IU Newsroom
Small businesses along Main Street in Shoals have new signage thanks to a partnership with Indiana University’s Rural Placemaking Studio.
The Shoals Main Street Signage Project paired IU faculty and students with business owners to design and fabricate new signage. The goal was to improve each company’s branding and visibility while creating a cohesive aesthetic that reflects Shoals’ regional identity.
Created by a partnership between the IU ServeDesign Center at the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design and the Center for Rural Engagement, the Rural Placemaking Studio’s mission is to revitalize Indiana communities by leveraging the university’s resources and talents in art and design. In the past two years, the studio has facilitated 28 projects in 16 rural counties, including community murals, wayfinding signage and architectural designs for public spaces.
Small wins, big vision
“In rural communities like ours, small wins can really make a difference,” said Jessica Potts, executive director of the Martin County Alliance for Economic Growth.
Potts facilitates and supports economic activity to stimulate growth and enhance workforce development in rural communities like Shoals, a close knit town along the East Fork White River. While the sense of community in Shoals is strong, local small businesses face challenges.
Once a bustling downtown driven economically by local natural resources – clay, which was used for pottery production, and pearls from river mussels that fueled the pearl button industry – the community now relies on agriculture, gypsum mining and manufacturing. Approximately one-third of the county’s land area is used by Naval Support Activity Crane, the third largest naval installation in the world by geographic area, which employs more than 3,000 people and brings high-paying jobs to the area.
Potts said she envisions Shoals as a town that could leverage its riverfront location to attract visitors, like other Hoosier communities such as Madison. To make that vision a reality, she said efforts must be made to stimulate growth, especially for local businesses.
Hidden gems
Potts works closely with business owners like Emily Stoner of SC Draperies in Shoals. Stoner has operated her business in Martin County for 26 years, relocating to a brick-and-mortar spot in the Lewis & Clark building on Main Street four years ago.
Out of the same location, Stoner also runs a rental space, which is currently leased to the local library while their building undergoes renovations. Her husband’s business, Stoner Heating and Air, operates out of the Lewis & Clark building as well.
SC Draperies offers custom drapes, shades, blinds, upholstery and more for customers and designers who work with upscale clientele. Her draperies have been featured in magazines like Sophisticated Living Louisville.
But when Potts first walked into the Lewis & Clark to talk with Stoner about painting a mural on the back of the building, she noticed an issue.
“There were people in there working, but I had no idea what they did,” Potts said. “It’s literally a hidden gem.”
Hidden was the key word. Potts knew that signage was integral to the success of a brick-and-mortar business, and there was no signage on the Lewis & Clark building, making it appear empty.
“Effective signage is key for downtown businesses — it turns hidden operations into visible destinations and signals to customers that this is a vibrant place worth visiting,” said Anne McCombe, Business Retention & Expansion Coordinator at Radius Indiana. “I am thrilled to see IU partnering with Shoals to invest in improvements that elevate businesses in the Radius region and bring new energy to the heart of the Shoals community.”
Stimulating growth
When Jon Racek, director of the IU ServeDesign Center, was introduced to Potts to discuss how IU could help Martin County, she pitched the idea for new signage.will…
Racek, who is also director of IU’s comprehensive design program, took students to a Main Street meeting in Shoals where they met each business owner to understand their needs. Then they got to work, designing and fabricating.
“We wanted the signs to celebrate each business and, at the same time, create a unified downtown look that makes the whole area feel proud, connected and easy to enjoy,” Racek said.
The setup is mutually beneficial to rural communities throughout Indiana as well as IU students who get involved.
“In the Rural Placemaking Studio, students get real, hands-on experience working with actual clients, learning what makes each town unique and then turning that into something people can see and use,” Racek said. “It’s learning by doing, and the hope is that every project leaves something meaningful behind.”
Jul Timmermans, a junior studying studio art at the Eskenazi School, helped fabricate the signs using computer-aided machinery and other resources at IU’s wood and metal shop.
Timmermans said they made each sign sturdy enough to withstand the test of time, and they implemented skills learned from studying both 2D and 3D design.
“Working in the Eskenazi wood and metal shops has been an amazing opportunity,” Timmermans said. “We have a facility where we can access all these great machines that you can do amazing work on, and it was really great to get experience doing this in a more professional setting.”
Stoner said she was more than pleased with the brand-new signs that show that the Lewis & Clark building is a bustling business center.
“The signs show pride in our town and show others that we are trying to develop it to be a place to stay, shop and enjoy,” Stoner said. “We have so much here that needs to be showcased and enjoyed.”
Phase two of the signage project is underway as the Rural Placemaking Studio creates signs for additional businesses in Shoals. Multidisciplinary initiatives like this are made possible in part by generous donors to Indiana University. Donate and empower the programs involved to continue doing such important work.