Main Street partners with local artist to debut MILLY

Milledgeville Main Street and Sketchbook Studio have partnered to design the MILLY letters displayed during First Friday events in downtown Milledgeville.

“The letters being designed were actually donated to us and have been used for events in the past,” said Carlee Schulte, director of Milledgeville Main Street. “Now, we are ready to update them and debut the letters again to our community.”

The MILLY letters were originally created by Georgia College & State University and donated to Milledgeville Main Street last year during the Hometown Celebration. The letters were previously used in events GCSU hosted but soon became a staple during events hosted downtown.

“We’ve partnered with Sketchbook Studio owner Reginald Stanley to design the letters for us,” said Schulte. “He has worked with us for more than 10 years as a vendor, doing nonprofit, and more. He has always been a reliable and gracious person.

He was the first person we thought of to create the letters.”

Stanley is currently in the final design phase of the project. When visiting his studio earlier this month, he had the letters displayed with landmarks of Milledgeville taped onto each of the letters. This was his design board in speculation of the final project.

“I am creating a background inspired by landmarks,” he stated in a previous interview. “I’ve printed out some ideas and I’m taking it on as a challenge.”

Stanley expressed a deep gratitude to Milledgeville Main Street for offering him this opportunity and allowing his art to become a staple at downtown events.

“I enjoy challenges and I am putting everything into this challenge,” said Stanley in a previous interview. “I’m nervous about what people may think when the letters are revealed but I am also very excited.

According to Schulte, Stanley was offered a few design ideas for the project based around different murals. Landmarks were a staple in many of the murals they presented.

“We gave him some key points like downtown, GCSU, GMC, the museum, et cetera as ideas,” said Schulte. “Then, he (Stanley) came back with a final drawing and showed us what he was thinking. We were thrilled with it.”

The new MILLY letters will be debuted during the November “Touch-a-Truck” First Friday event.

“We think it’s important to celebrate artists,” said Schulte. “Reggie will be recognized along with the letters and they will be displayed in all upcoming First Friday events after their debut.”