St Arnaud businesses embark on transformation project
Published on 30 July 2025
Caption:From left, Top of the Town Beauty Salon’s Meagan Harvey consults with Pop Creative Collective’s Ching Ching Lee and Wendy Twigg as part of Northern Grampians Shire Council’s Shopfront Improvement Program.
Six businesses in St Arnaud will receive a helping hand to improve the vibrancy of their shopfronts, stimulate economic growth, and enhance the overall look and feel of the town.
Northern Grampians Shire Council is delivering the Shopfront Improvement Program in St Arnaud this year after a successful pilot program in Stawell in 2024.
Mayor Karen Hyslop said six businesses were selected to participate in the St Arnaud program, based on their need and desire for improvement.
“The program garnered great interest from businesses in Napier Street and connecting side streets,” she said.
“We had 17 businesses submit an expression of interest, so it was an incredibly competitive process for the six available spots.
“We hope to deliver this program again in St Arnaud in the future, given the amount of interest from businesses seeking support to improve.”
The six businesses chosen by the assessment panel are: Ramjac, St Arnaud Books, Country Kitchen, St Arnaud Community Resource Centre, Top of the Town Beauty Salon and The Bible Museum and Butterfly Centre.
Pop Creative Collective, which ran a visual merchandising workshop in St Arnaud in June, will work with the selected businesses to improve their shopfront presentation through new branding, signs, painting, window displays and more.
Pop Creative Collective’s Ching Ching Lee said it was great to see so many businesses wanting to improve their shopfronts and engage in the program.
“This is the biggest number of expressions of interest I have received for the Shopfront Improvement Program,” she said.
“I’m very excited to be working with the six applicants and can’t wait to see the results.”
Ms Lee started the one-on-one process with program participants last week.
“It has been great to speak with each of the businesses and hear their business journey, what drives them and what they want to achieve,” she said.
“Connecting with them helps us to create their shopfront improvements and inspires us to provide our best work, which will benefit the whole St Arnaud streetscape.
“We have been blown away with what St Arnaud has to offer – it has been a wonderful experience learning about the town and its many treasures.”
Top of The Town Beauty Salon’s Meagan Harvey said she applied for the program because she thought it provided St Arnaud businesses with a fantastic opportunity.
“It will be great to have a bit of a revamp and it’s great working with the Pop Creative Collective team,” she said.
“The process so far has been so much fun and the ideas are great. Thank you to Northern Grampians Shire Council for the opportunity to be a part of this program.”
Council’s Economic Development team offers a range of services to help the municipality’s businesses to thrive.
People can click here for more information or click here to subscribe to council’s monthly Business E-News.