the finishing work. while stoel's and suzanne's studio classes are continuing with the fixtures and display ideas for the store-- matt and i will be busy painting, ordering supplies, and scheduling for carpet installment and refinishing for the concrete.

build process week of 9.15-9.19

the contractor's portion is coming to an end as they are finishing up some details: walls are primed and we are waiting to pass inspection from the city. within the next week or two we will be able to start our work within the store: painting, installing carpet, installing the built-ins and then move in the final fixtures and merchandise the apparel and accessories!

since the fall semester has started at uncg- two of the studio classes within the interior architecture department has agreed to assist matt and i with the final design details of the store in order to prepare for opening. stoel burrows's studio class will be assisting us with the mid-floor fixtures by 'tweaking' the designs matt and i have already started. the students will then build the actual fixtures to be placed within the store. suzanne cabrera's class is assisting us with the marketing of the store as well as the in store displays and merchandising. please visit their class blog to read updates on their process.

front of the house: front window

front of the house: cash wrap wall

back of the house

update on schedule!

as thesis is coming to the end [yay!] we are preparing for our final presentation and completing our presentation drawings for our review on july 28th. matt and i have been busy this week deciding on color and material applications for the store as well as details for the store fixtures. we are planning to have our presentation boards completed and printed by this saturday because the salvation army is having an event at the greensboro grasshoppers baseball game this saturday and we wanted to have the boards there to promote the new store.


last friday we had a meeting with salvation army in which we discussed the project schedule from now until the opening so we had a better idea as to what our fall was going to look like since matt and i are planning on seeing this project to the end. we are currently waiting on approval for the budget from the salvation army headquarters so we can go ahead and tell our contractor to proceed with the construction. we hope to receive approval within the next week and have the design sent to the city with their approval. within the next couple weeks-we hope to have the construction up and running and lasting for around 5 weeks. then for the next 4 weeks- we will be detailing the interior: painting, merchandising...etc and this is when matt and i will be building the built in fixtures that will be placed along the wall and in the middle of the sales floor. then we are shooting to have a soft opening sometime in the beginning of october and grand opening in mid october-- yay! cross your fingers all goes according to plan....

gate city signs meeting

as we get closer and closer to the opening date- we realized we need to step outside of the store walls and consider the exterior signage for the building. matt and i had a meeting with gate city signs today to discuss our ideas and some of the options we have for signage. even though the name of the store isn't completely decided yet- we can still move forward with gathering options. as of now- the name that we are leaning towards is the salvation army SELECT store.

during our meeting with jim from gate city signs- we were able to show him our design ideas and discuss our options according to our designs. he was extremely helpful and very informative about the directions we could take- all depending on budget [of course!]. the first thing we needed to check on is the exterior signage guidelines established by the building's leasing company. some places only allow signage with a raceway [which is a strip in which is attached to the building and then attached to the letters] or just have the channel letters applied directly to the facade. we also have the option of having some or all of the sign be lit up during the night.

we discussed a lot about the main sign [ideas shown below] but we also discussed the secondary sign to direct donors to the donation center. jim suggested the idea of not placing the donation center sign on the front of the building but rather placed in the ground so it doesn't take away from the main sign.

we will meet with them again soon-- but first things first....we need a name!!