Signs Never Sleep

The Clover Signs Blog: Showing off signs from the UK

The following is a post from The Clover Signs Blog in the United Kingdom.  I have been following their blog for about a year now, and I enjoy seeing what they are up to tremendously.

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Here is another business sign we did recently.  We don’t usually do installations but since this one was just down the road and  in the heart of downtown London we decided to do it ourselves to be sure it was done right.  At first glance the sign might not look that big.  In fact is is 2.85 meters long and 66 cm wide.  A little bigger than your normal house sign!  You might just be able to see that it has two joints inside the A’s at both ends but that sure does not distract from the effect of the sign.  Here are some before and after shots, unfortunately it was raining so the photos are not the best.

Previous Sign

New Sign

New Hanging Sign

If you are ever in the area you might be interested in a meal at the Anokha Indian Bar & Restaurant.  If you are here because of your interest in signs visit our website to place an inquiry and see more of our House Signs, Hanging Signs or Bed and Breakfast Signs.

A Fire Call Box that was recently featured on Vintage Vending: The Blog of Retroplanet.com

OK, so this isn't a sign, totally aware of that, but it is very cool none-the-less.  There was a time when industrial designers were not content to allow something that COULD be housed in just a plain metal box, to just be housed in a plain metal box.

If you have any doubts at all about the importance of design like this, answer this question for me:

When you saw this picture, how many different pictures / memories / feelings did it summon up?

This was recently posted on RetroPlanet.com's very cool blog, Vintage Vending.

~Contributed by J.D. Iles

London Shop Fronts: A daily look at the signs of London

Emily Webber has a blog called "London Shop Fronts", where she archives and catalogs the independent shops of London.  These small, family-owned businesses are slowing fading away, and it is conceivable that one day Emily's site will be the only place that many of these still exist.

I mention them, because it is also a way to see what is typical for a London shop front.  To a person that makes signs, or is interested in signs, or even likes signs just in the slightest......  this site is an evil perversion.  The site is interesting in the sheer number of truly awful signs.  Pages and pages of the ugliest, nastiest, and most vile signage I have ever seen.

And because of that, the sheer volume of awfulness, Emily's blog is oddly beautiful.

~Contributed by J.D. Iles

Clover Signs in the UK thinks sign making is a piece of cake

In my experience, sign-making is almost never a piece of cake.  This post from The Clover Sign Blog might be the exception however:

"When selling signs, we mostly get the payment by credit card.  However, when Gina from Gina’s Cakes asked us to make them a sign, we couldn’t resist.  We accepted payment for half the sign, then charged the other half in “cake.”  Link

~contributed by J.D. Iles

A sneak peek at the murals that will be painted in Pontiac, Illinois this summer by the Walldogs

A Tradition of Farming in Livingston County - Michael Clark

Here are some of the first designs we were able to see for the murals that will be painted on the sides of buildings in Pontiac, Illinois this summer.  The rest of these designs can be seen on the Walldogs Pontiac Blog.

The Walldogs are a group of sign and mural artists from all over the world that cooperatively work to preserve the dying art of hand-painting murals.  This years Walldogs event is being held in Pontiac, Michigan June 25 - June 28th.

~contributed by J.D. Iles

Abe Lincoln/Strevell House - Mike Meyer & Adam May

Pontiac Walldogs' News and Events Blog: pontiacwalldogs.wordpress.com

"Walldogs are a group of sign & mural artists from all over the globe. The tradition of painting wall advertisements date back long before today. Evidence of this can be seen as “Ghost Signs” throughout cities of all sizes. These mural painters of old were often called Walldogs. Along with the title of Walldog, today’s mural artists have also adopted many other traditions that show in their work, from the colors they use to the design styles they practice, these murals capture that sense of nostalgia and historic significance.

The Walldog movement began in Allerton, Iowa on the summer of 1993 hosted by Nancy Bennett. That meet was the first official Walldog meet. Dozens of sign artist or “Letterheads” arrived in Allerton to paint several large historic wall advertisements. Since then the Walldog Movement has continued to grow."   Link

Link to the Official Walldogs' Website

The Clover Signs Blog: cloversignsblog.com: London, UK

Believe it or not, there are very few blogs dedicated to sign-making or sign-related topics.  Off of the top of my head, I can only list about 10 from memory, and I think no matter how hard I searched, the maximum I would be able to unearth would be no more than 50.

Clover Signs is a company out of London, who create wonderful house-signs that combine creativity, craftsmanship, and whimsy.  Their website also takes a sign buyer through the ordering process in an informed and ordered manner.  There are many terrific sign company websites out there that are well thought-out, well designed, and have an excellent portfolio.  But, there are only a few websites that allow a reader to easily order a sign and allow a person to feel confident throughout that process.  Clover Signs has a terrific website that allows one to order a sign with this type of confidence.

Their blog, cloversignsblog.com, tells great stories behind the signs they make, the process of creating them, and the various other odds and ends of information that makes blogs so interesting in the first place.  Their blog is well worth a look.

The Estimate Software Blog features the Signs Never Sleep Blog

EstiMate sign pricing software has been used by the sign industry since 1999 to help calculate the cost of creating a sign, and then get a formal price quote out to their customers.  As the editor of the Signs Never Sleep Blog, I talk to dozens of sign shops on a weekly basis, and I am consistently amazed with how many shops use Estimate. 

Company founder Mark Smith recently started up a blog to help educate EstiMate users about the software and other sign industry interests, and they were kind enough to profile us in a recent post.

Thanks Mark and best of luck with the blog!

Signs Never Sleep is featured on the Lightning Labels Blog

The Lightning Labels Blog is about the world of custom label making.  Labels, just like signs, are everywhere, and many people don't realize how interesting this industry is.  In the last decade, label makers have gone from what were essential very primitive printing techniques to the current state-of-the-art which allows digital label printing which is very fast as well as very customizable.

Peter Renton, who edits the blog, was king enough to mention Signs Never Sleep in a recent post, and I wanted to return the favor and make our readers aware of his interesting blog.

The Poetic Home Blog {PH}: A Sign Given to IMB Employees in the 1960's

Grace Light has a blog called Poetic Home, that concentrates on showcasing vintage inspirations and antique collectibles.  She displays and talks about signs quite often, but not so often so that it has become commonplace or mundane.  I find myself frequently checking her site to see if she has unearthed some sign treasure or not, and I am never disappointed when she finally does.

"The next time someone asks you a “dumb” question, smartly point at this antique sign, originally issued in the 1960s by IBM as a corporate gift. Whether or not this corporate gift was inspirational or offensive, the antique sign urging people to “THINK” is a welcomed addition to any home. Or, if you ever imagine yourself with a cartoon thought bubble around your head, then this retro sign was destined to be in your office."   Link