Imagine Bettie Page vamping through a graffiti-scrawled landscape. Contrasting cultures? Perhaps. But these two different artistic styles – retro pinup girls and urban, modern-day graffiti art – merge in hip harmony in the signage and graphics program at Wink Salon in Virginia Beach, Va.

Owners Debbie Glenn and Cheryl Griggs named their salon after the vintage pinup magazine Wink, which was published in the 1940s and featured work by such artists as Peter Driben, Earl Morgan and Billy De Vorss.

New York-based architect Kate Thatcher was in charge of transforming the former restaurant space into an urban-style salon paying homage to these cool creative expressions.

Inside, the salon is divided into two distinct areas to serve different customer types. The Wink side, which most traditionally resembles a loft-style salon, caters to an older crowd and features the pinup imagery. The Other Side, geared toward a more youthful and funky generation, complete with rotating art shows and guest deejays on the weekends, gets a splash of life with colorful graffiti art. An overall design aesthetic, including concrete flooring, an open ceiling, steel cubicles, hairdryers hanging on cables from the ceiling and glass and steel-cable shelving, unifies the two sides with an industrial tone.

The owners wanted to display the pinups as large-scale images, but concerns arose about the potential weight of the 76-by-96-inch graphics and how to hang them. So designers chose a 3-millimeter aluminum composite material called Al-Leader (from Mitsubishi Chemical FP America) that was not only lightweight but would also provide a smooth, flat panel for mounting graphics. Three panels were affixed to the walls and then the printed graphics were applied. A peg system holds the display to the walls. The riveted look reinforces the salon’s urban style.

On The Other Side, designers invited local graffiti artists to create original art on the salon walls. While the graphic styles are different, a similar color palette unites the two artistic expressions.

“The graphics are from different eras,” says Thatcher, “but they work to create an overall attitude.”

Images of the pinups were also printed onto perforated bus graphic material and mounted to the exterior windows of the salon. From the outside, passersby see only the pinup girls, giving patrons inside the salon a sense of privacy while they get their beauty treatments.

Another exterior signage challenge was the curved façade of the corner property. Markus Tavenner, president of Vanmark, a Virginia Beach-based fabrication company, chose Alpolic 4-millimeter brushed aluminum paneling (also from Mitsubishi Chemical) rather than a more traditional aluminum material because it weighs less and would better conform to a pre-curved framing system mounted to the building. Two panels were seamed together to create a 122-by-74-inch sign. Applied vinyl lettering was mounted on top by Signmasters (Virginia Beach, Va.).

Despite the challenges, Thatcher says the various graphics styles helped her overcome the biggest hurdle of all – creating two salons in one space.

“The graphics were a way to give the two areas and the entire salon an identity,” she says. “It also gives employees an inspired work place.”  

Client: Wink Salon, Virginia Beach, Va. – Debbie Glenn, owner; Cheryl Griggs, owner

Design and Architecture: Kate Thatcher, New York

Outside Design Consultant: Ludlow Group, Virginia Beach, Va. (graphics)

Fixtures: B&N Industries, San Francisco

Furniture: Pietranera & Gamma Salon Furniture, Milan

Signage/Wall Graphics: Mitsubishi Chemical FP America, Chesapeake, Va.

Sign Fabricators: Signmasters, Virginia Beach, Va.; Vanmark, Virginia Beach, Va.

Photographer: Mike Wood, Norfolk, Va.