We at Traffic Signs, Inc. just wanted to say a big thanks to The Alabama League of Municipalities, alalm.org , for allowing us to be at a booth at the convention May 17th & 18th. It was an honor.

We had a great time and it gave us a chance to say hello to our current customers and meet some new ones. Thanks again to The Alabama League of Municipalities! We are very grateful!

I’m sitting here at my keyboard trying to figure out how to talk about suicide.  Those that are close to me would find it hard to believe that I am at a loss for words. I just have this overwhelming fear that I will say the wrong thing.

I guess being in my late 40’s, I have known several people that have committed suicide and was at a loss for words then. None have been immediate friends or kin but I have known a couple fairly well. To be honest, I didn’t see it coming. I guess I am like anyone else. I sit around and wonder if I missed something. Is there someway I could have helped if I did see anything? Could I have stopped them? I’ll replay all the conversations in my head in the few days before just to see if there was something I missed. Maybe that will help me if, God forbid, there is a next time with another person. I think most of us are going through this.

So after another life lost in our small town, I wanted to do something. I struggled with ideas then this one popped into my head. I mean, after all, I do make signs for a living. I just wanted to make a difference. So I quickly Googled the Suicide Prevention Lifeline for the phone number and the idea for the sign above was born.

Since this is personal for me, I didn’t want to charge money. This is not a money making endeavor. Unfortunately, reality is real and I don’t have an infinite supply of funds. So I ran 20 signs and I am offering them for free. I will accept donations. I would like to run some more but only if I can get some donations and only if there is a demand for more.

Finally, if you have lost someone close to you for any reason, my heart goes out to you.

Jim

In “Why Signs?” from 4/13/2015, I was pointing out how signage is really the face of what you are trying to accomplish. It is the first impression of what you are hoping to accomplish. Imagine that there is an estate sale and there is some high end furniture available. Would you be intrigued with a sign made out of a Sharpie and cardboard or would you just see that sign and think it was a dime and a quarter yard sale? I don’t have problems with a dime and a quarter yard sales. I like browsing. I’m still holding out for that leg lamp from “A Christmas Story”, but $2 is my maximum price.

The point is that the sign has a second, hidden message. Don’t believe me? Just look at the picture above. Luxury Condo? Maybe. But seeing this makes me think that the condo owner is a tightwad and how do I know they weren’t being a tightwad with repairs? Odds are, a buyer will take the seller about as serious as they took their signage. Sad that a $300,000+ sale was shot down by the lack of a professionally made sign that would cost no more than $25.

Jim

As I have said, my family is multi-generational when it comes to sign making. Maybe it’s a DNA thing or maybe it is just in the blood. I think in order to really appreciate what you do, you have to love it first. So I am always admiring signs. I know. Weird, right? New signs. Old signs. Doesn’t matter! I just love them! They are art!

Check out this beauty! A true American classic. As you can tell, I don’t mind a little rust either. So if you come across an old sign, let me know and I just might display it in my collection.

Jim

So what is the cost of a faded sign like this? Believe it or not, this is a sign that is currently up. People naturally stop. I haven’t seen anyone run this stop sign. Just on face value, though, it just looks bad. Who doesn’t see this and think someone has dropped the ball? Just so you know, in the interest of full disclosure, this sign is located coming out of a large retail store but appears to be on a government right-of-way. (Continued below picture)

So who is responsible for the replacement of this sign? It seems to me that the retailer would replace it to keep their location ecstatically pleasing but that is not what the issue is in my mind. What if someone runs this and is gravely injured or just moderately injured? Would any normal person feel bad? Of course they would.

The other thing I find glaring is this. If there is an accident, and it probably is just an issue of when there is an accident, who is going to be sued. The retailer? The local government? Probably both. And all for what? Because someone did not want to pay to replace a $55 (MSRP). This would not cost even one hour of defense attorney’s fees.

Bottom line and most importantly, is that it should have been figured out a long time ago of who would replace this sign before someone is in a serious accident.

If anyone ever needs to purchase a stop sign, we keep them in stock. The sign is just too important not to keep on hand.

By the way. I sure hope Beau has made it home.

Jim

Myself and my company, Traffic Signs, Inc. [and we do all commercial types of signs also (like us on Facebook please!)], we get it. We understand, not only what you want but we understand what you need. Before you accuse me of being a know it all, please bear with me.

Have you ever given any thought to the guy with the tattoo on his arm? I mean any real thought other than “Cool tat!” or “Who would get THAT on their body?!”. How about a woman wearing a nice blouse? Or a good ol’ boy wearing a favorite camouflage hat? Or someone wearing a shirt with a favorite sports team logo? What could all of these people from different sides of life have in common? They are trying to tell you something about themselves and they are displaying something they like.

So what does this have to do with signs? I have seen it at least 50 times. Someone has a dream of starting a business. Being their own boss! Making it BIG! Serving their community! Making extra cash! Heck!! Maybe even becoming rich!!! The American dream. Well, one dream at least. So they spend years working out the details in their mind, squirreling away money, picking out an ideal location, begging for loans at the bank, etc. and then one day they take that step. They find that spot, put their ideas into action, wheel and deal and find those bargains, burn the midnight oil, get close to opening day and then it happens. They are out of money. Of course there is no turning back. They are so close to the end and opening day they can taste it! Victory! So they think where they can cut corners. They look at what is left to be done. Landscaping? Do we really need bushes? Great signage? “The estimate was HOW MUCH??!!!!! WHY SHOULD WE PAY THAT MUCH JUST FOR A SIGN??!!!”

Here’s why a GREAT SIGN, landscaping and a fresh coat of paint on the outside of the building should be a top priority. People will drive by your business and they will see your sign first. Before they know anything about your business, they will see your sign first. And we all know what they say about first impressions. They mean everything. No sign and things look bad on the outside? I have yet to see any business survive with a bad first impression.

For example, there was a restaurant that opened. I won’t say who, when or where to protect the innocent.  They actually have great food but for two weeks after opening, they had not put up a sign. Finally a sign. So that was off the list and I really don’t even think about it anymore. The exterior paint job was done sloppy (paint going from over the wood and onto the stone and brick and dripped onto the sidewalk). On the inside, the same thing. The paint job was poor. I waited a few weeks just to see if they would fix everything. Months went by. Nope. Maybe I wouldn’t have noticed these things if the sign had been missing in the first place.

So what’s the big deal. Simply, once a customer sees something wrong, they start looking for other things to be wrong. They start picking at the pin hole in the clothe and before you know it, it is coming undone and at some point it is unraveling too fast to repair the damage. Or let’s just say you are the kind of person not to notice the small things. Who’s to say you didn’t notice it in the back of your mind? Even if the business survives, does it cost them customers? Most likely. What if that was your business? Wouldn’t you want it to succeed and have that good first impression with a great sign?

In other words, the restaurant put up a new sign and fixed that mistake. I noticed. Looks good! I don’t even think about it but they have not fixed the paint job and I notice that too. That might sound a bit picky but it is what I do for a living and I am a customer. I still eat there because like I said, it’s really good food.

So back to signs, a new business owner and someone wearing a favorite shirt and what all this has in common? When you think that you should skip good signage, remember that it is a first impression. A sign is your favorite shirt or tattoo or jewelry or whatever appeals to you. You are not only saying look at my professional business but I LOVE my business! I LOVE working here! Look what I have to offer! I want you to LOVE it too!

If you need signage that can tell the world about you, your business, organization, event, motto, or any message, let us go to work for you. We will understand what you want and what you need.

Jim

Greetings!

I first would like to thank you for your time. This would not be any fun if it weren’t for you taking time to read my blogs.

Next, I would like to introduce myself. As my web address indicates, my name is Jim Watson. Sign wise, I started in this business “assisting” my father and his brother when I was 4 or 5. This mainly consisted of “sit down and be quiet”. I was amazed at how they could stroke a lettering brush and paint any design and font on a piece of sign grade wood into, in my mind, functional art. The steadiness of their hands, the intense concentration, with eagle eye gazes, they would create lines so straight and corners so tight that one would strain to replicate the same with a foot ruler and a ball point pen. Even though I would be with them for hours and my patience would wane, I was still yet mesmerized.

I am at least a 3rd generation sign artist. I have had the privilege of being in a time when we, as a society, have moved from an analog age into digital. To the sign business, what is quickly becoming the lost art of hand lettering signs, car doors, etc., has yielded to computers, plotters, printers and vinyl letters. I was privileged enough to spend several years hand lettering but never mastered the art of stroking a lettering bush to my level of satisfaction. I will leave that to my relatives before me who were the true masters of signs done the old way.

I “turned pro” in my early teens in 1982. Through the years, I have picked up the art of silk screening. It was created in China thousands of years ago. While once, one of the most prominent methods of printing, it has given way to the digital age also. It has been relegated to mostly the garment industry such as advertising on T-shirts and you will be hard pressed to find anyone who has experience with it.

I have created silk screens in just about ever way conceived. First, I would make screens by hand sketching an image and then using water based film and an X-acto knife. This was extremely laborious and not very exact.

Next, there was the short lived photographic age. I would essentially use a large camera to create images and text, then create film positives. Again, time consuming and the materials were expensive. This introduced a new product to silk screening though. It was the use of photo-sensitive emulsions. The same that are used today. As I said, the camera created film positives. In other words, what you saw on the film is what you would see on an item that is printed. Opposite to a standard camera’s film negative.

The reason it was short lived, is because computers and plotters entered and people were able to quickly create screen positives with them.

I want to apologize for being so long winded. Future postings will not be as long in most cases. If you take anything away from this, please understand that I love helping others. I love the art and blending of old ideas with modern technology. I simply love my job of making signs. Thanks!