Source for Hand-Lettered Signs for Virginia’s Downtowns
Virginia only has seven cities with populations in six figures. Most of it’s cities and towns fall between about 5,000-75,000, with about 10 over and about 120 under. Most of the towns in the Shenandoah Valley, where my shop is located, are perfect places to hang interesting, hand-painted wood signs. And it so happens those are exactly the types of signs I make in my shop near Staunton, Virginia!!
My favorite types of signs are the types of wood signs with carved lettering. The wood panels are glued up end to end, sanded, and then routed using a computerized CNC routing table. After the routing is complete, the signs are sanded again and finished. Usually they are primed, painted, and then lettered with high-quality, eye-catching, durable enamels.
Another type of hand-crafted wood sign that gets lots of attention is the sandblasted type. Usually a stencil is made and 
adhered to the flat surface, then wherever the stencil does not cover the wood, it is blasted away using a high-pressure sand gun. Various size nozzles are used for different effects. After blasting, the signs are stained with a high-quality, durable solid-color oil stain, then hand-lettered. These signs are very long-lasting and can be easily maintained with scheduled periodic annual cleaning and refresher coats of paint every decade. The sign pictured above for Waynesboro Florist was put into service in the mid-1990’s and is still looking great with only one 
maintenance call a few years ago, where I rehabbed the fading paint.
Another type of wood sign is the framed plywood panel, like the sign for Valley Pastoral Counseling Center shown at left. With a painted mahogany frame, the edges are sealed from potential water infiltration that would eventually break open the plywood board. With the frame, the signs will provide a long service period just like their solid wood relatives listed above. This particular sign was put into service in the early 1990’s and has had one known maintenance period. The sign is as solid as it was new more than 25 years ago!
Hanging the signs is usually accomplished using iron scroll brackets and chain with hooks. There are several standard bracket types in use, and brackets can also be customized for a much higher investment. Probably one of the biggest things to remember about quality wood signs is their regular maintenance. Just as a great musician would tune her piano on a regular basis to ensure good quality sound, a great business owner would clean, re-stain, and repaint her sign periodically. The rule of thumb for signs manufactured by Augusta Sign Company is every about 5-10 years. The cedar and redwood and mahogany boards themselves will last a lifetime with no maintenance, but the branding that is painted on the signs will have to be periodically refreshed to keep up a positive image.
Call Mark Hackley, founder of Tree Street Signs that later became Augusta Sign Company for all your downtown signage needs. Not only can he help you with wood identification signs, but also door and window lettering, wall lettering, banners, and other temporary advertising signs like sandwich boards that you’d use in marketing your awesome downtown shop. He can be reached at 540-943-9818.
Thanks for all the business, Virginia!!
interior, there is an assortment of materials you can use that are potentially less expensive than those that have to withstand the elements for many seasons.
recommended for exterior applications. The particular style used had black edges and brushed silver laminated metal faces. They were stud mounted with spacers to cast a nice shadow from the office lighting. The customer painted the accent wall themselves and the rich blue background really sets off the lettering and makes for a very eye-catching branding statement!
THE GREAT OUTDOORS
show how your letters will look an the wall? Do they provide final proofs for approval prior to production? What is their turn-around time? All Gemini letters and plaques come with a lifetime guarantee, another good reason to specify the Gemini brand, as do many architects.
The most common options for exterior wall letters: Cast aluminum or bronze with natural satin finished or cast aluminum with painted finishes; Cut out aluminum with either natural or painted finishes; Cut out acrylic letters with painted finishes. All these types of letters are the best for walls.
Window Signs- A Great Way to Get Attention! I’ve been lettering things that don’t move, and even a few things that do move, since I was a teenager. Glass windows are just one of the many surfaces that are prime real estate for signs.
is good lighting in the room accommodating the doorway or window where the sign is installed; Specialty vinyls that appear to look like etched glass make nice choices as well, especially for professional office windows and doors.
penetrates through the best, you can’t go wrong by choosing white lettering for window and glass door lettering; but or course you can make them any color you like.
Gold leaf letters and white letters can really stand out, but sometimes you may want a more subtle look. This is the time you will want to consider etched letters. Ask your sign shop about “Etchmark” brand or similar vinyl sheeting in which you can cut your logos and letters, apply to the glass, and it looks like it was etched right in the glass.
replaced every month. Temporary window signs are great ways to keep people in touch with your business, especially if you’re located on a busy thoroughfare.
“How to finish a sandblasted sign?” is a question people may ask after seeing a sign of this type at a local business. In the early 1990’s I attended a hand-carved sign workshop taught by master sign carver, Jay Cooke. Lessons learned from that instructive workshop are still used in my sign-making and sign-finishing practices today.
companies, organizations, and individuals. These signs are frequently used as the primary identification signs for medical offices, parks and recreation sites, museums, resorts, theme parks, city entrances, churches, professional offices, bed and breakfasts, retail stores, and subdivision entrances, just to name a few.
eye-catching sign:
great all the time and last a life time.
Next time you need a sign, consider a sandblasted wood sign!
Budding Artist
(now Middle School) where I was the artist for the school newspaper and yearbook. So it only made sense that by the time I reached High School it was appropriate that I be hired to paint the bass drum, which was a pretty challenging task for a guy used to pencil or pen and ink as a medium. I remember researching the proper paint to use for plastic surfaces. I wish I had a picture of the drum, but I don’t; But I do remember it was a success. The first of many successful sign projects!
scholarship to attend Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, but declined to take a position as a sign apprentice instead with the US Navy in Bethesda, Maryland.
billboards, airport taxiways, insignias, vehicles, you name it!
needing to get noticed and be profitable by increasing revenues; It has helped me realize and share this great gift, a gift that leaves a lasting impression everywhere I go. I’m forever passing signs all over the place that I put into service decades ago! It’s humbling to see all the work I was blessed with the ability to complete.