News / Community / Business / 1st July 2021
Facelift for local businesses
The Lighthouse shop owner Michelle Jaggers has taken it upon herself to create a warmer more welcoming town.
In the coming months, Michelle will relocate her store from Dalgarno Street into the ground floor section of the former Coonabarabran Hotel.
In a bid to revitalise the ageing grey building, Michelle came up with the idea to paint a mural on the walls of the building.
“In the words of the business consultant, Peter Kenyon, who came to town - we have an unattractive main street and he said it was up to us to beautify it.”
She enlisted the help of Brisbane artists Jarad Danby and James Ellis.
The pair make their living as travelling artists, recently completing work on the large- scale silo art at Dunedoo.
The down-to-earth Aussie larrikins said they travel town to town looking for the next pay cheque, while brightening people’s lives with their unique creations.
“We’ll stay in town as long as there’s work and then in true Russell Coight style it’s time to roll up the swags and head to the next town,” Jarad laughed.
The work has already sparked the interest of locals and other shop owners in the area with Wild Willows Florist and Soapery, Coonabarabran Bakery, Feathers Cafe, and Surf, Work and Street joining in the public art display.
“There is talk of other work in town and we’re open to Council grants if they want to work together,” James said.
“Everyone in town has been great!
“We’ve spent half our days talking to people walking past and all the feedback about our work has been positive.”
Big move
For Michelle, it’s business as usual at The Lighthouse, however, she will be busy behind-the- scenes bringing her new main street space to life with the aim of relocating in September.
Having occupied the current premises for the past seven years, Michelle said the new shop front would be a massive change.
“It’s more than double the size,” she said.
“The current shop is tiny and when we first moved in we really only used about one-third of it.
“But now we’ve outgrown it, so it’s good timing to be able to move into something bigger.”