Robin Hansford & Marty Curry pose with the finished product outside the Robin’s Nest in Elmira.
With its warm colours, deep wood accents, and the smell of fresh, organic coffee wafting through the air, the Robin’s Nest Café is perfect for those looking to unwind or work away with a latte. But until recently those driving by might not have known to drop in and discover the inviting space. Although the Nest has dedicated patrons who rave about the lemon cilantro chickpea salad and open mic nights on Facebook, Robin Hansford faced an obstacle common to many business owners; the café’s outdoor signage needed a boost.
When allocating funds for advertising, small businesses naturally want the most value for their money. What’s more is that outdoor signage needs to be eye-catching, fairly large, and accentuate the business’ offerings to be effective.
When looking into options available, it seemed a horizontal banner or A-frame boards were going to be the best choice to attract attention; however, these mediums can be pricey and may not deliver on impact. Fortunately, as an innovative entrepreneur, Robin took advantage of her space in a resourceful way and serves as an example to other business owners. When looking to spruce up your signage, evaluate what you’ve already got. Facing a major intersection in Elmira, the café’s building wall was a huge empty space, or rather, as Robin realized, a huge empty canvas.
With a few calls to organizations such as the Kitchener-Waterloo Society for Artists, as well as the Elora Centre for the Arts, Robin was able to connect with Marty Curry, a skilled local painter with plenty of experience creating defined designs on a large scale.
The two created a mock up of the design and Marty got to work at the end of August to create impactful signage that combined business savvy with the underlying creativity that is fundamental to the atmosphere at the Robin’s Nest.
Overall, this case of café connection between artist and business owner really paid off and Robin recommends the strategy to others: “I was tired of trying to figure out what would work best, the associated costs, and possible by-laws involved, but the mural was a simple solution with a reasonable cost and BIG impact. Best of all it utilizes what we already had. My advice: don’t be scared to be bold and choose bright contrasting colours to get the attention of your customer, and be careful about putting up any content subject to frequent change. We’re already planning mural number two! It is kind of like getting a tattoo… addictive”.
If you’d like to get in touch with Marty to discuss collaboration, let us know and we’ll send you his contact information.
