Detroit Donut Bar + The Crimson Fox

We were so excited when the Detroit Donut Bar + Coffee reached out to request custom chalkboard art and menus for their Southfield location. Naturally, I jumped right on the opportunity. Chalk is one of my favorite mediums and it gives me a nice break from the typical graphic design work I'm doing on a daily basis.

The founder and lead designer of The Crimson Fox, Kayla Borgen, arrived early in the day, walking into the Detroit Donut Bar, immediately enamored with the style and atmosphere created my the owner, Serena, and her sister and brother. Crisp white subway tiles complimented by ornate gold frames of all shapes and sizes encapsulating vintage black and white photos and a chalkboard that begins at the floor and reaches all the way to the ceiling along with 3 smaller boards behind the glass case dotted with donuts in every color and flavor. And by donuts, we do not mean your typical "run-of-the-mill" (yes, pun intended) donuts. Serena and her family create from scratch, giant gourmet donuts filled and topped with everything from Fruity Pebbles cereal to fresh fruit. Some donuts are more elaborate, like the banana split donut; filled with strawberry filling and topped with chocolate, whipped cream, fresh bananas and a maraschino cherry!

The ladies greeted Kayla with coffee, excitement and donuts for days! We cleaned each board, re-painted with a textured paint to best hold the chalk pigment and sketched ideas. With the first two chalkboards completed, we finally ended our evening around 7 pm. We were sent home with three boxes of donuts, anxious to try them all and anxious to return another day to complete the final boards (and eat more donuts).