Signature Tables
We're in decision mode for our coffeehouse on Capitol Hill. The sheer volume of decisions to be made is unbelievable at this point. Decision overload. But I'm trying trying to creatively suck it up because the finishes are 1% of the work but 50% of the feel. Colors and furniture and decor are huge!
One of the things I really want is signature. Lora and Summer had a cool idea today. I haven't really liked any of the tables I've seen. Too normal :) And I don't want coffeebeans in the tabletop. Too predictable :) Lora and Summer came up with the idea of doing unique DC pictures or maybe an old DC map and making that the surface of the table. There is an artistic phrase for it, but I'm not sure what it is :) But it's a cool way of celebrating the history of DC which is one of our aesthetic goals.
One of the things I really want is signature. Lora and Summer had a cool idea today. I haven't really liked any of the tables I've seen. Too normal :) And I don't want coffeebeans in the tabletop. Too predictable :) Lora and Summer came up with the idea of doing unique DC pictures or maybe an old DC map and making that the surface of the table. There is an artistic phrase for it, but I'm not sure what it is :) But it's a cool way of celebrating the history of DC which is one of our aesthetic goals.
12 Comments:
You should create a "photo email address" and have NCC'ers email you with pictures around DC. Or even come up with a NCC competition like a photo scavenger hunt such as, "Get a picture of a man doing the Riverdance in the Reflecting Pool" or a theme like "Take a picture that represents 'patriotic' in DC." Then have them email it to you and whoever has the best (or top five or whatever) pictures gets a free drink when it opens.
Or, if not on tables, then you could have a collage of photos on the wall somewhere and switch them out every once in a while.
How about some thought provoking statements or questions on there, too, kinda like Starbucks putting Rick Warren phrases on their cups. Mix in some Jack Handy Deep Thoughts too. And some "Would You Rather" questions.
I assumed from the title of the post that you were actually going to have people sign the tables. I thought that would be pretty interesting, having all these random signatures on a table, trying to decipher some terrible penmanship. It'd be a conversation starter. But I guess you had something else in mind :-)
I really like the idea of pooling the church for ideas. I dont recall ever hearing an announcement asking the church for their thoughts ...
You have about 900 unique minds at you disposal. They are full of ideas - all you need to do is tap them. I say set up an email address just for creative coffee house ideas, open the flood gates and let the creativity flow! The coffee house will then be not only super unique but super personal to your "fan base" because their ideas will be used. It will be more than just a great coffee house built by the church ... it will be their coffee house.
Eastern Market sells old lantern slides that are pretty cool (and relatively cheap). They might work into your decor somehow.
I like Kyles idea about people submitting photo's. If you had too many maybe you could once a month display five of them. You know, frame them and spotlight them on a display wall once a month. It would bring people back ever month just to see the new art. I went to Eastern University and there was a cool coffeeshop close to campus. They would spotlight artists once a month and it was great because artists were always going in to get on the list and people were always going back to see what was new.
Or maybe you could buy a couple of cool photo albums and put them on the tables with some cool photo' for people to look at.
One thing I was thinking thats always nice is if you had two chairs and an ottoman. You could just put a tray on the ottoman and use that as a table. You could even buy Mod Podge (sp?) glue and glue pictures onto the tray to give it a cool feel.
The technique is called decoupage .... it's like a glue/laminate that you paint on. ... might just do the trick.
hey PM... I emailed Christina a while back about doing signature tables... she should have info on where to get them done..great minds think alike i guess ;)
Regardless of the tables, I vote for comfortable chairs. =)
One thing I have liked over the years at artsy cafe's and coffee shops is the option to buy some of the art on the wall and in some cases furniture fixtures. In the case of a church, constantly have new pictures submitted, constatntly have the decorations up for sale, and you have a constant fundraiser going for your youth group, or whatever. I had a website set up where I sold all the pictures from each youth trip and the profits helped fund ministry. There are also a number of places that you can turn photos into rugs, tiles, mugs, etc... The pictures taken by your members would give a unique atmosphere and would personalize the place, and you would generate funds for the Kingdom.
I'll volunteer to make a calender of myself that you can sell to raise money.
Wow. I was at the Next Conference all day and I came back to a ton of great comments! Love these ideas! Great blog brainstorm :)
Mark
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