Here’s a good example of what can be achieved over a cuppa with a pencil, some paper and imagination. A retail customer in Wales wanted us to help them literally stand-out on the high street, using flags or pennants. This is quite a tricky request technically but Sign-Rite likes a challenge.
These were the problems:
Any flag would protrude into the pavement so a narrow profile was essential. As a semi-permanent item it would have to be resilient in all weathers and not look tatty. Thief proof security was important while still being removable at the end of the day.
A Feather Flag ticks the boxes for visual impact and durability. It’s tall, narrow shape doesn’t obstruct a walkway. As they normally stand in fields at shows or are dotted around industrial parks they are proven in all weathers.
However, the big puzzle was how to attach such an item to a shop front? Feather Flag poles are mounted on a big spike for pushing into the ground, with a bearing so it can spin round in the wind. We needed our installation to be fixed rigidly and not spin round at all so a bit of ingenuity was called for.
Firstly, I discarded the standard (fibreglass) pole and mounting spike and used a length of steel tube which I curved to give a nice radius. This fitted inside the flag’s hem which gave it good rigidity. I then designed a nice mounting bracket to be fixed to the shop-front and popped over to a local engineering firm for the necessary fabrication, welding and painting. Now, the flag pole can be slotted into place every morning and fixed with a padlocked clip. Each night it is simply unlocked, unclipped and stored away safely.
Incidentally, I saved the customer the cost of a site visit by using Google’s Street View for the first time. This enabled Sign-Rite to submit a quotation and mock-up of the finished job from the comfort of HQ and speeded up delivery to the customer.
John Spilsbury