The Creative Office of
JOSHUA GAJOWNIK
It’s guar-an-teed and trademarked
Whether inheriting the legacy of a century old barbershop in downtown Raleigh, embracing the mid-century charm of one of America's first outdoor malls, or building ground-up in a new multi-use development, Arrow environments–like modern man–are highly adaptable.
A beer can wall at the Ridgewood location can be rearranged to make seasonal graphics. Arrow offers a complimetary local beer while you wait for your cut.
Each shop shares a common material and color palette with decor and graphics varying. The impetus for the entire brand language – before any mark or logo was created – was to use an everyday material in plywood but elevate it with an indigo stain. This came to embody an Arrow design ethos of approachable but considered environments. The Raleigh Architecture Co. bullseyed the stain and extending the brand through the architecture.
Continuing the heritage of barbering on Hargett Street, Arrow’s second shop sits in the old Capitol City Barbershop with many details unchanged while the iconic indigo plywood and red tool boxes are emblematic of the Arrow brand.
Arrow’s digs on Durham’s Ninth Street assumes the grit of the Bull City with vintage magazines as wall coverings and bull nose neon signage.
A new build on America’s quintessential college thoroughfare, Arrow’s Franklin Street shop in Chapel Hill hits an estudious note with yearbooks and study lights abound.
Arrow’s North Hills location takes ‘north’ and ‘'hills’ to a hyperbolic place with a mural connecting the world’s tallest peaks all the way down to the shop at 335 ft above sea level.
Photography: Becca Williams, Luke Davis, Kyle Sheats