Augusta Sign Company Now True to its Name

September 28, 2017 By Mark Hackley

Augusta Sign Company Now True to its Name

STAUNTON, VIRGINIA Mark Hackley, owner of Augusta Sign Company formerly of Waynesboro, Virginia has moved his sign shop to Augusta County, Virginia, near Staunton. So Augusta Sign Company is now true to its name!

PART-TIME BEGINNINGS

Augusta Sign Company began in Laurel, Maryland in the early 1980’s. Mark Hackley learned to paint signs as an apprentice signpainter at the National Naval Medical Center (now called Walter Reed National Military Medical Center) in Bethesda in 1980 and became a journeyman signpainter at Andrews Air Force Base (now called Joint Base Andrews) in Prince Georges County, Maryland. Mark first began contracting signage with his colleague Allen Gray around 1983. He then formed Kullman Signs with a friend, also on a part-time basis, around 1985. By 1987 Mark had formed Western Signs and Graphics and took out his first newspaper ad in the Laurel Leader. By 1988, Mark was married and he moved his business, still called Western Signs and Graphics, to Waynesboro, Virginia. He worked from home on a part time basis while working for Keeney and Company Architects of Charlottesville for about a year but before long, Mark began renting space above the former Doll Hospital on Wayne Avenue in Waynesboro later in 1988.

FROM ARCHITECTURE TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN

In April, 1990, Mark resigned as a draftsman and began a full-time sign company! He changed the name to Tree Street Signs and Graphics and moved his business to Charlotte Avenue, where he remained for one full year. The business began to grow and Mark soon expanded to a larger facility in Crimora, Virginia, where he rented industrial space from Gary and Linda Scrogham of Scrogham Enterprises.

It was at this point when Mark upgraded his business from a sole proprietorship to a corporation. This is the same corporation operating today as Augusta Sign Company. Although the business was sold to Tedsan, Inc. in 2000, Mark kept his contracting license and corporation going on a part-time basis as he worked for various organizations in sales and marketing. In July, 2015, Mark re-started his business from his home on Magnolia Avenue in Waynesboro. Once again he grew the business back as though it had never taken a break! He added a detached shop building later that year and worked from that location until September 1 of this year, when he moved to a larger shop between Middlebrook and Staunton on Middlebrook Road.

BROAD SERVICE AREA

Augusta Signs serves customers throughout Virginia. Earlier this month Mark installed signage for a law firm in Richmond, Virginia and next month he will be working on branding condominiums in Alexandria, Virginia. Even though he will take on regional projects, most of his jobs are derived from customers in Augusta County.

The company specializes in custom wood signage, both new and refurbished. Anyone interested in having Mark come out for a survey for a new or existing sign, may contact him at mark@augustasigncompany.com.

Five Advantages of Carved Wood Signs

March 1, 2017 By Mark Hackley

Five Advantages of Carved Wood Signs

Five advantages of carved wood signs over say choosing other various forms of signs are not really hard to see, if you look closely.

First, the main advantage is interest. The carved letters make the letters interesting. Since light reflects at an angle, the V-Carved letters serve to boost reflectivity. Add gold leaf and, “Wow!”

“The lettering on our new church directional sign looks great,” said Kenneth Lee of Rodes United Methodist Church in Nelson County, Virginia. I just completed a carved wood sign for Mr. Lee after his former sign was destroyed during routine mowing. (See accompanying photos of this nice little sign.)

Here are four more advantages of carved wood signs:

Carved signs last a long time: Since the wood is usually cedar, redwood, or mahogany, these species are insect and rot resistant. With 10-year maintenance periods, the signs will long outlive most sign buyers!

Carved signs value is much greater than signs made with less-precious materials and less-tedious labor. These signs are truly the Cadillacs of signs, but if you’re okay with a Kia then that’s your prerogative.

Carved signs can be designed to blend in with the environment, yet stand out as graphics.

Carved signs look awesome when spot-lit!

I’m sure there are even many more reasons why your church, your professional office, your medical practice, your law firm, your downtown retail store, your florist, your retirement center, your hospital, your school, your veterinary clinic, (see where I’m going here?) would choose a carved wood sign over other options. Let us know if you’d like to see your name in WOOD!

WOODN’T YOU? I SURE WOOD! (But I’m partial.)

Mark Hackley is owner of Augusta Sign Company, Waynesboro, VA 22980

Decals – an easy way to brand your retail store

February 15, 2017 By Mark Hackley

Decals – an easy way to brand your retail store

Last week I was contracted to make and install about 30 decals of a well-known brand of residential and commercial paint. The owner of two retail stores, one in Waynesboro, Virginia and one in Staunton, had renovated their store interiors, repainting the shelving fixtures in an updated color. When they repainted the store fixtures, they painted over the old logos, so they hired me to make new ones.

The shelves ranged in width from about 48″ to 65″ and the decals were designed to fit all widths. I provided a scaled sketch and presented a color swatch of the decal color. The customer could not get a copy of the logo in vector format, so I was able to vectorize what they provided as a jpg. The project took about 10 days to complete from the time I received their proof approval and deposit check, taking about a week to get the vinyl material, a day to cut and prepare the graphics, and a few days to schedule and make the final deliveries and installations at both stores.

Even though it was an interior application, I used high performance 10-year exterior Avery vinyl film for the decals so they will last a long time.

Mark Hackley, President of Augusta Sign Company, Waynesboro, VA 22980. 540-943-9818

Covers for Electric Signs

February 15, 2017 By Mark Hackley

Covers for Electric Signs

I frequently get calls from new customers who have purchased existing electric signs with their new business property within my service area of the Waynesboro, Staunton, Harrisonburg, Richmond, Winchester, Roanoke, Lynchburg regions of Virginia. They call me for pricing and timing needed to change their covers for electric signs. They regularly call “covers” what I call “faces” but what they are needing is new sign panels for electric signs.

I generally would need to survey their situations to get them an accurate price and turn-around time. Most often, these replacement signs fall into one of these types:

Least expensive type: Flat plastic sign panels of either acrylic (Plexiglas) or polycarbonate (Lexan) with either graphics on the outer surface or backsprayed.
Stronger type and best for thinner cabinets: What I call “pan” faces, which are vacuum-formed plastic signs made of either some type of acrylic or polycarbonate material with either graphics on the outer surface or backsprayed.
Or, Strongest of all and dimensional for added good looks: Embossed graphics on a pan face.

If you are in need of replacement covers for your lit sign in Central or Western Virginia, I would be happy to take a look.

Mark Hackley, Augusta Sign Company, 540-943-9818

Augusta Sign Company Service Area in Virginia

December 9, 2016 By Mark Hackley

Augusta Sign Company designs, manufactures, and installs custom wood, metal, and plastic signs and building letters generally within a 90-mile radius of Waynesboro, Virginia which includes:

Waynesboro Culpeper Lynchburg Wintergreen Nellysford

Staunton Crimora Elkton Grottoes Verona Stuarts Draft

Harrisonburg Greenville Weyers Cave Bridgewater New Market

Winchester Front Royal Woodstock Covington Clifton Forge

Lexington Hot Springs Warm Springs Strasburg Mount Crawford

Charlottesville Stanley Luray Roanoke Richmond Scottsville

…and many other areas in between!

Give us a call today at 540-943-9818 or e-mail mark@augustasigncompany.com for more information.