“Empowered women empower women.”

Kathy Archer, owner of Full Strength Coffee Company, came up with the idea for a mural and put it into motion — with the help of her friends.

“This was something I was really drawn to, especially the saying ’empowered women empower women’,” Archer said.

She then turned to local artists Shari Gollnitz and Wendy Gollnitz Santilli to make her vision come to fruition.

Pictured is a mural depicting the phrase “Empowered women empower women,” located on the Market Street side of Full Strength Coffee Company in Westfield. Shari Gollnitz and Wendy Gollnitz Santilli created the mural. Submitted photo

“We have been friends for years so I knew they would do an amazing job,” Archer said.

The two sisters already demonstrated great success with a mural in downtown Westfield in the past. Lake Shore Center for the Arts, in Westfield, previously sponsored a Westfield themed mural located behind Community Bank, depicting grapes, Lake Erie and the Barcelona lighthouse. With funds remaining from that project, the Lake Shore Center for the Arts also decided to sponsor the latest mural at Full Strength Coffee Company, utilizing the same artists.

“We were thrilled,” Archer said.

Wendy Gollnitz Santilli, a graphic design artist, created the design after meeting with Archer and hearing her vision for the mural.

“She hit the nail on the head,” Archer said. “We’re thrilled with how it looks, what it says and what meaning it has. It has turned out better than I ever could have imagined.”

Full Strength Coffee Company is located on Main Street in the village of Westfield. The mural is painted on the side of the building, on Market Street just off Main Street. The physical work of the mural began earlier this summer. It was completed last weekend.

Standing up for women is familiar to Archer and her staff, who she described as “a strong, loving and efficient team.” Full Strength Coffee Company advocated for women earlier this year, as a percentage of the business’ sales were donated to Project Crossroads, through the Jamestown Police Department, to stand up against domestic violence in honor of International Women’s Day.

The mural’s message resonates in Westfield even more than it might in many other communities, as Westfield is home to many female-run businesses. Full Strength Coffee Company is part of a long list of female owned and/or operated businesses in the village that also includes Annex 25, Blue June Blooms, Living Glass Gallery, Peaceful Designs Pottery, Surroundings Art Gallery & Framing, and Cheryl Reed, an attorney operating out of an office on Portage Street.

“I definitely believe that the women that have taken that step to do something encourage others to do that,” said Don McCord of the Westfield Development Corporation.

The village of Westfield will soon have another mural, as Chautauqua County is sponsoring a Paint CHQ mural on the side of Grace & Abe’s on Portage Street. The mural will begin in early September by Dom Laporte, of DRIFT Mural Co., located in Ottawa, Ontario. It will be completed by Sept. 13. Locals have provided input to the artist, who was hired as part of the county’s beautification efforts throughout the region.