Definition of a sign

We define a sign differently than most people who create them. To us a sign can be 'anything that draws attention to a product, service or business.' This can include a whole lot of things. It is about turning heads, attracting interest and sending a clear message to prospective customers. While many concentrate on a board with letters we instead look at a much bigger picture. What part does the building play in this message. And of course the landscaping is important too. And then there's all the other things we can offer.

By carefully implementing our definition of a sign our street side presence is massive, even though our actual sign is quite small (as governed by the local bylaws). Since our shop is at the back of our property (300 feet from the road) we put a lot of effort into the house up front and the landscape also plays a very important role. By paying careful attention to the buildings and landscape we effectively multiply our presence many times more than a conventional sign might.

Gated community

With summer traffic now in full force through our little town it was time to do a little repair work on the automatic front gates and get them functioning once again. One of the hinges had seized over the winter and welding on a new one had been long on my to-do list. I pulled out the welder and tools tonight and in a couple hours had things repair and functioning perfectly once more. When the gates are left open we get a lot of traffic down the driveway, with the largest portion being people who are merely curious and just looking. Closed gates discourage the lookie-loos and the 'by-appointment' sign encourages the more serious to make an appointment. 

A fun mural from long ago

Over a period of about ten years (1985-95) I made a living painting historical murals. There were more than a hundred murals that we painted across Canada and the USA. One of my favourites was painted in Lompoc California. A friend from California recently was in the town for a wedding and saw it was still there.

The mural called 'TEMPERANCE' was inspired by the prohibition years in the town. A group of mostly ladies enforced the movement. There were no pictures for me to go by but instead there was a vivid description from the archives. These ladies ruled the town, breaking up bars and smashing the liquor they found. One episode described how they had pulled a building off it's foundation, threatened a lynching and generally terrorized the town. One of the fellows they accused was asleep when they knocked on his door and not well dressed when he answered. All of this was recorded in great detail and was a great story to tell visually. This was a fun mural to design and paint. I had well over a hundred feet of wall to tell the story.

I had friends and acquaintances pose for me as I designed. The fellow begging the ladies to stop pulling his building with the rope is none other than COZMIC Ray Renooy - a good friend and sign painter from Winnipeg.