This post was contributed by J.D. Iles (editor of the Signs Never Sleep Blog)
During the winter months here in Lincoln, NH, I essentially occupy myself with three different professions.
#1: I edit this blog.
#2: I am the owner / operator of Lincoln Sign Company
#3: I am a greeter at Loon Mountain Ski Resort
Lincoln is a ski-town, and essential everyone that lives here works at the mountain or has worked at the mountain at one time. This is actually my first year at Loon and I wanted to try something different and (cough!) free-ski-pass. My job essentially consists of being nice to resort guests and making sure that they are standing in the right line to buy their lift tickets. It is an easy and fun gig.
The point of this story is that over the past weekend, my supervisor said "Hey, sign maker guy, I need a small sign for the end of my driveway and it needs to say..."
What she needed was a small 1-sided sign, about 6" x 20" with some simple text on it. She was surprised when I told her I didn't think I was the best person to provide her with that sign, and then I proceeded to tell her about Shabby Shoe Signs.
Shabby Shoe Signs can do a sign like that for about $25.00, and we (Lincoln Sign Company) wouldn't be able to even get close to a price that low. The reason, I explained, is that Shabby Shoe has decided to work within a specific sign niche (small, hand-painted signs) and because that niche is so narrow, they can really provide their customers with streamlined value. They cut a large number of painted blanks, and then wait for someone to tell them what they need for lettering. They have many, many of this blanks cut, painted, and ready to go. We would need to start from scratch and cut a blank to size and then do everything else right from the beginning. Just getting the blank cut, primed and painted will honestly take us about an hour, even if we hustled, and our shop rate is $55.00 per hour.
Why am I telling you this? I want to point out that just because a sign company makes any type of sign, it doesn't necessarily mean they are always set up to give you the best value. There are many sign companies out there that specialize in doing just "one thing" and because of that specialization, they are really able to excel at it, and excel at a great price.
Some great examples:
A shop the makes small, white lettered signs
A company that makes address signs out of copper
A company that makes nothing but street signs
A shop that does small, affordable lodge & cabin signs
