The Art Girl Jackie: Design Work for Posh Little Pig's New Store Revealed!

Posh little Pig's owner, and my friend, Brina is such an inspiration!
She had a dream years ago of opening a very special children's botique and now,not only has she done it, but she has grown her business and moved to a brand new beautiful location in Sherman, TX. She sells the most unique clothing and accessories for little boys and girls you've ever seen!

When Brina asked me to help her with some ideas for the new store I was more than happy to meet with her and brainstorm. Then when she started referring to me as her store designer, I was over the moon excited. I LOVE getting to do things like this, but this is the first time I have had the chance to work with a store owner in designing an entire space! Wow! I was thrilled, to say the least!

For several months leading up to the store opening we brainstormed, shopped, shared ideas, talked colors, finishes, fixtures, lighting, displays and more and I felt so privileged that she would let me share in this whole exciting adventure! I am so very proud of Brina and her amazing courage, energy, passion and dedication. I know her business venture will be blessed and it will be a blessing to others.

Along the way I got to do fun things like re-finish and paint furniture pieces, design and create a huge mural. The mural is on the back wall behind the cash wrap. We had it covered in sheet metal and painted in chalkboard paint. Since it is metal we can also hang things on it and move them around using magnets. The chalk art can stay or change through the seasons.

Here are a few photos:

The walls are a subtle buttercream yellow, complimented by display wall sections in various pastel shades. The ceilings are exposed up to the rafters. Window displays have been custom built out of stained wood planks with dazzling chandeliers hanging from above. Gorgeous stained concrete floors. Ecclectic painted furniture pieces scattered throughout showcasing a grand variety of children's clothes and accessories (many handmade!). A mix of industrial and elegant. The vision was Anthropologie style for children.

We hope to also do some very creative artistic window displays for the holiday seasons!

I'll share with you a few images from the construction phase:

Oh, yes and I must mention the scaffolding that I was so excited to climb up on and use (ha, ha....some of you know of my slight fear of heights, lol)

So, before I could start the mural in chalk I had to prime the chalkboard walls.

*Very important because if you don't prime your chalkboard walls then whatever you draw on first will leave a permanent impression.

We primed with black powdered chalk (the kind you use to mark a chalk line) and that was awesome because it kept the walls looking nice and new (unlike it looks when you wipe white chalk on it!)

Since I had around 300sq ft to cover I opted to use a large dust mop and dip it into a paint tray filled with chalk powder.

Can you imagine having to use sticks of chalk to color this wall and then wipe it off!!! No way!

Here we have the inside of the children's Fitting Room. Again you can see Brina's excellent taste in crystal ligting fixtures! So beautiful....the photo does not do it justice.

The walls are the same soft yellow and I have hand painted in script the words to the little piggy nursery rhyme wrapping around the three walls in light pink.

We did an almost tone on tone effect because we wanted it to be subtle.

I painted the text the way Brina's little boy says it so one word is different. See if you know what it is:

"This little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed home, this little piggy ate a biscuit, this little piggy had none, and this little piggy went wee, wee, wee all the way home."

My favorite accessory to create for the store so far was the tie back for the fitting room draperies. I am in love with the flowers, feathers and details! I didn't want to part with it! Now I will have to make more so I can create bows for my girls!

And I have to share a little secret, I owe my mom a huge thanks for helping me in a time crunch with the sewing on the fitting room drapes! She didn't want me to mention that she helped but I cannot take credit for her beautiful work. Thank you mom!

I also thought I would share a picture of my original sketch for the store mural:

The mural has a "Fitting Room" sign with a little paper doll standing above. Her outfits hang from clothspins on the high wire. We used actual outfits to give a fun dimension to the wall design. There is a little toy plane flying through the sky and a sailboat braving the ocean waves. The opposite side of the room has a decorative chalk sign for the "Restroom". Behind the cash wrap we needed to display several special gift wrapping options for customers to choose from and Brina asked me if we could do a tree....Wow, why hadn't I thought of that to begin with! So smart! So I drew a tree and we hung the wrapped gifts from the branches. The tree can be decorated to compliment the seasons throughout the year. And since the wall is metal we can put magnets on leaves in the fall, ornaments for Christmas (and even lights), flowers in the spring.....and much more! Finally, we have our adorable little piggy riding on a unicycle holding his little umbrella.

My intent was to show images that would remind customers of happy childhood memories, fanciful daydreams and long treasured children's books. And I had a wonderful time along the way. Thank you Brina!