Illinois Print Pros Help Historic Toy Brand Create a Memorable Shopping Environment

PRINT SHOP: ER2 Image Group | er2image.com
LOCATION: Hanover Park, Illinois
TOOLS AND SUPPLIES: EFI Vutek 3r+ roll-to-roll press, HP Latex 3600 printer, d.gen Teleios Grande G5 textile printer, Zünd G3-L3200 digital cutter, MultiCam 3000 Series CNC router, house Celtic SEG fabric, Dreamscape Suede wallcovering, 3M Envision Print Wrap Film LX480mC, ½- and ¾-in. medium-density fiberboard (MDF), ¾-in. plywood, 13-mm PVC, Sutherland Felt 9-mm Designer Board Felt.

SINCE 1917, RADIO FLYER and its iconic Original Little Red Wagon have been part of countless happy childhood memories. While the brand has grown and changed over the years – expanding offerings to include tricycles, scooters, go-karts, bikes, and more – it wasn’t until the fall of 2023 that it launched its first retail location.

Radio Flyer entrusted ER2 Image Group and its Applied Surfaces division of Hanover Park, Illinois, to make “The Ultimate Radio Flyer Experience” out of the 15,000-square-foot store inside the largest shopping center in Illinois. “Creating the first-of-its-kind environment for a brand over 100 years old presented our team with the opportunity to reimagine retail’s immersive possibilities,” says Gary Schellerer, VP and partner, ER2 Image Group.

The PSP manufactured and installed all the environmental graphics throughout the store, from a jumbo Radio Flyer red wagon with two massive tires customers can sit in to wallcoverings, vinyl graphics, and SEG frames with acoustic panels for noise reduction in a racetrack for trying out products.

Working with so many applications required extensive color corrections throughout the project. An added layer of complexity was working with historic brand artifacts dating as far back as 1931. “Radio Flyer provided a great deal of trust to ship their prized possessions and artifacts to us so we could figure out how to mount them to the walls best,” says Jason Dillas, managing partner, Applied Surfaces, ER2 Image Group.

SEG framing was printed onto house Celtic fabric with a d.gen Teleios Grande G5 textile printer. The shop imaged wallcoverings with an EFI Vutek 3r+ onto Dreamscape Suede wallcovering and output 3M Envision Print Wrap Film LX480mC column numbering, Radio Flyer logos, and flag decals with an HP Latex 3600. ER2 painstakingly fashioned jumbo tires from MDF, paint, PVC, plywood, Sutherland Felt 9-mm Designer Board Felt, and acrylic. Various elements were finished with the shop’s Zünd G3-L3200 digital cutter and MultiCam 3000 Series CNC router.