DANG, @therockhillndroneguy! And, we thought these new murals by @obeygiant looked cool during the day… and from the ground! Magnificent!⁣
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Thank you for sharing! These photos are amazing!⁣
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🌖🎨🌖🎨🌖🎨🌖🎨🌖🎨🌖⁣
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Posted @withregram • @therockhilldroneguy Well damn… Rock Hill just got a lot cooler this week. 🔥🔥🔥

Thank you to everyone who brought this beautiful piece to life! You are appreciated!! #rockhillsc #streetart #ilovemycity ...

COVID may be hanging around, but we're not afraid to give out HUGs -- Helpful Unfettered Gifts, that is. ⁣
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Thanks to @nodabrewing, @GoogleFiber and @WellsFargo, last week, we awarded three $250 micro-grants to:⁣
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▶️ 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘆 𝗝𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻 - @lemmepaintdat⁣
She will purchase equipment to help her photography business⁣
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▶️ 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗹 - @mariasenkel⁣
This illustrator and 3D artist is using her HUG to help purchase a Cricut machine for a project called, "Six Pillars of Good Character"⁣
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▶️ 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗮𝘆𝗹𝗮 𝗕𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 - @mkay_15⁣
This HUG will help fund a new mural she's painting at The Metro School ⁣
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𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗬 𝗢𝗥 𝗚𝗜𝗩𝗘⁣
To donated (in ANY amount) to a future HUG or to apply for one you can use to aid a public-facing creative project in Charlotte, visit HUGGrant.com ...

Charlotte’s crown logo reigns across the Queen City. But when a modern iteration of the Queen City’s crown was unveiled to city council members in 1981, the royal emblem was met with little love, a pinch of controversy and a wealth of opinions.⁣
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𝗔 𝗥𝗢𝗬𝗔𝗟 𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗗𝗢𝗪𝗡⁣
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Joe Sonderman, founder of the graphics and designs firm Design/Joe Sonderman, won a $10,000 contract with the City to design a sign system for city buildings in the government plaza. Phase one of the project included designing a new logo. He and his team worked on it for months, developing many variations, before unveiling their design.⁣
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The first “modern” crown design was met with skepticism from council members when Sonderman presented it at a council meeting in September 1981. “Jester’s hat,” “circus tent” and “general’s stripes” were among the biting feedback.⁣
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Council members sent Sonderman and his staff back to the drawing board. While they worked, citizens sent in their own designs. A contest in the 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘸𝘴 yielded over 100 entries.⁣
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𝗧𝗔𝗞𝗘 𝗧𝗪𝗢⁣
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Sonderman returned in Jan. 1982, this time receiving council’s approval. It was the crown logo we know and love today. ⁣
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But the next day, the Queen Charlotte chapter of the Sweet Adelines — a 65-women, barbershop-style singing group — said Sonderman’s crown was suspiciously similar to their logo. (Alice Guy, the chapter’s president, was particularly aggrieved since she had sent city officials a copy of the group’s crown design with suggestions on how to improve.)⁣
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In a meeting of the Sweet Adelines and the City, Sonderman said he hadn’t seen the design, nor did Mary Head, the designer who made the crown. The Sweet Adelines were assured there was no ill intent and certainly no copycatting intended.⁣
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With a truce reached, the crown was put to work.⁣
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𝗔 𝗟𝗢𝗪 𝗞𝗘𝗬 𝗟𝗘𝗚𝗔𝗖𝗬 ⁣
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Sonderman retired in 2003 and sold the firm to longtime associates Tim Gilland and Rodger Motiska.⁣
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Sonderman and his wife moved to Vermont and spent time with their four grown sons. Sonderman passed away suddenly in 2012 at 75 years old while visiting family in England. ⁣
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But, his legacy — and the crown - lives on. ...