The Wichita, Kan., flag is meaningful: The white circle represents home, a blue sun means happiness, red stripes signify honor and white stripes indicate courage. When Jesse and Rachel Sample of Wichita Wood Floor Specialists were looking to create something interesting in their showroom after a flood destroyed about half of their showroom floors, they looked out the window, saw the flag flying and thought it would be the perfect symbol to emphasize to their customers that they are a local, community-focused business. But just a simple flag inlay in the showroom didn't seem special enough. "We were brainstorming about something cool and different that would draw attention to our shop," Jesse Sample explains. "I figured, man, it would be cool to get that center to light up. Just staining it white wouldn't have the same effect." The end result is an LED-illuminated flag. Six layers of ¼-inch Plexiglass—five clear with a frosted one on top—were cut by local CNC company CARV for the center of the flag. The rest of the colorful flag was achieved with water-based stains, with each portion stained separately to avoid the colors bleeding into adjacent boards. The final product achieved its goal: "When they come in, customers always comment on it," Sample says.
