The Bitter Sweet facade needed some sprucing-up. My client had three goals for this project: (1) To make their business easily identifiable so that first-time visitors know they’ve found the right place, (2) to communicate to passers-by what type of business Bitter Sweet is and (3) to make their building visible from Benson Street — the main road that runs through the highly-trafficked Reading Bridal District.

I was interested in working with Bitter Sweet on this project for a number of reasons. First of all, it would give me more experience with sign painting and large-scale art. I have created large-scale art in the past, but this would be the biggest yet, and the most permanent. I also had a personal interest in the project because Bitter Sweet is one of my favorite businesses in my neighborhood. Giving this building a facelift would better my community and I'd get to see my work every time I drive by!

I started the project in Photoshop, creating mockups of a variety of design options and working with the business owner to revise the designs until we reached a final design that would be both beautiful and effective at accomplishing the project goals.

I did some math and figured out what size everything would need to be, printed it out at that scale, traced it onto posterboard, and cut out stencils for the icons, logo, and typography.

Then, I consulted with my Sherwin Williams rep to get recommendations on how much and what kind of paint to get for the project. (not sponsored, but they were really helpful!)

There was some difficulty with paint matching, since the two faces of the building had faded to different colors due to uneven sun exposure.

Scaffolding was probably the biggest challenge of this whole project. I had never worked on or assembled scaffolding before. The scaffolding I borrowed was indoor scaffolding and was on casters that I had no way of leveling (aside from putting pieces of wood underneath). Needless to say, it was very unstable on the uneven sidewalk. My husband took on the role of scaffolding researcher and found that we could make the scaffolding safe, level, and secure with just a couple extra parts: some leveling jacks and outriggers. After renting those parts, the scaffolding was much more stable and the rest of the project could proceed.

The first step was to chip off all of the peeling paint. Once the paint was chipped off of the areas I would be painting, I primed the exposed plaster with stone and masonry primer.

After that, it was time to paint. I used painters tape to create the stripe that wraps around the building and stencils to trace the icons, typography, and logo onto the building.

I realized halfway through that I had originally planned on painting over the electric box on the side of the building, which would have been a terrible and dangerous idea! You’re never supposed to set up scaffolding near an electric box. So I stopped the stripe just to the left of the electric box and moved “coffee smoothies crepes” down to the ground level, mirroring the other side of the building. Another challenge was matching paint colors. This was difficult since the two faces of the building had faded to different colors due to uneven sun exposure.

This is what the finished building looks like. The new hand-painted signage makes it clear that this building is Bitter Sweet and that it's a restaurant that sells coffee, crepes, and smoothies. The building is much more eye-catching and the logo is clearly visible and legible from a block away on Benson Street.

I’m grateful for this new experience and everything I learned in the process. I’m so happy with the final result and hope it brings a lot of business to one of my favorite Reading restaurants!

Thanks so much to my husband and dad who both helped me out so much on this project!