Signs Never Sleep

Carved Wooden Home Sign with a Scottish Thistle Theme

This sign was carved by Lincoln Sign Company

Signs of Buffalo: A Virtual Museum Dedicated to the Art of Signs

Signs of Buffalo isn't just a place to look at pictures of signs online.  Signs of Buffalo isn't just a collection of some of the best vintage, black-and-white sign photography I have found anywhere.

Signs of Buffalo is a collection of two brother's legacy to the world.  It is a collection of work by Rocco and Mario Santoro that will live on long after the last of their signs are gone.

Signs are permanent monuments to the men and women that make them, but even signs don't last forever.  There are very few museums dedicated to the art of sign-making, but it is my hope with the freedom of the internet, many more websites just like Signs of Buffalo will pay homage to these artists.

Link

~written by J.D. Iles

Making a House Number Sign with Pumpkins

Typically sign shops use Redwood or Western Red Cedar to carve house-number signs, but I suppose you could do it with pumpkins.  The advantage of using pumpkins, is that you end up with a lighted sign at the end of the process.

Sunset Magazine recently had a great website feature about how to turn jack o' lanterns into house numbers.  This is certainly a great idea for next Halloween, but it would also be a terrific idea for Thanksgiving.  I actually might just try this for our Thanksgiving this year.   Link

~written by J.D. Iles

Photo by Rod D. Brodman

Harman's Cheese Sign in Sugar Hill, NH

This is a sign that Lincoln Sign Company completed recently for Harman's Cheese.  One of their employees, Michelle, was up in the area and was able to snap this terrific photo the other day.

If you think you might be interested in having Lincoln Sign Company do a sign for you, feel free to give them a call.

Help the American Sign Museum move into their new home!

 

The American Sign Museum is in the middle of a $2.5 million Capital Building Campaign to move into its new Cincinnati home. A major benefactor as pledged to match donations from now until December 31, 2008, up to $500,000, so a donation now, will allow you to double your contribution!

The museum has already raised $1 million, allowing for the purchase of the building and phase 1 construction.

Contact museum President Tod Swormstedt at tod@signmuseum.org for information on how to donate.

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From all of us here at Signs Never Sleep, please help to donate to this wonderful organization that does so much to preserve our sign heritage!
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Click here for a virtual tour of the American Sign Museum

~ written by J.D. Iles

Walker's Colonial American Sign Company: 18th Century Colonial Style Tavern and Trade Signs

Andy Walker is an art teacher, living in Hallam, Pennsylvania, who creates 18th century colonial style tavern and trade signs in his spare time. 

"Sometimes it seems like a full time job, but I really do enjoy the process of capturing a little history on a signboard from time to time."

When I first discovered Andy's company (Walker's Colonial American Sign Company) I knew I wanted to expose his work to a wider audience because of how singularly unique it is.  To say there are very few people doing this type of sign-work as their primary focus is an understatement.  I am currently aware of no-one else that is focusing on the craft of traditional tavern and trade signs, and doing it with such historical accuracy and attention to detail. 

Any of the signs on Andy's website could have been found in someone's attic or on display in a museum and, from their photographs, are almost indistinguishable from the real thing.  He has a terrific display of work, and I wish him all the best.  I hope that Signs Never Sleep can expose his work to a wider audience, because I would really like to see more work from Andy.

~ written by J.D. Iles

Using signs to market a business with curb appeal

This post contributed by J.D. Iles - Lincoln Sign Company

This sign has been gracing Route 3 in Lincoln, NH for a long time, and is also a terrific example of what can be communicated to a customer through a sign.  If you are in the market for a sign, one of the most important things to remember is that the local community (ie: your most immediate customer base) is going to be seeing your sign on a daily basis.  It is going to be the most direct and obvious way that you market yourself to your customers, and eventually (in many ways) your business will become tied to the "mental image" of your sign.

Think about it.  If you lived in Lincoln, chances are you would drive by this sign every day.  Any sign is seen hundreds of times a day (if not thousands), and this is one of the reasons that signage is such a good investment for a business owner. 

How long will the investment in this sign last? 15-20 years?

Compare that with the other types of marketing you could do:

Yellow Page ad: gone in one year - or pay for it every year
Radio spot: gone as soon as the promotion is over
Print ad: only until the newspaper hits the trash can

This sign will still be there

snow and rain will fall on it...
Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter will come and go...
kids will grow up and go to college...

This sign will still be on Route 3 in Lincoln

A carved, wooden sign for Twin Mountain, NH: Featuring the Cog Railway

Click here to learn more about Lincoln Sign Company and the types of signs that they create.

The vintage advertising sign collection at Clark's Travel Center: Indio, California

 

The Bruce Clark Collection is on display at Clark's Travel Center  (The oldest operating truck-stop  on Historic Route 99).  The collection is the work of 30 years, and has a wide variety of vintage, porcelain  advertising signage .

"Most are gas, oil and country store related. He also collects porcelain license plates and has one from every state that had porcelain plates from 1904 - 1919. He also has every state plate in 1937." Link

Custom Granite Signs: What the word "custom" means for a sign company

This post was contributed by J.D. Iles - Lincoln Sign Company

One question sign-makers  are often asked by potential customers is "do you have a catalog?"  I always tell people is that our website pretty much serves as a living, breathing brochure and catalog for us, but I can totally understand why a person would want a price-list of sign types and sizes.  Buying a sign is fairly involved, there are many choices to be made along the way for the customer, and I think the whole process underlines the inherent difficulty that we face every time we get a deposit from someone to build a sign.

You see, in the sign world, there are no "rules" and there are no "constants".  Everything is custom about a project from the size, shape, color, materials etc.  Believe me, if we DID have a catalog, it would be useless, because 9 out of 10 customers would say "I would like to order sign #44363-445 out of the catalog, but I have a list of 45 changes I would like to make". 

These signs are a great example.  Do you know how many signs like this the Lincoln Sign Company has make during its 35 year history?  I'll tell you: exactly 11.

11 signs like this were finished last week, 10 will go to the customer for condo units and we will keep one as a sample.  How many will be do like this is the future?  None...  I would bet money on it.  We will never do signs like this again.  Why I am I so sure?

Well, the outer shape of these signs matches a shape we have used for this customers unit numbers for years (is it a stock shape?  no, we have only every used this particular shape for this customer).  The condo units are called "Stone Hill" and there are directional markers throughout the development made from granite posts.  The unit numbers were made to echo that "theme" but the color was adjusted to better conform with the home colors.  By the way, these are not stone markers, they are High Density Urethane carved and painted to look like stone...

You see, custom signs...   very, very custom...

We can do anything your heart desires, except give you a catalog...

A Municipal Sign for the Town of Londonderry, New Hampshire: A welcoming town entrance sign

This sign is one of a series of five signs that was completed by Lincoln Sign Company.

Winter Ski Sign Contest Update

Just a reminder that the Lincoln Sign Company Winter 2008 Ski Sign Contest is underway.  A few days ago, one of the contest entrants left the following comment.

"Not sure why I seem to be the only one posting but I guess no one else wants to win this beautiful sign. Count me in as one who wants to win. Thanks for the contest."

I wanted to take a moment and let Margaret (and everyone else) know that traditionally, these contests that we run start slowly and then really gain steam towards the end.  The last sign give-away contest we did had over 800 entries.

Margaret, you are actually doing everything right!  the person who won the last sign entered at least 30 times over a long period. 

Keep in mind everybody, you can enter as many times as you wish.

Here is everything you need to know about the Lincoln Sign Company Winter 2008 Ski Sign Contest.

Letterheadfonts.com: A terrific typestyle design house for signs and graphic design

It seems like there are thousands of places one can purchase fonts and type-styles on the Internet, but after awhile, it seems like all of these sites are carbon copies of each other and all have the same fonts we have all seen again and again and again.  Letterhead Fonts (Letterheadfonts.com) offers something truly unique and is a terrific place to find unique and interesting letter design. 

They specialize in rare and unique typefaces, the majority of which look as if they came from the turn of the century, but were in fact designed by current type-style designers or sign makers.  They have a utility on their site called Typetester that allows you to view fonts that you are thinking about buying (and if you are a font junkie, is just plain fun to play with!)  They also have a terrific Tips and Tricks area that is full of tutorials that teach you a variety of special effects you can achieve using a variety of graphics design programs.

 

Letterhead Fonts also has a terrific gallery of signs and designs by extremely talented artists.

Lola's sign design by Dave McDonald

A sign for your lodge or cabin? Matthew Henry's Lodge and Cabin Sign Series is terrific!

Matthew Henry is an artist and sign-maker out of Elkins, West Virginia who creates classic, rustic signs for homes, lodges and cabins.  He uses a variety of wood including pine, cedar and birch, and when the natural color and texture of the wood is combined with his elegant designs, they are truly works of art.

One of the things that I enjoy about Matt's wooden signs the most, is they are very affordable to someone looking for a sign for their home, fish camp, or vacation retreat.  Here is Matt's explanation for the collection:

"My idea for the collection for the Lodge Sign and Cabin Series came about after having created a few commissioned pieces. I began to see that as a stylist I could create inexpensive, classic wooden signs for people to personalize that would not compromise the integrity of my work as an artist. After all, each piece that I make from this collection is truly a unique piece of art. When hung at your home (or peaceful place away from home), it becomes the cornerstone to your place that I hope will be treasured by the future generations of your family." 

Link

Vintage, Antique Reproduction Signs From Mummert Sign Company

It is no secret that we love vintage signs here at Signs Never Sleep, and we have admired the signs made by Mummert Sign Company for years.  We just discovered that Cottage Living Magazine did a profile of the owner, Marty Mummert, and we thought we would share it with you here.

"Each Mummert sign "starts right out of my head with a sketch," Marty says. "It has to have a certain look and balance, and the colors are so important. It just has to knock you over." Marty carefully considers the wording of each object, running through scores of possibilities before choosing such names as "Blackbat Licorice" or "Bomber Bread." (quoted from the Cottage Living article)  Link

Signs of Disney: The Signs of Walt Disney World

Photos by Doug Bowman

(This post contributed by J.D. Iles of Lincoln Sign Company)

A few month's ago I came across a gallery of photos of signs at the Disney theme parks (HERE) that turns out to be a gallery that was created by Doug Bowman (who turns out to be one of the programmers at 6 -Apart which is the company that makes TypePad, the software I blog with - (small world) <<I am avoiding the inevitable "It's a Small World After All" cliches that would normally be inserted here)

Anyway, this gallery tells a great story, and that's why I am sharing it today...

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I am a really big "sign snob", meaning that you pretty much can't take me anywhere without me constantly commenting on signs, especially the ones that I feel are not "up to snuff".  Quite honestly, all sign people do this, but I really do it with a vengeance, and have been known to yammer on during movies over the sign choices within the film, or even the type style chosen for the closing credits.  (yeah.... its bad)

Anyway, when I first saw Doug Bowman's Disney sign gallery, I really wasn't blown away.  I really didn't think the signs were all that good (yeah, I'm an idiot, I know).  I ran across the gallery again today and have really changed my tune, and here's why...

One of the most important things I tell my customers, is that you should FEEL a sign.  Any sign that sits in front of your business or home, should create an emotional reaction that draws the customer in to the "core" concept of what you do.  If you have a candy shop, your sign should visually "taste" like chocolate.  A sign for a lemon-aide business should make the mouth pucker.  If it is a Mexican restaurant, your mouth should be able to see and hear the fajitas "sizzle" in your minds eye.

I think a really good example of this from my own portfolio is the Erik Johnson's Furniture sign (Here).  I think a customer can "feel" this sign for many other reasons that simply the fact that it has a photo of  one of Erik's pieces on the sign.  I wanted the sign to suggest "colonial" and "old world" and "style".   I also wanted to give a hint of "uniqueness" (which is why I went with a unique color scheme).

This idea of "feeling" a sign, well, the sign folks at Disney pull it off very well, and I have no idea of what I was thinking before.  Like this sign here for the Yankee Trader.  I want to dig through the bric-a-brac of this store and buy a little, clever jar of jelly.  This sign tells me I am going to get the "thrill of the hunt" of a garage sale in this store, and probably learn something about cooking as well while I am there.

~written by J.D. Iles