MAKING SIGNAGE HISTORY
Several months before his planned opening I received a phone call from a California customer who owned commercial property in the Staunton Historic District. The historic downtown of Staunton, Virginia is a great place to locate a retail business for owners wanting to operate in a small town setting that is rich in history. When I saw the initial call come in, I thought it was just another spam call after noticing an unusual area code. I allowed the call to go to voice mail, and found out that it was a legitimate new sign request.
RENOVATION EXPECTATIONS
The customer had recently renovated space to house two retail stores, a small cafe and a much-needed laundromat, and he wanted to interview me to see if I could help him with signage. After our initial meeting, I was able to determine his needs and get him a price based on design drawings provided by his architect. Starting a new business requires a lot of start-up capital so to limit his expense of the new signage, I was able to provide him with contact information to the specified sign bracket supplier from which he could order the customized brackets specified by the architect himself. This would save him the cost of my markup, and I was eager to help him with that if he ordered the custom ACM sign panels and the installation of the signs and brackets from Augusta Sign Company.
CALIFORNIA DREAMING
Since he lived in California and only came to the Staunton area every month or two, we timed our meetings to when he was in town. We determined a reasonable completion date to align with his final inspection and I proceeded with the construction of the signage. Once ready, I delivered the signs and installed the custom aluminum brackets into the old brick of the historic brick walls with anchor bolts reinforced with epoxy adhesive. It was an unusually windy summer evening with a passing thunderstorm in the area, but I was able to get the brackets and sign panels installed by the pre-determined deadline. While I was at it, I lettered his front door window as well!
Mark Hackley is owner/operator of Augusta Sign Company. Augusta Sign Company is a VA Class B Contractor and is based in Augusta County, Virginia. Inquiries for new sign projects can be directed to mark@augustasigncompany.com, 540-943-9818.