Sign Of The Times - Nov. 1990

[Mark Summers]

Let me try this again my photos didn't come up
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I've kept this magazine since 11-90 and thought I would share the cover and some
insights from various individuals. Some of you will already recognize the style
of Noel Weber for the cover. Noel spent 200+ hours on design and execution of
the cover piece. 25"x33". Lyle Fisk, Fisk Signs is the second picture.
After reading through different particapants there seems to be a re-occuring theme about gold; A. Gold is too expensive B. It's a dying art. I'll read you some of the comments now.

AL GRAND - A. Grand Sign Co.
"In the old days, back in the 50's and 60's, you didn't have to sell gold; it sold itself,"
Grand recalls." Of course, gold was cheap. If the price was like it used to be, everybody
would have it.
"I would use 15 to 20 packs of gold a year," Grand says of his heyday. "Now I can't
use a pack a year.
...Al was 70 when her wrote this and went on to mention Mark Oatis and Kent Smith
as comtemporary gilders.


CHUCK KRAFT - The Signman
Chuck Kraft sees the high cost of gld as an advantage. You can call it snow appeal, but Kraft sees that the inability of some clients to afford an entire sign of goldleaf makes them happy
to have a sign with even a touch of gold. Generally, we want wht we cannot afford, Kraft
philosophizes.


SEPP LEAF
"Don't look for the price of goldleaf to down in the near future. Then again, it might."


NOEL WEBER
"My family was very patient with me. When you do a project like this (cover) you pretty
well isolate yourself from everybody."

Well, what do you think?

Mark Summers

[Mike Simpson]

Spent 3 days a couple of weeks ago with Noel and John Studden for a gold on glass class. It was a real pleasure to be in the company of two masters of gold and a real treat to see some Noel's work first hand. Thanks for the post Mark.

[erik winkler]

Eventhough the name seems French, I am allmost for 100% sure the 'draaiorgel' is made in the Netherlands.
For those who are interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTCRpu4qXMs
http://www.draaiorgel.org/kdv/nl/fotoboek.php?blad=23

Goldleaf? What is that? Is that a new kind of vinyl or something?

Erikieee

[BruceJackson]

My paint supply shop (Artmart) has a rack of old signcraft magazines for sale.

The business has morphed with the sign industry to become mainly a supplier of vinyl and digital print substrates. But they still keep a rack of sign paints and a cabinet of brushes and other sign equipment. Among them is a wire display rack with lots of old copies of signcraft, some of them going back maybe 15 years. The covers are all fading with exposure to the light and I'm sure the exact same mags have been there ever since I started buying paint from them.

I asked one of the guys one day if they ever sell any and he said someone occasionally buys one. I would have guessed they haven't sold more than a handful in the last 10 years.

[Mark Summers]

How true it is. Signs of the Times doen't even closely resemble today what what was
part of the their past. The mag has gone completlely to the digital gurus.
I think Signcraft has kept it's original intent of the craft.
Got a call today for someone wanting a signpainter. How long it has been since
such a request came by my shop.

Mark