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You gotta wonder....

Hand Lettering topics: Sign Making, Design, Fabrication, Letterheads, Sign Books.

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cam bortz
Posts: 68
Joined: Tue May 04, 2004 8:54 am

You gotta wonder....

Post by cam bortz »

About five years ago, I did several sets of gilded Gemini letters for a nicely restored historic brick building in the next town; the main building ID and three storefront tenants. At the time the building owner had said this type of sign would be "standard" for all tenants - not cheap, but would keep the historic character of the building looking consistent.

Apparently, standards follow money... within two years all the original tenants were gone, the signs replaced by gold metallic Gemini letters - not horrible, but not consistent by any standard. Since then, two more have changed, and now they are down to wood letters from the hardware store, spray-painted with gold paint, attached with sheetrock screws (complete with rust stains!) and one of them all upper-case Old English. The effect is about as tacky and cheap-looking as you might imagine. The original letters on the building's main ID are still there, at least, but now, apparently, any kind of junk will do for the storefronts. This place could be a showpiece for How To Ruin The Look Of An Historic Building. Sometimes I just shake my head and sigh...
Brian the Brush UK
Posts: 47
Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2004 2:19 pm
Location: Yorkshire, England, UK
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Post by Brian the Brush UK »

Hi,
I notice this all the time here in the U.K. - I cannot believe how standards drop and quality goes out of the window ! It's not always due to money, I think some people look at signs and just don't appreciate the good from the bad, and boy there is plenty of bad, perhaps bad might become the norm ?
Brian.
With a stroke more imagination.
Mike Jackson
Site Admin
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Location: Jackson Hole, WY
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Post by Mike Jackson »

Cam,
We see this regularly, too. The first few tennants follow the design standards which makes the project appealing to all involved. It can go smoothly for a year or two, then the landlord gets lax and lets someone get away with non-comforming signage and all is lost. The irony of the scenario is the new business is attracted to the project BECAUSE it looks good, then their actions ruin it for themselves and all the rest.

Mike
Mike Jackson / co-administrator
Golden Era Studios
Vintage Ornamental Clip art
Jackson Hole, WY

Photography site:
Teton Images
Jackson Hole photography blog:
Best of the Tetons
cam bortz
Posts: 68
Joined: Tue May 04, 2004 8:54 am

Post by cam bortz »

From what I can tell, the standard was "individual gold letters" and the tenants have been left to interpret that according to how much they were willing to spend. To begin with the landlord sought bids on the gilded letters to maintain consistency; as soon as that stopped, everything went to .. Im sorry to hear it happens elsewhere as well.
Mike Jackson
Site Admin
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Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2004 11:02 pm
Location: Jackson Hole, WY
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Post by Mike Jackson »

Besides the overall look and theme of some office or business complexes, we also struggled with directory signs. When making the directories originally, we can make reasonable money, but you also need to make up an extra dozen or two panels for upcoming tennants, or be prepared to make one-off panels later. You tell the landlord how much the new panels will be for future tennants and all is fine until the first tennant complains they are too much. Before long, unless the landlord steps in, the directory will be filled with "brother-in-law" primitive panels and the whole thing looks like a flea market sign.

The only way we successfully handled the long term issue was to get the landlord to receive a check to them from the tennant at the time they sign the lease, and then have the landlord place the sign order. It works out well for us and the landlord or leasing agent, keeping everything uniform.

Mike Jackson
Mike Jackson / co-administrator
Golden Era Studios
Vintage Ornamental Clip art
Jackson Hole, WY

Photography site:
Teton Images
Jackson Hole photography blog:
Best of the Tetons
cam bortz
Posts: 68
Joined: Tue May 04, 2004 8:54 am

Post by cam bortz »

It's remarkable how little most property owners care after a year or so. There's an theory I have that signs become "invisible" to there owners after about six months, often less. The sign becomes an overlooked part of the landscape and the owner doesn't notice that it has faded or peeled unless it is pointed out, and even that doesn't always do any good.

A particularly annoying case to me is a jewelry store owner who had us do a top-shelf carved sign in 1998 (it won first place in the 2000 ST commercial sign contest). The sign has a gorgeous outer frame made of varnished Honduras mahogany. I carefully explained to the owner that this would need a basic sanding and re-coat every three years, but as this was a fairly simple proceedure, the cost would be nominal ($150-$200) as long as it was kept up. In 2001 I performed this task for him, and just sent him a bill - we were friends on good terms - but he ignored the bill, and when asked, made a comment that he wasn't going to pay me for something he "could do himself any Saturday afternoon" and that he hadn't authorised my refinishing the frame "because it didn't need it".

Since then I've mentioned it twice - (we rarely speak anymore, given his attitude) - and he blows off the suggestion. In the meanitime the varnish has failed entirely and is coming off in large flakes, the wood has discolored, probably beyond saving, and the painted portions of the background have faded considerably. This once-magnificent sign is now eight years old and looks like .. Either he doesn't care or just doesn't look, but I see it and it really @#$% me off. I have to remind myself that so much of what we do is just pearls before swine.
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