Lichfield artist creates bespoke work to help connect revamped Central England Co-op store and city heritage

Posted by rob smyth | Published: 07/12/2020


A Lichfield designer inspired by his mum has seen his stunning pieces of art feature as a part of a major £3 million revamp of a city Central England Co-op shop.

Chris Day created the special pieces based on areas of Lichfield such as the cathedral to adorn the walls at the flagship Boley Park food store after being handpicked to help highlight the importance of the local links between the shop and the area.

The 35-year-old picked up his love of art from his mum Julia who now proudly gets to see her son’s creations every single day as she works in the shop as a Customer Services Assistant.

He said: “My inspiration is my mum. She gave up her design career to raise me and my brother. She is still a constant well of inspiration and my best critic and teacher. What makes it even better is that she works in the store, so she is not only delighted with the revamp but also gets to see my work every day and hear some lovely comments from customers about it.”

Chris has always had a passion for art but started to take it more seriously when he was around 14. After completing a university degree, he worked for Central England Co-op and a design studio in Leicester called Creed, a move which saw him work for major brands such as Pizza Express, Frankie and Bennys and Wagamama before deciding to go freelance and set up his own design studio in Lichfield.

Alongside designing, he helps small and medium sized businesses with marketing, content and social media.

He added: “The images created for the store are bright and bold modern artworks to spike people's interest in local history and hopefully they will inspire customers to discover more about Lichfield and feel proud of the heritage.

“One of my key aims is to reduce complexity. I cut through the clutter with a simple and pragmatic style. I am influenced by many elements, from nature to architecture and music to fashion, forever holding on to my childlike curiosity of the world around me.

“It's lovely to see the artwork visible from the till area in the new-look store as people can see it as they pack their shopping or the staff as they serve.”

Julia Day, Chris’s mum and Customer Services Assistant at the Boley Park store, said: “I am so proud of Chris. He is a talented artist and it is so lovely to be at work, look over and see his amazing work on display for all to see.

“To hear the lovely and positive comments from customers and members is a delight and makes me a very happy mum.”

More details about Chris and his work can be found online at www.chrisdaydesign.co.uk/lichfield  

 

Notes to editors

 

Picture caption: Chris Day with his mum Julia in front of his artwork at the revamped Central England Co-op in Boley Park.

 

About Central England Co-operative

 

Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK with interests in food, funeral, floral and property investment.

 

Co-operatives have always been there for their communities; they were formed to protect them and help them flourish. 

 

Our 7,550 colleagues who serve Members and customers work hard to ensure that co-operative values, principles and spirit flow through everything we do to help support and improve our local communities.

 

Owned by hundreds of thousands of Members, we have over 400 trading outlets across 16 counties including West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. 

 

We are proud of our reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.

 

We invest a percentage of our trading profit into local communities through our Community Dividend Fund scheme, have donated over £1.3 million to our corporate charity partner Dementia UK and also operate a pioneering food redistribution partnership with FareShare Midlands so unsold food goes to those in need.

 

Visit www.centralengland.coop for more information or follow us on Facebook or Twitter using @mycoopfood

 

Press office contacts: Rob Smyth and James Brindle

 

Phone - 01543 421390

 

Email - publicrelations@centralengland.coop