A Salmon Arm business has been receiving applause for its harmonious addition to downtown’s iconic giant treble clef.
On Friday, July 22, Spectrum Signworks installed portions of a new awning it designed and constructed for Shuswap Park Mall, home to several businesses including Askew’s Foods, as well as the treble clef. Positioned behind the giant orange sculpture are sections of the new awning that, when assembled, look like an equally immense glossy piano keyboard.
So far, positive feedback on the addition has been music to Jamie Walters’ ears.
“The response was overwhelmingly in favour,” said Walters, general manager and co-owner of Spectrum.
Walters explained Spectrum was hired over a year ago by Shuswap Park Mall owner Bill Laird to come up with an idea to replace the awnings around the mall. It was proposed aluminum be used to replace the fabric awnings, which suffered from wear and tear.
“We proposed an idea to him of multiple different colours, and then we threw out the idea of ‘Hey, why don’t we make some piano keys behind the treble clef…,” said Walters.
Walters said Laird sought feedback on the proposal and then the project was put on hold for a while.
“Then he decided, ‘You know what, let’s just go for it,’” said Walters, adding Laird was adamant the piano keys be to scale. “So there’s the exact amount of white keys and black keys as a normal piano would have.”
As of Monday, July 25, the awnings were still a work in progress. Green aluminum awnings were to go up around the Askew’s end of the mall, and burgundy awnings to the right of the piano keys.
Walters said the gaps between the sections will be filled as well, creating a seamless awning across the front of the building.
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“The hardest part about the job was doing the piano key ones – that’s why those ones are up first,” said Walters, adding the aluminum had to be custom ordered and took 10 months to arrive.”
“We’ve done a lot of signs and letters and, you know, pole signs and stuff like that, but nothing with this amount of scale,” said Walters. “It’s 23 awnings totalling about 1,500 feet that we have to cover.”
After the treble clef’s unveiling in 2019, Laird told the Observer the idea for it came from designer Warren Welter, and that it’s intended to be a “happy symbol at the end of a street that we close periodically for events… The goal is to have visitors come to Salmon Arm and enjoy our downtown and our community.”
“Mr. Laird stopped by Friday afternoon just after we had them up, and asked me how it was going,” said Walters. “I said, ‘You know what Bill, there’s been so many people stopping, taking pictures.’ He said, ‘What’s the word?’ I said the word is everyone is impressed, they love it, they think it’s a fantastic idea. His comment was, ‘Well, I’m glad. I’m glad I went in the right direction.’”
lachlan@saobserver.net
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