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Online Community Involvement – Sign Depot Blog VIEWER’S CHOICE

Back at the Big Brown Desk

After a week of holidays I’m back at my desk, but with so much catchup and not really sure what was worked on last week, I’m at a loss for this week’s post.  Instead of running around the workshop, I decided I need to play some catchup here at my desk.  This means I need some input in the blog post department.  Who better to help me with that than the SIGN DEPOT BLOG READERS?  So I’m taking a poll on our Facebook page.  Just pick any of the answers I’ve listed or feel free to add your own idea!  On Friday we’ll see what topic won.  THANKS FOR PARTICIPATING in the First Sign Depot Blog VIEWER’S CHOICE poll.  We love our online community and want to be able to give you in the information you want to see from us whether it be about construction of signs, or The Sign Depot’s community involvement.

UPDATE

Community Open House was the winner.  Read more about it on The Sign Depot’s Community Involvement post.

HDU Signs – Making A Daisy Blossom

Delighted to Decorate the Daisy

We reside in the Access Storage/Doon Twines building and were delighted when our friends from The Frugal Decorator told us that they were moving into the building as well.

The showpiece of their logo is a Daisy & they wanted to make it the standout item of their front entrance-way as well.  It was created using HDU otherwise known as High Density Urethane.  HDU is a sign substrate that is cut in layers on a CNC router table and pieced together to create a dimensional sign.  With the addition of LEDs the custom HDU sign will be visible from busy intersection in both daylight and night time hours.  This makes The Frugal Decorator sign noticeably predominant on that side of the building which will increase walk-in traffic, something that everyone wants.  Once people notice something new they often will stop by to see what you offer.

The Sign of the Times – Community Involvement

State Of Now

Ever since Sign Depot moved into the Access Storage/Doon Twines building last spring, we have been a hub of activity.  The workspace here has been multipurposed several times over.

It began with our initial Open House Supporting the Food Bank of Waterloo Region.  From there we hosted our first Community Connector for Designers .  Then we began getting a little more creative and supported an Art Show.  All these events were created online and promoted through our use of Twitter!

In hearing that Jeff Pulver‘s 140 Characters Conference will be making it’s first Canadian apperance in Kitchener-Waterloo at The Tannery (a place we have become very familiar with), we knew we had to be involved.  The 140 Characters Conference is about the internet making the world change through the use of online networks in real time (aka The State Of Now).

“We want people to be both educated and inspired by the stories we present at the 140 conference,” commented Julia Rosien, of the 140 Conference Ontario Team  “The speakers we have introduced will do just that; educate us on how to make our lives better through the Internet, and inspire us to pursue our personal and professional dreams.”

So on September 9th 2011 we want to invite the community to take part in the final Meetup leading up to the 140confONT.

We’d like to thank Little Mushroom Catering for partnering with us to provide another community connector event here at Sign Depot.  Being involved in the community is just one of the things we take pride in here. We value attention to detail, and traditional craftsmanship as well.  We are proud of what we make here and am proud of what this community has to offer.

Make sure to RSVP and prepare to celebrate the 140 Characters Conference coming to Canada.

 http://guestli.st/64371

ABC’s of The Sign Depot With A Heritage Backdrop

Wandering in the Workspace

While walking in the workshop I happened to notice the “A“starring right at me.

With a variety of sign materials, wood shop machinery, tools and signs being constructed, I decided I could find the entire alphabet within the walls of The Sign Depot workshop. The challenge was on! With a bit of investigation the work space became a cross between a word jumble and a giant bowl of alphabet soup.  Every nook and corner was combed over to spy one more letter to add to the mix.

26 pictures later The Alphabet According To THE SIGN DEPOT was conceived.  In order to share the fun I created a slideshow so you can follow my travels and see how I creatively captured each letter through my camera lens.  The majority of the pics show off the restored heritage building we are in but the letters are signs of the time we have spend in this historic building.

Yes, some were sign letters, but this is behind the scenes look at THE SIGN DEPOT  after all. Turn up your speakers and boogie to the ABC’s of THE SIGN DEPOT

We would love to hear what you think and look forward to providing additional Sign Depot Videos about the type of signs that are created here in our sign shop.  If there is something we do that you wish to learn more about, make sure to list it in the comments and we will do our best to accommodate all of your requests.  We enjoy sharing our work with our audience and would love to hear more of what you enjoy reading about when it comes to custom sign making. In the meantime we hope this video brought a smile to your face and put a spring in your step!

Artistic Signs Finished In Gold Leaf – How To Shine Up Another Brick In The Wall

Letter Love

The workshop at Sign Depot has been filled with various letters and numbers over the last few weeks.  So many in fact,  that I figured multiple signs were being constructed at once.

Although we had fun with our Word Jumble earlier this year, I figured this time around I would find the word within the word(s) and this is the one I came up with.

But I’m not sure that was what the client had in mind, so I waited patiently for the finished product.

And the finished product had a specialized finish of its own.

Getting To Know More About Gold Leaf

In order for the letters to stand out from the red brick background, they were finished in gold leaf, otherwise known as guilding. Gold leaf guilding is an intricate process.   It is a process where small amounts of genuine gold leaf is applied evenly to a surface to create a full coverage and a brilliant shine. We only use 23K gold leaf from Italy when it comes to our artistic signs, as it is top of the line when it comes to gold leaf.  This type of sign finish not only creates eye-catching contrast, it also adds shine to the brick backdrop.

 

As busy intersection requires something that will catch your eye quickly, and that was accomplished with the use of dimensional letters with a gold leaf finish.  It is always important for your signs to visible to both vehicle traffic as well those walking by.  Your sign is a 24 advertisement of what your business does best.  Make sure it is a great representation of you and your company.  Find ways to incorporate artistic elements into your business signage and your signs will become landmarks that stand out from the surroundings.

All in all it’s more than just bricks on a wall.

Signs In the Hertiage Area Of St Jacobs Ontario – Two Places At Once

Jacob’s Grill

As the saying goes, you can’t be in two place at once, but in this case two places were there at once.

A few weeks ago I was reading our twitter feed and noticed that GibsonSV was tweeting that they were installing screens inside the new Jacob’s Grill in the town of St. Jacob’s.  At the same time we had our installers taking care of the outside of Jacob’s Grill.

 

Signs Stationed In St Jacobs

We are very familiar with the Town Of St. Jacobs Ontario.  Over the years we have helped create custom heritage-look signs for the businesses located in the area.  St. Jacobs is a town that is a popular tourist stop in Southwestern Ontario with lots of history surrounding it.  In order to pay tribute to the town’s history, the majority of the businesses have traditional sandblasted signs that add to heritage look surroundings of St. Jacobs.

Making It Modern

St. Jacob’s Grill stepped away from the mould when it came to their signs.  They chose more modern materials for their dimensional signs, but did choose to stick with colours that complimented the area.  They opted for a custom business sign that projected off the building as well as store front sign.  Being that they are located in a high traffic area these are to great options to capture the attention of vehicle traffic as well as walking tourists.

Supporting Local Businesses

Kudos to Jacob’s Grill for choosing to support two Waterloo Region businesses.  This week Gibson Sound & Vision is inviting the community gather for their Wine & Cheese event.    The event will help to connect others in this area, and promises to be informative and fun.   If you stop in make sure to say hi!

 

 Here at  The Sign Depot Inc. we love making local connections, that is why we’re involved with the WaterlooMIN.  Make sure to check out all the activity happening on their site as well.

Five Ways Custom Vinyl Signs And Graphics Can Help Grow Your Business

Man of Mystery

Over the last few posts you have been introduced to Dave, Peter & myself , but have you met our Vinyl Master?  He takes care of tons of departments here.  Vinyl Vehicle graphics, Banners and A-Frame  signs are his specialty but the list doesn’t end there.  He creates window graphics, simulates etchmarked glass, prepares trade show signs and so much more. 

Five Ways Vinyl Signs Can Help Grow Your Business

1. Vehicle graphics work well as mobile advertising for your fleet and as promotional vehicles
2. Banners work well as temporary signage especially for “Opening Soon” messages
3. A-Frames capture walk by traffic and can be customized to add chalkboard, white boards and quick sale messages
4. Vinyl window graphics are great way to stand out and be noticed in busy urban areas where there is a lot of vehicle as well as pedestrian traffic.
5. Trade show signs can be a combination of the sign types listed above but there are a lot of other options as well.  The key is to stand out from everything else around you, but still look tasteful.

Time Is On Your Side

Any of the above signs can easily be created within a week’s time, so if you have a slower period in sales and want to run a quick promotion vinyl signs are a great way to go.  We have lots of colour choices when it comes to vinyl graphics and decal which makes it easy to match the pantones in your logo.  If you have any additional questions about how custom vinyl signs can help your business make sure to contact Ben and he can go over what would work best for your company’s signage needs.

 

The hardest part is getting him to pose for a picture. 

So have you met this Mystery Man?  What did he make for you?

How The Sign Depot Prepares For The Pending Postal Strike In Our Community

Will The Canada Post Strike Affect The Sign Depot?

… Hopefully it won’t .

We’ve spent the better part of the last few weeks watching the headlines regarding the Canada Postal Workers Strike.  From the news earlier this week it seems almost unavoidable.  Being that many of our clients pay by company cheques, we needed to take precautions to make sure this strike didn’t cause cash flow problems.  These are the steps we’ve taken and in sharing them, we hope your are able to avoid some hurdles as well.

Where To Start

• Take a look at your accounts receivable.  See what is left outstanding.  Contact those clients and see if their payments have been sent.  If they said it’s been sent, ask for the cheque number.  This will give you an idea of what cheques you will have to track down in case of mail that is held back or lost during this ordeal.
• Check your accounts payable.  If you regularly pay by cheque you might find your payments will become overdue if you mail them out.  Look for alternate methods of payment (see below)
• How will your products end up in the hands of your clients?  If Canada Post is your main method of shipping you may want to look into setting up an account with a courier service.

Start Your Action Plan

• For your accounts receivable, how many of your clients are local?  Can you make payment pickup arrangements?  Every invoice I sent out this week had this message attached to it

• For your out of town customers, see if they are able to pay by credit card or through an online banking transfer.  If those methods are not available to them then suggest they make courier arrangements.
• Accounts payable should also make arrangements as well.  Many companies will accept credit and online payments, and depending on their methods for payment acceptance you may be able to take the bill to your bank and pay it by cheque through the teller.
• Inform your clients that frieght charges may change during this time period if you are changing your shipping methods.

Today the National Post asked if anyone would notice if there’s a strike.  We think so, and we’re taking some simple steps to avoid mail disruptions during the postal strike.  Find a way that works best in your community to avoid business interuptions and make sure your clients and customers know that they are still your top priority during a postal strike.  

Tremendous Testimonials – What Our Online Community Has To Say

Word of Mouth Travels Fast

Over the last few months we have been fortunate enough to have an influx of new clients.  The Sign Depot was brought to their attention by word of mouth.  We work hard to meet and exceed the expectations of our new and existing clients.  Giving them something oustanding is not “raising the bar” for the Sign Depot.  Its something we do consistently.  Keeping our clients ideas and prospective in mind is what helps us acheive the look and feel they want to purvey about their company. Being a custom sign company we treat every sign as an original piece. Finding a way to personalize the sign to our clients’ tastes is something we specialize in. 

Below are a few examples of clients that came to us through referrals. Not only did they hear about The Sign Depot through word of mouth, they continued the word of mouth chain by sending out testimonials through their online networks. We see that as a sign of satisfaction and we are thrilled to share the comments from the online community with our online community. 

Here’s a sample of what made us blush!

Testimonials From Twitter

Deb Lowther owner of Life Science Nutritionals, makers of IronKids Gummy Vitamins and Adult Essentials had this to say about working with Sign Depot

This is awesome!! Look for it at an event near you! Thanks @TheSignDepot!

James Bisch of MFX Partners said

Our entrance signage is up! Special thanks to @TheSignDepot for helping to exact our vision! Amazing

These tweets have us on cloud nine! We love hearing feedback from all of our clients. We have quite an extensive list of clients.  Make sure to take a look at our Sign Depot client list to see just some of the businesses we work with on a regular basis.

Custom Wood Cottage Signs – Long Weekend Means Cottage Season

Victoria Day

The Long Weekend is upon us and that means many will be heading to cottage. Whether the cottage is 4 hours or 40 minutes away, you still want it to be your home away from home. Not only is a cottage your getaway from the everyday, you want it to be welcoming to friends and family too. The easiest way to get that warm friendly cottage first impression is by adding a custom cottage sign to your laneway. Its more than just an address marker. It is a  personalized representation of what your cottage means to you. With fully customized Sign Depot cottage sign, you can choose the size, shape, colours, text and graphics to individualize the look of your sandblasted cedar sign.

 

For more examples of how unique your custom cedar sandblasted sign can be make sure to visit our Residential Gallery in our Portfolio.

As you can see our custom wood cottage signs show off your individual creativity and good taste to your cottage guests. 

 

They make great gifts for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, House Warming gifts or any special occasion. Cedar cottage signs are built to last so its the gift that keeps on giving.  Not sure on what to put on a cottage sign that you are giving as a gift? Gift certificates are available too! This give the receipient lots of choice for their custom cedar sandblasted sign.

Cottage season will be in full swing soon! Make sure to contact us soon in order to get your custom carved cedar cottage sign into production. We want to make sure you have it in time for your first trek to the cottage this year. Email us, send us a tweet or message us on facebook.

We also want to remind all of our readers to stay safe this Victoria Day long weekend and remember not to let your guests drink and drive.