Lincoln Highway mural number 27 - Mokena, IL

[Jay Allen]

Number 27 was installed in Mokena, IL yesterday.

The mural depicts a tractor in front of the Cooper & Hostert Garage, owned by brothers-in-law Barney Hostert and Elmer Cooper. Beyond selling gasoline and repairing motor vehicles, the garage was the first Ford Agency in the area to sell Ford cars, trucks and tractors. Henry Ford personally signed their dealership contract. Opening in 1916, the Cooper & Hostert Garage remained in business until the early 1970s.

55.5 hours to paint the entire pictorial (and clean brushes) . . . Basically, this is an 8' x 18' mural - but 10' at the high point.

As always, mural panel engineering and border work by the stellar Joe Marshall . . . my design and paint.

http://s442.photobucket.com/albums/qq14 ... =slideshow

Next up, Franklin Grove, IL . . . Only 4 remain after this . . . Big sigh ahead . . .

[Bill Masters]

Jay nice work my friend

[erik winkler]

Incredible huge project.

[Jay Allen]

Mister Masters!!! Good to hear from you, Bill . . .!! Thanks for the kind words!! That's high praise from a man of your skills. Please tell Janice I said 'hello' . . .

Erik . . . Yes. Yes it is. Almost 'was' . . . and it saved me from going under in the downturn in the economy. 'Karma' for past good deeds, I suppose . . . But looking forward to being out from under the weight of it. Designs and bids come second to this job - and that may have been at a cost to the company. I'll right the ship . . . but there's always a cost by doing large projects.

[erik winkler]

Jay,

I would plan a marketing campain (newspaper magazines and internet news pages) 6 months prior the ending your project so people will know your name and start ordering new projects before the last painting is done.

[Jay Allen]

Erik . . . exactamundo! I have a willing source of publicity in local media (we all do - newspapers rely on businesspeople for their business news since most don't have many or any reporters now) so that is exactly what we have planned . . .

A celebration of completion and a 'we're open for the sign business again' . . . People pigeonhole you as what they see you doing - so we need to use the opportunity to both celebrate the end of a large project - and announce and address what could be ahead for ShawCraft Sign Co.

Great minds think alike, Erik???

[joe cieslowski]

Jay,

I've followed all of these and I continue to be blown away with the quality of design and workmanship you exhibit.

Congratulations my friend!

Joe

[Jay Allen]

Well, thank you, 'Joe Chisel' . . .!!! It's been an eye opener in many ways.

Good hearing from you! It's been a long while since Milwaukee 2004 . . .

[erik winkler]

Jay,

Some ideas:
1. Be sure your current website (ShawCraft Sign Co) is up to date with pictures about your projects, so they know you made them.
2. Try to make a new website with only one enjoyable informative page about the project you are doing now, how it was handeld financed and done.
Make it so enjoyable and interesting for readers that they will want to tip this page to their friends through pinterest, facebook, twitter, blogs and other websites.
3. The only link on this page should be a link to your freshly looking website, so that everybody (and google) who is redirected to the makers website (ShawCraft Sign Co) can simly ask you to do their sign, painting or murial in one click.

So the informative website will generate traffic to your money-earning website.
And everybody is linking to your informative (non-commercial) website, that only links to your money earning website.