Fabric aerial banners made for the brewery’s tenth anniversary, which grew into a standing set of 210 across 11 colors and 3 lengths. Each is cut from a template with a hot knife, in ripstop nylon so no hemming is needed. The fabric is glued into a dado cut in a square dowel, with flush-mounted neodymium magnets.
The taproom was already rigged with steel rope between its columns, so I hung matching dowels from the rope next to each column, left up year-round. Hanging a banner is a matter of snapping it into place. Storage is a rack per color and length with a slot for each banner and a magnetic strip running underneath, so banners drop in and stay put. When not in use, the racks hang vertically on cleats to keep the footprint small.
A cleat on the side of the scissor lift holds three racks at 30 degrees, angled so the banners stay readable and the operator can still see over the rail. Racks and cleats are plywood offcuts. A full changeover takes a taproom employee about half an hour, most of it spent steering the lift around the 12-foot tables.
The banner sets are themed for events, from FC Cincinnati and Bearcats watch parties to holiday celebrations.
