Palace Skateboards, a skateboard and apparel companies, fuses creative design with cutting-edge technologies to build luxury retail stores that give consumers an experience unlike anywhere else. The brand's recently-launched Los Angeles location is its most inventive to date, utilizing a 13.5-foot-tall by 7-foot-wide, 2.5mm pixel pitch curved NanoLumens LED display and a projection mapping system to create a one-room visual journey focused on skateboarding.
According to Albertico Acosta, co-owner of Tico Sighting, the content firm that designed and installed the audiovisual infrastructure, the project brought together leaders from multiple segments of the commercial technology market—value-added distribution from Stampede, a display from NanoLumens, and system and content design from Tico Sighting.
“The architect for Skateboard Palace’s new Los Angeles location tasked us with designing an all-encompassing visual experience that would blow customers away,” Acosta said. “The round room’s domed ceiling was ideal for the projection mapping we are known for, but the curved wall required a single-piece solution, since we couldn’t have shoppers walking in front of a projector. We hadn’t worked with LED displays before, but as a Stampede reseller, we were familiar with the NanoLumens products they carry and quickly realized a NanoLumens true-curve LED video wall was the ideal solution.”
After a bit of research, Acosta and Tico Sighting co-owner Virginia Barach traveled to a NanoLumens training center, joined by Stampede business development manager Dan Mazurkiewicz.
“We wanted to make sure we were 100 percent versed in the installation, use, and maintenance of NanoLumens products,” Acosta said, “so the hands-on training was an incredible resource. With a partner like Stampede guiding us and introducing us to their valued technology providers, every step of the process was smooth and enjoyable. It’s surprising how many new opportunities have presented themselves now that we have access to such a large variety of equipment solutions, and it’s even changing how we present ourselves to clients. We began as a content firm, focusing almost exclusively on digital visuals for live events, but today we offer a full range of audiovisual services that include system design and support for retail or other permanent installation locations.”
The combination of a ceiling-facing projector and a large wall-mounted LED display delivers the engaging experience Palace Skateboards wanted. Acosta also noted that the NanoLumens display offered several advantages over other LED products, namely the industry-best six-year warranty and the patented Nixel-based design that makes maintenance much simpler in his opinion. Both, he said, were crucially important since the NanoLumens display is at ground level where customers may accidentally touch it while shopping.
For the grand opening in April 2019, the LED wall content included announcements, product displays, and skateboarding videos. The projection mapping system presented Tico Sighting content that turned the Pantheon-like ceiling into a variety of creative environments including a Tron-like piece with neon highlights, a skateboarding piece, and a realistic illusion of the sun shining through a virtual skylight, mimicking the original Pantheon ceiling in Rome.
“This project shows what’s possible when the best technology manufacturers, distributors, and integrators work together,” Mazurkiewicz said. “Part of our mandate at Stampede is to help our dealers enter new markets, move in innovative directions and introduce them to new technologies and training. We are thrilled that Tico Sighting has been able to expand their purview to include system design—growing their business and enabling greater flexibility in the projects they choose.”
Tico Sighting also installed the server-based content management system and a storewide audio system using 12 Sonos speakers. After completing the project, the company was thrilled with the service and advice provided by both NanoLumens and Stampede.
“Any questions or services needs that arose during installation were handled immediately by our incredible partners, including 24-hour turnaround on delivery for any additional products or parts we needed,” Acosta concluded. “I don’t think we would tackle LED projects without working with NanoLumens and Stampede, because we know they both have our back and will do everything they can to help us succeed and expand our business into new markets.”
