This Spring, Summer, and Fall, during the regular monthly wine tastings at Backwoods Bean, some other shops on Main Street will have extended hours…
May through October, Murphy’s Mercantile, Studio Redwood, and The Sparta Store will be open late the last Friday of each month. Murphy’s Mercantile and Studio Redwood are neighboring businesses, located at the southeast corner of Main Street and Whitehead Street (US 221 and NC 18). The Sparta Store is on the southwest block of the same intersection. Backwoods Bean is just a few doors up the street from the corner, past Kermit’s Barber Shop and the Alleghany Historical Museum.
All of these businesses have new products in stock that you might have not seen yet. From artwork and home decor to accessories to stylish functional items, these shops feature a wide (and very affordable!) array of locally-produced items.
Stop by, visit with the folks at the wine tastings, and see what all is available downtown. Check out the places you haven’t been, and see what’s new at the places you have.
The first copies of Show Me, Rosie! are here! Come down and find out how we can help you with your next book project. It’s more affordable than you might think – just ask us about it!
Our newest title for the Missouri Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution. The book was designed and built at Imaging Specialists in Sparta.
In efforts to be an environmentally responsible organization, we’ve joined Call2Recycle, the only free rechargeable battery and cell phone collection program in North America. By conveniently recycling used rechargeable batteries and old cell phones through Call2Recycle, we’re demonstrating our commitment to the environment by adopting green business practices.
“Participating in a battery recycling program is one important way that businesses can advance their green business practices and make their organization more sustainable,” said Carl Smith, president and CEO of RBRC, which operates Call2Recycle. “Imaging Specialists is joining thousands of businesses across the country that have incorporated battery recycling into environmental initiatives and are contributing to a cleaner environment and healthier, safer communities.”
Rechargeable batteries are a long-lasting, eco-friendly power source for many electronic devices, including laptop computers, cell phones, portable scanners and printers, power tools and PDAs. We want to encourage others to recycle the rechargeable batteries used in our offices and community every day, preventing the used products from entering the solid waste stream.
Since 1996, 70 million pounds of rechargeable batteries have been collected through Call2Recycle. Various federal, state and provincial regulations govern the proper disposal of rechargeable batteries and cell phones, naming Call2Recycle in official legislation as the collection method for eco-safe rechargeable battery and cell phone reclamation and recycling. Call2Recycle is the first battery program to attain Basel Action Network (BAN) e-Steward qualification and upholds strict third-party standards for environmental safety and social responsibility.
WWII poster to recruit women stenographers from the U.S. National Archives
The newest title from Star Route Books, Show Me, Rosie! – Missouri’s working women in the Second World War will make its debut in March at the State Conference of the Missouri State Society, Daughters of the American Revolution (MSSDAR).
Many people put a lot of hard work into the project. Individuals from across the state of Missouri interviewed mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and friends about their lives and service during World War II. MSSDAR gathered and edited their stories and photographs and sent it all to Imaging Specialists.
Of course, each individual’s experience was different- the stories are varied. Some women actually were riveters. Some were secretaries. A few married servicemen, others were in the service, themselves. There were wives, widows, divorcees and a few made conscious decisions not to marry until after the end of the war. Working wartime mothers motivated by patriotism or necessity found that they had to secure child care. Day cares and afterschool groups developed and children were left with sitters or grandparents.
Womens Bureau, Department of Labor Poster from U.S. National Archives
Our task was to show the diversity in a cohesive, uniform layout so we designed pages in a scrapbook format, using elements from a 1940s scrapbook as a base. This allowed each woman to share what was most important to her story and memories, as she would have done in her own scrapbook. We present modern and wartime images beside ration coupons, identification badges, insignia pins and other memorabilia.
The cover features the iconic “We Can Do It” poster, painted by Pittsburgh artist J. Howard Miller for Westinghouse Company’s War Production Coordinating Committee in 1942. The title, Show Me, Rosie! not only refers to the Missouri state motto, but to the way these home front heroes share their wartime stories.
We chose a typewriter font for story text, printed on white “sheets” that looked like they were mounted on typical, gray construction paper backgrounds or onto graph paper backgrounds to give an industrial feel. Captions were printed in a script font used throughout- as if one hand had written it all, but in each submitter’s words.
WWII Rationing Poster from U.S. Library of Congress
We added photographs and wartime posters from the Library of Congress, the National Archives, private libraries and many other resources (around 30) when appropriate to help illustrate the 78 narratives. We also researched newspaper clippings and images submitted by (or on behalf of) the honorees, securing permission for reprint when possible. Some entrees took 3 or 4 pages, but most were 2 page spreads in this 184 page, 8.5″ x 11″, soft cover book.
The print-on-demand books serve as a fundraiser for the MSSDAR. Sales will help support the Missouri State Society in their many patriotic endeavors.
We’ve just finished a print job for the newest restaurant in town, El Torito.
Mario Ruiz asked us to modify existing menus from other El Torito restaurants, reversing their familiar, red and black design to give Sparta its own look. We redrew the “mad bull” logo, depicted it in red and black “leather,” removed the already printed screens and added new bleed allowances to the menu images.
We also generated and installed vinyl decals at the main entrance doors.
El Torito is located at 854 South Main Street, where KFC used to be. Check ’em out! You can call in your order at 372-2880.
If you need menus, business cards, forms, flyers or any printed materials for you business, give us a call.
This Spring, Summer, and Fall, during the regular monthly wine tastings at Backwoods Bean, some other shops on Main Street will have extended hours…
