Dawson County’s North Georgia Premium Outlet Mall is now a little more brightly colored and photogenic, thanks to a recently finished mural that came about as a collaboration between the mall and a local artist. 

According to Taylor Bennett, director of marketing and business development for the outlet mall, the idea first started when outlet mall leadership was looking for a way to depict some of the local beauty of the North Georgia area that the mall is such a big part of. 

"Dawsonville is known as the gateway to the North Georgia mountains, so North Georgia Premium Outlets is a common tourism destination for those traveling up to the mountains,” Bennett said. “We chose this design to further position the center as a tourism destination and provide a fun photo opportunity for shoppers who are here shopping at our over 140 iconic outlet brands.”

So Bennett approached Abby Carroll, a Dawsonville-based artist and owner of More Than Enough Design Company, to commission the mural. 

“After Taylor and I discussed the initial design I did a digital mockup and kind of got the general design worked out,” Carroll said, “and then I just started painting.” 

The mural covers two walls stretching along one end of the mall and each of the two walls are about 300 feet long, making this the biggest mural Carroll has painted so far, she said. She worked hard on it for about nine or 10 days, totaling around 40 hours of work. 

"Lots of people have asked me if I sprayed it and obviously there are some accents with spray paint but for the most part it’s all rolled,” Carroll said. “I’m so proud of it; this is probably one of my favorite projects I’ve ever done and definitely the biggest.” 

Since Carroll finished the mural, both she and outlet mall leadership have heard a lot of positive feedback about it, she said.
“I’ve had so many friends and family that have come out here to see it and sent me selfies,” Carroll said. 

“So many people have been giving us compliments and taking pictures with it,” Bennett added. “We are thrilled.” 

The mural is located at the North Georgia Premium Outlet Mall on the end closest to the Nike store and is officially finished and open for shoppers to enjoy and take photos with. To tag the mall and the artist in photos taken with the mural, shoppers can use their Instagram handles @northgeorgiapo and @mtedesignco. 

Carroll works as a freelance, customer-based artist in the community and can be reached through her Instagram page or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mtedesignco/.