Has there been an official website done for this meet? I'd very much like to find more info.

Erik, I visited Wurzburg a year ago and have seen the reverse-gold glass panels in the Residenz; they are truly magnificent. I envy you your attending a seminar there. As for work, my shop has been fairly busy despite the down economy; you can see some of this year's projects on Facebook (Finest Kin...

Doug, your craftsmanship is stunning. We're not worthy! Danny made the point about no place in the US that would be willing to pay for this calibre of work; of that I'm not so sure - but one thing I've seen, more often, is an unwillingness or indifference to maintain it. I long ago stopped selling c...

Roderick, I've worked with Dykale Dunkley on past projects for Double RL, including a store in East Hampton, Long Island. Double RL loves this type of distressed and vintage signs and graphics.

Mark, I've also done that trick of texturing an almost-dry matte varnish center. I've even gone so far as to etch patterns into a matte center as one would do in damar; the patterns are very subtle, but they do pick up the light. This makes me want to play with gold on glass again. It's been over a ...

A customer came to me with a couple of sandblasted glass pieces from an antique popcorn machine. He has someone to do the mirroring, and wants me to letter the glass, in reverse, to be mirrored over. My concern is whether the paint would survive the mirroring process. Can someone enlighten me on thi...

Thanks guys. Larry, I have a bid in on that ebay auction, could be just the thing.

Rick used to sell glass "watch crystals" in different sizes and colors. I just spoke to Kristi at Letterhead supply and they have only one size, about a half inch diameter. I'd like to find other sizes, any suggestions?

I've also had the problem of gold peeling from a latex finish months after gilding. One solution is to coat your areas to be gilded with Ti-Cote and a coat of enamel before sizing (which is very much like what Mike was suggesting). Personally, I deeply dislike acrylic latex paints. In the past two y...

A very merry Christmas and an Angel-gilded, acid-etched, glue-chipped, brilliant-cut New Year to all.

In Ireland a few years ago I got into a conversation with a pub owner, and commented on the huge number of closed pubs I'd been seeing in my travels. His perspective was interesting - he said a big reason was the anti-smoking regulations. As I remember, the gist of this was that for many pubs, the p...

I've used Epiphanes since 1990, on varnished mahogany. Like any varnish, it's longevity depends on how much direct sun it gets, but it does last a lot longer than polyurethanes. It's not a "water clear" coating (it has a rich golden varnish color) and as for thinner, a good grade of real g...

Great photos, Erik. South America is one place I've always wanted to go, and seeing the level of quality sign work there, even more so. Thanks!

A lot of good answers here. Some customers are psychologically caught up in a particular image or idea, but more often than not, it comes down to not having been shown anything better. Case in point - a recent client came in with some professionally produced but very mediocre artwork and a budget of...

I'm just about out of my last can of "old" Lefranc 12 hour size, and I've heard a number of different rumors about the performance of the re-formulated lead-free version. Who is using what, and what recommendations can you offer?

I went to Oktoberfest in 1974 - stayed at a youth hostel in Augsburg and took the train to Munich in the company of an Aussie chap. I was eighteen at the time; managed to swallow two liters over the course of some hours. The train ride back to Augburg was memorable to say the least. What a great mem...

My first glance impression is that while the main copy has enough contrast with the blue background, where it overlaps on the stone there is much less. Could be a source of readability problems, depending how fast traffic moves and how much visual competition it has to deal with. My thought for the ...

So I've been trying this stuff from FPE from this color deck http://www.finepaintsofeurope.com/colle ... itish.aspx and I'm wondering who else has tried it. I'm very impressed so far with the quality and gloss of the enamels.

M'Turk: "E's at it wit' th' bleedin glass again. Shockin' bad. Make us look like bleedin amatuers, 'e does." Beetle: "It's just not fair. I've practised for weeks, and I still make a beastly mess of it." Stalky: "You've been here four years and you still expect fairness? Wel...

I tried this stuff on a carved sign way back then. I went to a lot of extra steps to seal it from water penetration, and it still looked fine about eight years later - soon after that it began to deteriorate VERY fast. Some areas under the paint film turned to a black mush; and a very large toadstoo...

I downloaded both fonts, and have used them in jobs. The Atkinson font I have found particularly useful, a nice variation - I also own the LHF version but find this one more appealing.

Stunning. That's the only word that comes to mind. Mr. Smith just keeps upping the bar.

Stunning. That's the only word that comes to mind. Mr. Smith just keeps upping the bar.

Thanks for the link, Kelly. I've been to Prague and seen the Mucha museum, which has a very comprehensive collection of his work. Mucha was a major influence on the American masters like Atkinson and Charles Strong, among others.

My mentor back in the '80s had me practice by lettering casual and free-hand script - he said if I could produce a decent one-stroke "plug" and a script, I could letter anything, any style, and by george, he was right. There is no substitute for practice - that's what I've always liked abo...

It's not always old vynull or the wrong weight. I had this very problem earlier today on a truck lettering job, while using brand-new 3M black vynull. When this starts to happen I keep an exacto at hand; usually I can pick the edge of the torn liner away from the vynull before it tears too far. It's...

The 15'x2' fascia Bear's Lair sign has been sold to Stonington high school to hang in their new gymnasium. The sign reads "the Bear's Lair pub"; I'm covering the "pub" with a bear paw graphic. This is a great use of a sign that's been on the shop wall for nearly three years.

Hi Pierre, and welcome! This isn't like that Other Place; the people here take their skills seriously and know what they are talking about. If you've ever wanted to play around with serious glass techniques, this is the place to ask real questions and get real answers.

Pictures of the glass sign can be seen at www.finestkindsigns.blogspot.com