Your First Sign.

[vinylbarry]

My first sign was a hand carved boat name on maghony wood and then painted the raised text in gold I was 17. Then I went one to do lots of things not signs. I havent hand carved in 25 years but it was fun might need to do that again, I did the routed signs for a couple years when they were hot but still not in sign business per say. But started full time sign business on Jan 1 2006 and have grown 10 fold since.

 

[Craig Sjoquist]

Wow some interesting story's
Mine was 1st my own retail store Tradewinds well neighbor like it and said continue on with the same style for his fashion store $$$$
Tradewinds was record, paraphernalia, consignment, used goods type of store so I had all kinds of plants, trees, clouds, but remembers well red letters white shade on blue background, clouds all around ,the orange sunshine tree and other crazy stuff all over the whole front of building
Then onto a car lot that a good airbrush artist ask me to help after seeing my work, that he could not sell and I did later on after traveling with the artist to fairs I was the product barker I would bring in customers he would airbrush a shirt in less then 10 mins
Well the car lot I traded a van for a sign and off I went a year later went to sign school

 

[stickermonkey]

my first sign was an 18x24 aluminum sign out front of a motel. It has a full vinyl dark green background with yellow graphics & lettering. It's still up to this day. Been there for 11 years! lol I HATE IT!

 

[signgal]

Man, I was rackin' my brain on this one. I guess I've been doing this "professionally" longer than I realized. Like Jill, I was always being commissioned by classmates and family friends for art but my first good sign job was window painting. My Dad had suggested I try holiday art on business windows as a source of income while I was raising my boys

I found I didn't really have the time to get it off the ground but did a couple of windows for Domino's Pizza. (Friends with the owner at the time and he was a fan.) For the first one was for Thanksgiving. They were open for the holiday. I painted a huge turkey grovelling on his knees and the text read "save a turkey! call Domino's Pizza blah, blah, blah" Corporate didn't like it. Said it looked too much like a mascot.

Scraped it off (after Thanksgiving and painted a huge "Noid" up on the window. Don't remember the catchy text on that one. LOL I can't believe it but I don't think we took a picture of it. I do have the sketches from it though. I think I was paid something like $150 each, plus materials.

The bug bit!

 

[Mosh]

4x8 site sign for the Corps of Engineers. 1988, I was 15 at the time.
Painted MDO with hand painted Corps logo, and vinyl cut contractor information.
Remeber it like it was yesterday.

 

[Just Another Sign Guy]

i remember my first project after opening my own shop ... was a matching set of ranch signs cut to shape with the swirly ornament on all of them that i STILL see people using that was on graphix advantage in about 1995... had a sign for the entry to the ranch, entry to the stables, a changeable sign for each boarded horse... all cut to this ridiculously complex panel shape..very difficult client. i dreaded every call i got from them but was so new to business i couldnt dare fire them but should have lol.

before going out on my own and working for my families shop..we printed banners for Nike or more specifically for their agency (weiden and kennedy) and i remember the incredible pride i felt managing the "JUST DO IT" banner project it was the first big project i was allowed to manage, black flood coated tyvec banners with red lettering and white swooosh....100's of thousands of banners and it didnt matter where i went i saw them and we HAND ROLLED every single one of those into individual shipping tubes to go all over the nation. i remember the loading dock just loaded with palettes of shipping tubes of those things, exciting times.

 

[Dave Drane]

I found a few of my old pics. I had to scan them so I apologize for the quality, and not only of the pic, but the job too. It was funny but in the late 60's I thought I had done a nice job of this boat to impress my girlfriend, now my wife.
And you can see script was not my best. look at the difference between the name and the registration #

 

[SignManiac]

Damn Dave. All these years I thought you were a man? You look proud standing next to your boat!

 

[Dave Drane]

Damn Dave. All these years I thought you were a man? You look proud standing next to your boat!

:ROFLMAO: Does this one prove otherwise?? Notice the Chester Cunningham influence?? This was the hippie era!!

 

[GAC05]

I found a few of my old pics. I had to scan them so I apologize for the quality, and not only of the pic, but the job too. It was funny but in the late 60's I thought I had done a nice job of this boat to impress my girlfriend, now my wife.
And you can see script was not my best. look at the difference between the name and the registration #

It must have worked if she is still with you from the late 60's........

wayne k
guam usa

 

[Gino]

I found a few of my old pics. I had to scan them so I apologize for the quality, and not only of the pic, but the job too. It was funny but in the late 60's I thought I had done a nice job of this boat to impress my girlfriend, now my wife.
And you can see script was not my best. look at the difference between the name and the registration #

Now get this right..... who in the heck do you think is looking at your penmanship ?? The year doesn't matter, the colors don't matter and the layout hasn't anything to do with it.......... your photo is just perfect. The story to go with it hasn't anything to do with it either. The fact that you have both stayed together is the really great point of your post.......

 

[Dave Drane]

Now get this right..... who in the heck do you think is looking at your penmanship ?? The year doesn't matter, the colors don't matter and the layout hasn't anything to do with it.......... your photo is just perfect. The story to go with it hasn't anything to do with it either. The fact that you have both stayed together is the really great point of your post.......

:ROFLMAO:Thanks Gino!! Here is a pic of one of my old vehicles. Also January 23rd, 1973.

 

[skyhigh]

:ROFLMAO: Does this one prove otherwise?? Notice the Chester Cunningham influence?? This was the hippie era!!

Great "hippie" pic Dave....you look the part.

EXCEPT for the "high water" pants. I guess the "bell-bottoms" hit Australia the following year? :ROFLMAO:

Seriously.....very cool pics.


Almost forgot the topic of this thread....
Mine was a 4x4 carved sign. The sign was a present for my customers daughter & son-in-law. Its still hanging somewhere in Virginia.

 

[Arlo Kalon 2.0]

:ROFLMAO:Thanks Gino!! Here is a pic of one of my old vehicles. Also January 23rd, 1973.

Great VW panel. It's on my bucket list to own another vintage VW bus someday. It would be doubly cool if it could be my next sign painting vehicle.

 

[Gino]

So much for the high waters and the pancake bus...... the real observation is..... you are one lucky sob to get her.......Go-o-o-od goin'.................

 

[Whit]

hahahaha,,, Good Show Dave,,, All Around Good Show !!!

 

[Rooster]

Great VW panel. It's on my bucket list to own another vintage VW bus someday. It would be doubly cool if it could be my next sign painting vehicle.

Here's an old VW bus that any sign shop could use.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=665812