TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. — Tarpon Springs is getting an uplifting paint job.
Dozens of colorful feel-good signs have been mysteriously showing up on lawns and storefronts all over town saluting “Tarpon’s Heroes.”
The positive, playful project is the loving work of local artist Emily Tayman and Architectural Salvage Bank owner Robin Karr.
Karr, whose business is a wonderland of vintage finds and American woodcraft, was first inspired by a small sign she found that said “Be Kind to Each Other.”
“So we decided to go even bigger,” says Karr, who closed the Salvage Bank and wait things out like so many other business owners around the world.
Karr hired Tayman, a friend and neighbor, to light up Tarpon Springs with the lovingly painted wooden signs. They used supplies in the Salvage Bank’s stuffed warehouse.
The team, which included a sign-builder named Hunter, made almost 40 sweet salutes in about a week.
“I painted one that said ‘Bee Grateful’ with bumblebees that was cute,” says Tayman, who says the work has been rewarding yet demanding. “Another said ‘Stay Home and Love Your Neighbor.’”
The community’s response has been overwhelmingly positive. Now the team is making even more. “Have Hope” reads a bright new addition.
“This is a stressful time for all of us,” says Tayman. “It’s been helping us, too. It’s been giving me more purpose.”
