Signs of a Co-op

I've always wanted to visit the Community Food Co-op in Bozeman, Montana, and recently I finally got the chance.


The building was designed, about ten years ago, to evoke the look of grain elevators and other agricultural buildings.

It's a nice co-op inside and out, with a second-floor coffee shop with nice seating and a balcony over the store, but the thing I liked the best was the signs.


Instead of using one standardized design, the signs were divergent. The only thing they had in common was the quirkiness that comes from letting things look different. (Note the penguins above the letters on this frozen foods sign.)


Everywhere I looked, there was a sign of some sort.


This sign commemorates the co-op's three locations.


And a special touch I don't believe I've seen at any other co-op -- for each annual General Membership Meeting, they commission an artistic poster, which generally appeared to have been either silk-screened or printed with letterpress. A very nice commemorative item.