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Archive for small ponds – Page 3

Peace on Earth

Small pond views are always a little wacky and endearing all at the same time. I love this photograph. I took it several years ago in Macon, Mississippi. Macon is a typical small Mississippi town, and I happen to know it well because my parents live there. The photo was taken from the second floor of the old Noxubee County Jail. The structure is on the National Register of Historic Places and was beautifully restored and converted to the county library. It’s quite an experience to visit the stacks inside the old jail cells and see the remains of gallows when walking through the hallways.

The back view of the lighted tinsel “Peace on Earth” spanning Jefferson Street captured from one of the jail cells’ barred windows is an ironic and poignant juxtaposition.

MY Small Pond: A Brochure

It’s been a while since I’ve shared a client project with Plop! readers, and I’d like to do more of that. The portfolios on the Small Pond Graphics website offer a great overview of the type of work that goes on here, but I don’t devote nearly as much time as needed to keep them up-to-date with current projects. Chalk it up to the cobbler’s shoe syndrome. If you’re interested in more recent Small Pond designs, the Facebook Page is a great place to start. I like to share categorized project portfolios there and send some shout-outs to my great clients. I’d also like to showcase a few projects in more detail here on the blog, so here goes!

I recently completed a brochure project for the Greater Starkville Development Partnership / Starkville Convention & Visitors Bureau. I was so pleased to work on it because this is for MY small pond. Getting to offer great design to small towns or small businesses really inspires me, but it’s something special when it’s for the place I live and work.

We recently completed a re-design of the tourism brochure for Starkville, MS, a piece that is mailed out to prospective visitors seeking information and placed in Welcome Centers and tourism destinations around the Southeast. I designed the brochure and wrote the text for it several years ago, and it was in need of a refresher to reflect some our current advertising. The 32-page brochure also includes a pocket on the inside back cover which holds a folded attractions map for our area. Enjoy a few of the spreads and a glimpse at My small pond through the eyes of a marketing brochure!

signs . MS Hwy 31S No.2

I just love the shapes of water towers. They are industrial and agricultural and geometric all at the same time. Beyond that, they communicate places in often the most basic ways — a town title, a community name that says “here is a place where folks use water.” Every small town in Mississippi (every small town everywhere) is dotted with them. Every major highway and every back road offers a view of one at some point along the journey.

This particular water tower was in the town of Polkville, Mississippi. My grandmother was raised there, and in my recent trek through the central part of the state, I had the opportunity to see the signs of life it had to offer. Like many small towns in the area, Polkville sported a town “welcome” sign — handpainted with the state flower of Mississippi.

I pulled over to capture the juxtaposition of White’s handpainted letters, the 7094 road marking and the standard gas station flip letters of 1950s fame that are still in abundant use today. White’s is apparently Polkville’s definition of one-stop shopping. Grab your own fixings, sit down for a snack, gas up and play before heading on down the road.

Small Ponds: Northport, Alabama

I few weeks ago, I was in Tuscaloosa, AL at a client meeting. On the way home, I took the opportunity to stop by one of my favorite little downtown areas — Northport, AL. This small town is adjacent to Tuscaloosa. You wouldn’t know you were leaving one and driving to the other if it weren’t for the city limit signs. Northport offers a very well-done historic downtown area, and I try to stop in whenever I’m close.

Filled with shops, restaurants, and galleries, Northport has preserved a downtown that offers what my architecture school days termed “walkability.” The area is very pedestrian-friendly, one of the qualities that makes a downtown worth visiting and re-visiting. The scale of the streets is close so the storefronts offer a nice sense of enclosure on the main avenue. Brick pavers covering the sidewalks lend a tactile and visual texture to a leisurely walk. Plus, tree and window box plantings give the area a welcoming feel that minimizes the presence of concrete and pavement. In fact, during my walk up and down the street, I barely even noticed the cars even though all the parking spaces were filled and there was a continual flow of traffic. The layout of streetside parking included large plantings repeated down each side

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of the street. Sets of three of four parking spaces were offset by landscaped areas that extended into the parking zone. It had the great affect of making me almost blind to the chrome and metal.

The downtown area was filled with colorful imagery, from fun store window displays to unique signs. Of course, I couldn’t resist snapping a few shots of hand-painted signs for the “Signs of Life” series. I’ll share a few others later, but this one was found on an alley off the main avenue in a path leading to other restaurants and shops.

For me, no trip to Northport is complete without a stop at my very favorite shop, The Potager. The store is a fun combination of garden elements, home accessories, bed and bath items and old postcards and prints. It shares space with an antique shop if that strikes your fancy as well. A stop inside offers a breath of fresh air for the senses. Bare concrete floors give the store an outdoor feel that makes it seem like you’ve just stepped into someone’s private garden. The owners keep several birds in a large wire cage by the counter–one of those traditional Victorial styles. The sounds of the birds chirping and flitting add a nice backdrop for shopping along with classical music. One reason I stop into The Potager with each visit to Northport, is the lavender. The store sells dried lavender buds by the ounce along with linen or starched cotton sachets ready to be filled–a very nice gift to myself and my chiffrobe drawers. They also carry one of my favorite lines of bathing products, Pre de Provence. This trip I picked up a set of guest soaps in assorted spicy scents and a tube of Verbena hand lotion. Very nice.

signs . Lena, MS No.1

A recent stop in my observation of Small Pond, Mississippi was the town of Lena along Highway 31 South. You can read more of my thoughts on that particular winding road over at EyeJunkie, but as I noted recently, it facilitated me adding a few more photographs to my collection documenting hand-painted signs.

Downtown Lena, Mississippi didn’t have much of a Main Street to speak of, although you can see it wasn’t immune to the glossy red, white and blue political “yard sign”. Plus, you have to love the RCA dog and phonograph logo still in use. It takes me back. What made me pull over, however, was the City Hall slash Public Library building. I’ve seen countless mom-and-pop eateries and sale announcements boasting hand-crafted signs, lovingly created to communicate someone’s personal passion. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen a hand-painted City Hall sign. Lena, Mississippi was a first.

Rather than the typical etched-in-stone serifs, this City Hall boasted hand-painted letters. And, while the overhang-free architecture and concrete grounds didn’t exactly speak “antebellum South” like many public buildings do around here, I was smitten by the pride of place I imagine produced this signage.

The designer definitely took the minimalist approach. And yes, the kerning is a little off. But, there is something inspiring about considering a group of people (maybe only a couple of hundred) who determine to be a township in such a tactile way. What may be lacking in typographic consistency is more than surpassed by the sheer singular voice: “We are Lena, Mississippi.”

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