Throughout the year, we’ve been awed and inspired by the innovative work our customers have created: from wall murals and tote bags to gallery exhibits and social statements. As the year draws to a close, we’ve been reflecting on some of our favorites, and thought we’d share them with you again. While there were many more excellent projects that we featured over the year, here are 10 of the blogs we thought our readers would enjoy revisiting as much as we did:
Church’s Sleek New Student Center: Clear Lake Press transformed St. Thomas More Catholic Newman Center in the Minnesota State University Campus’ student center into a fun gathering spot. “It was one of those projects, when it started, I was extremely nervous about it,” says Eric Erickson, who used LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric for the wall mural. “All of those nerves were laid to rest as we were installing it. People would walk in and comment how much they loved the different elements and style of it and everyone was just so amazed by it.” Read more.
The Solution Is in the Bag: Upcycling designer Anita Hopper creates one-of-a-kind handbags, totes and clutches using old leather apparel. The results are amazing, especially when paired with her son’s photography, which is applied to the leather using Avatrex, a printable material that can transport and conform to almost any surface. Once the Avatrex is printed, Hopper uses a heat press to affix the images onto the leather. “I love how you can see the actual grain of the leather in the photos,” she says. Read more.
A Mural Project for the Birds: A collage of the 20 different species that live in Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary comes to life in the sanctuary’s main visitors’ center. The final print is a 7-by-14-foot mural printed on Sunset Select Gloss Canvas. “I was looking for a canvas that would show the mural’s brilliant colors,” says photographer Brian Hampton about his choice in Sunset canvas. “Sometimes canvas can look really flat, and I wanted a more saturated look.” Read more.
Lending a Hand to Contemporary Arts: The Center on Contemporary Art in Seattle, Wash., opened a ground-breaking exhibit called Change-Seed, featuring a group of Hong Kong-based contemporary artists. CoCA curated an eclectic mix of art projects and asked the artists to send in digital files. CoCA then turned to Stephen Rock at Rock’s Studio, a fine art digital print service provider, who printed the pieces on media like Photo Tex and Sunset Velvet Rag 315g. Read more.
Bonding With the Anti-Bullying Program, UNIFY: Massachusetts photographers and brothers Edward and Robert Zemba partnered with local high school students to launch the anti-bullying campaign, UNIFY, Unique iNdividuals Inspiring Future Youth. The education efforts included a video, which focuses on name-calling and “labeling.” The Zembas printed various words on LexJet Print-N-Stick Fabric, a removable self-adhesive product. The words were stuck on and later removed from one of the kids to emphasize using positive labels rather than hurtful ones. Read more.
Creating a Lasting Impression: Saginaw, Mich.-based Morley designed and built a trade-show display for Carhartt, a 125-year-old durable work clothing manufacturer, that combined the look of an 1890’s mercantile with a contemporary 21st century feel in an open and inviting floor plan. Morley’s Bernie Raymond used LexJet’s Simple Low-Tack Clear Vinyl and LexJet Elite Matte UV Vinyl Laminate for the window displays. “It was exactly the kind of effect they were looking for,” Raymond says. Read more.
How One Corporate Office Got Super Cool: The creative sign experts at San Antonio’s Cold Fire Signs helped the technology firm Rackspace turn a former mall into its new headquarters. Rackspace purchased the deteriorating Winsdor Park Mall in 2007 and has steadily revamped its corporate offices into spaces with themes like breakfast cereals, toys and movies. The former mall is now known as “The Castle.” Cold Fire uses dreamScape wallcoverings to created the unusual wall murals in the various rooms. Read more.
An Artist’s Tribute to First Responders: Artist Karin Giusti, who lost her fiance on 9/11, created an exhibition that was displayed at New York City’s Smack Mellon non-profit arts organization. Three Seasons at Black Forest Farm was a monumental art installation in memory of Steven Schwarz. It consisted of a series of light columns with structural components and illuminated photo membranes. She constructed the columns from LexJet 8 Mil Absolute Backlit polyester film. “It’s amazing,” Giusti says, “it doesn’t dent or crumple. It’s so easy to handle.” Read more.
A Gallery that Highlights Hope: Freedom House is a program in Green Bay geared to ending the cycle of homelessness by providing families with shelter, food, clothing, education, counseling, discipline and spiritual guidance. For the organization’s annual fundraising event, photographer Mark Hawkins captured all aspects of the goings-on at Freedom House, including residents, staff and volunteers. From those stunning black-and-white photographs, he created four mini galleries for the event’s ballroom using LexJet Sunset Photo eSatin Paper 300g. Read more.
A Transitioning Neighborhood Captured in Portraits: A neighborhood on the east side of Charleston, S.C., is undergoing a dramatic shift in response to extensive new development. Charleston native and photographer Jack Alterman captured the essence of the neighborhood’s long-term and current residents, by shooting portraits of them. He displayed the portraits on a chain link fence, creating an amazing outdoor gallery using LexJet 11 Mil Blockout Water-Resistant Polypropylene. The portrait subjects were all contemplative about their neighborhood’s future. “Art can inspire this kind of conversation and have a platform to stand in front of, in this case,” Alterman says. Read more.
If you have a project you’d like us to feature on this blog, please email shellie.benson@lexjet.com.
