Community Involvement – The Buddy Bench Project

Buddying Up With Our Community

Recently we were contacted by our local radio station 91.5 The Beat to see if we would be interested in their latest School Tour project.  They were looking for a business that values community involvement to assist with their BUDDY BENCH initiative.  We were glad they came to us and we could help with the project.  This may have you wondering what we mean by “BUDDY BENCH” but we think the video below describes it best.

How A Buddy Bench Works

 

This 3 minute video is a great example of what a BUDDY BENCH can do. Many children often struggle with making friends, joining in and/or finding someone to talk to.  The idea of putting a BUDDY BENCH in a school playground assists the children that need a little help in this area.  They sit on the bench and a spotter will come and sit with them and strike up a conversation.  This little engagement can do a lot to improve the mental health and/or self esteem in kids.  It also assists with stopping bullying at school.

Bring On The Buddy Benches

91.5 The Beat is donating BUDDY BENCHES to 3 local schools.  Together with our friends at Fiddlesheads and Cedarland Lumber we assisted them with this important community project.

Our involvement was to engrave the words BUDDY BENCH along with the sponsors names into the wooden bench.  To do this we sandblasted the bench pieces to carve into the wood.  Yesterday the first bench was donated to a local school and as you can see it was all smiles when it was received.

 

Proud to donate this “Buddy Bench” to #MillenWoodsPS – All thanks to @Fiddleheads_HN @TheSignDepot & @CedarlandLumber for making this happen 😁🙌 pic.twitter.com/dMKOCMUYWw

— 91.5 The Beat (@915theBeat) May 10, 2018

Thank you @915theBeat for your lovely donation of the Buddy Bench for @MillenWoods. Everyone deserves to have a friend. See someone sitting alone? Go say HI. 👋🏼 Be their buddy. 😊 #WRDSBlive pic.twitter.com/nsLL9ZAEa0

— Waterloo Region DSB (@wrdsb) May 10, 2018

Sandblasting wood is something we have been doing for over 25 years.  If you want more info about our sandblasted wood signs please visit our portfolio and if you see something you are interested in please CONTACT US!

       

Feeling Frozen With Rosemaling For Dimensional Signs

Dimensional Signs That Resemble Rosemaling

Are you wondering what we mean by rosemaling? Rosemaling is a design term that is based on Norwegian folk art.  It features flourishes, scroll work and geometric shapes.  Often rosemaling is a repetitive design.  In the Disney animated movie FROZEN, rosemaling was repetitive throughout the film.  The architecture, the furnishings, the outfits and even the winter scenery in the film was designed around the rosemaling technique.  You can see glimpses of modern rosemaling patterns in the  LET IT GO music video below.

Did you notice how the snowflakes, Elsa’s cape and even her castle highlight rosemaling?

Because of it’s artistic style, rosemaling is often incorporated into dimensional signs here at The Sign Depot. Below are a few examples of designs and dimensional signs that have references to rosemaling.

Heading North?

This outdoor dimensional stone sign was sandblasted with a geometric design pointing to north, south, east and west. It also includes some scrolls near the bottom of the sign.

Dimensional Signs And Structures

Below is just one part of what became a large floral sign structure.  With Pantone announcing their 2017 Colour Of The Year as Greenery, this HDU (high density urethane) sign element fits well for this time of year. We think think this structure would also work well in a rosemaling design.

Feeling Frozen?

Even our winter scene logo has geometric shapes and a scroll design that would be found in a folk art rosemaling pattern. While we are not located in Norway, you might get a little chilly when you take a look at all the details in this logo design.

With the arrival of the fresh white snow all we have left to ask is  DO YOU WANT TO BUILD A SNOWMAN?

via GIPHY

A little FROZEN humor to melt your heart.

via GIPHY

Custom Wood Christmas Decor Item Contest And More Gift Ideas

Custom Wood Decor Items In Time For The Christmas Season

The holiday season arrived a little earlier than expected in 2014. With all this winter weather upon us it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. It makes you want to curl up in front of a wood fireplace and get ready for the festivities to begin.  Now speaking of fireplaces, perhaps your mantel could use a little holiday decor? Or maybe there is another spot in your home that could use a little something festive.  Our Custom Wood Santa Block could be just that little touch of something special! Be sure to enter the contest at the end of this post and perhaps our 6″x6″ custom cedar Santa decor item might become yours!

Looking To Get A Jump On Christmas Shopping From The Comfort Of Your Home?

If you don’t want to bother travelling to the mall or other retailers for that extra special present, we have lots of gift suggetions on our post TOP 10 PICKS FOR CUSTOM WOOD SIGNS AND CHRISTMAS GIFTS. There you find a variety of unique items ranging from custom wood cottage and residential signs 

to family fun items that can all be customized to your personal taste.

When ordering a personalized item that you are looking to have ready in time for the Christmas season, be sure to get your order in before the last minute rush begins.

Ordering Your Custom Christmas Gifts In November Can Save You Money

For all orders with deposits received in November 2014 we will reward you with a 10% discount upon project completion. We thought it would be a bonus to save you some money just because you are on top on your game! Being prepared for Christmas 2014 will not only save you time this year, you will be saving cash too!

How To Order A Custom Christmas Item From The Sign Depot

Visit our CONTACT US page and Email The Sign Depot with the item you are looking for.

Be sure to include

1. The size you require
2. What text and graphics you need (or if you need our expert designers to help with that)
3. When you need it ready for

These steps will help to fast-track the process and get your project quoted.  Once the quote is signed off and the deposit is received that your custom Christmas gift will go into production.

Now that you have all of your prep done, take a moment and enter our contest (it may take a minute for the rafflecopter form to load) for a Custom Wood Santa Block, made from sandblasted western red cedar and finished to show off how jolly Santa is!

a Rafflecopter giveaway  

Damage Control – Where Menno S. Martin Contractor Ltd. Goes When They Need A New Custom Sign

Custom Signs Can Be A Hot Topic

It all began with a twitter conversation.  After both The Sign Depot team and the Menno S. Martin Contractor Ltd. team attended the Sign Painter Film we had a lengthy twitter conversation about custom sign making. This turned into a meeting in our showroom and plans to manufacture their sign when the time came.

Mother Nature Works Wonders

The winter of 2014 was a memorable one. Ice storms, lots of snow and hazardous driving conditions.  Unfortunately the mix of weather resulted in Menno S. Martin’s sign meeting with a vehicle.

@TheSignDepot looks like someone had it in for our old sign. Might need a new one sooner than we thought. 🙂 pic.twitter.com/AEPSwgJpWK — Trent Bauman (@trentbauman) January 4, 2014

This pushed the timeline forward for their signage requirements. Shortly after this incident production began on a new custom wood sign.  

Creating A Custom Wood Sign

  The Menno S. Martin Contracting Limited  custom sign began with cut rubber stencil for the raised letting and logo on the sandblasted wood sign. This process gives the sign dimension and shows off the natural wood grain.   After the sandblasting process the custom sign weas prepped for paint finishing.     Once the custom wood sign was finished all they needed to do was wait for spring to arrive.   When the spring thaw began their craftsman went to work on installing the new sign for the business.      

Cheers To A Custom Wood Projecting Sign

Innocente Brewing Company Makes Their Mark

Now that Innocente Brewing Company has announced their location opening in Waterloo Ontario they decided to mark their territory.  They chose to brand their building with a custom wood projecting sign.  The idea behind a projecting sign/projection sign is that the double sided sign stands off the building to where it is affixed.  The reason is to catch the attention of passers-by. This type of eye-catching sign is often used in the beer and liquor industry, so it was a good fit for a new brewery.

Creating The Custom Wood Sign

The Innocente Brewing Company sign was crafted from western red cedar.  Known for it’s rot-resistant properties, cedar is the best choice for outdoor wood signs. The first step was to sandblast the company name and logo into the wood to give it dimension.

After the sandblasting step had carved the image and text into the custom sign, it was treated with an outdoor grade cetol finish to enhance the wood grain of the sign. Next it was primed to ready for the gold leaf and paint finish.

23K Gold Leaf was applied to give the sign luster and shine.  The gold leaf finish is suitable for interior signs as well, but it really stands out when it glistens in the sun.

 A custom paint finish complete with premium vinyl graphics were applied to the cedar sign to complete the sign making process.

Look what @TheSignDepot dropped off earlier today…what great work! Thanks Peter! pic.twitter.com/Xy5wJBClge

— Steve Innocente (@Innocente_Brew) February 14, 2014

 

Landing On The Mark

 

Once the weather co-operated our install crew headed to Innocente Brewing Company to attach the projecting sign to their establishment. We think it serves as a great landmark for this new brewing business

 

Look what the fine folks @TheSignDepot installed today…looks da schnizzle! pic.twitter.com/yYDaQ8f1nW

— Steve Innocente (@Innocente_Brew) March 28, 2014

Custom Wood Signs – The Fruit Of Our Labour

Happy Pi Day

March 14th is known as Pi Day.  Pi is a measurement tool, for our purposes, it’s the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, approximately 3.14. Pi Day celebrations often include the baking of actual pies. We thought it would be best to celebrate this year’s Pi Day with our E.D. Smith custom wood sign, being they are well known for their pie fillings!

Crafting Custom Wood Signs For Big Businesses

Many big businesses choose custom cedar sandblasted signs for a variety reasons. The ability to customize the sign to fit their company image is just one of those reasons.  Customization in terms of size, shape, colour, graphics, text, font and finishing techniques are what makes a wood sign unique and allows businesses to stand out from others in their industry. Crafting a sign from western red cedar is what the sign experts here at The Sign Depot excel at. They have been carving wood signs for two decades.  You know with that kind of longevity making custom woods signs is a labour of love and signs like this E.D. Smith sign shows off the fruit of their labour literally.

Thinking Of A Custom Wood Sign For Your Company?

Are you thinking your company needs a custom sandblasted cedar sign? Athough it may not be as scientific as calculating Pi, but here is the WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE and WHY when it comes to wood signs.

WHO – Who will be seeing this sign? Think in terms of vehicle traffic and people walking by.

WHAT – What do you envision for this business sign? Do you have a logo ready or do you need a sign expert to design it for you?

WHEN – When is a good time for the project to begin? Do you have a completion date in mind?

WHERE – Where will the sign be situated? Does that align with local sign permit regulations?

WHY – Why do you want to choose a wood sign? We have LOTS of answers for that! Just contact one of our sign experts and they can help you choose the sign that works best for you.

What is a Custom Sandblasted Sign and How are they Made?

What goes into making a Custom Sandblasted Sign?

We often have people popping in our workshop to inquire about the different types of signs we make.  We always want to give our clients a lot of choice and let them know all the signage products that are available to them.  Choosing the material that suits their style and their budget is what the sign experts here at Sign Depot pride themselves in.  A great technique is sandblasting.  Sandblasting allows for full customization of the sign.  This means that you have a lot of options when it comes to creating the sign best suited for you.

Materials

We have sandblasted several materials including stone, mdf and wood.  When it comes to wood we prefer to use western red cedar because of it being rot resistant.  Cedar signs have a long life and with a little bit of care your custom sign will always look spectacular.

Design

Here are some items that our designers will want to know when preparing your sign design

• Size
• Shape
• Colours
• Graphics
• Text

If you come in with some of these points ready, the sign designers can have some choices for you to pick from.  Once the design is ready you’ll be sent an image for approval.  After approval production can begin.

Pre-Production

There are few steps in the pre-production of a sandblasted sign. Once the stone has been selected or the wood has been cut to the desired shape, the rubber stencil made to match your choice of material.  The stencil is cut out on the plotter and then applied to the surface of the selected sign material.

Sandblasting

Once the sign is prepped for manufacturing the sandblasting can begin.  Sandblasting is a process when abrasive grit is pumped through a hose by forced air to carve the design and text into the sign’s surface.  The design is created through the cutout parts of the rubber stencil.  Those parts are sunk into the wood while the spots that are fully covered by the rubber stay protected resulting in a raised surface.  This Sign Depot block is a great example of the sandblasting technique.

The blue areas are the spots where the cedar was protected by the rubber stencil, and then natural wood showing through shows where the stencil was cut out allowing the sandblasting to cut away at the wood.

Finishing

After the sign has been sandblasted it will be sanded to a smooth surface for the proper finish to adhere to.  Finishes come in choices of stains, paints and vinyls.  The finishing is very important as it is the final step before your sign leaves the shop.  Finding a finish best suits the conditions where your sign will be placed is very important.  Whether your sign will be indoor or outdoor, if it will be in direct sunlight or a sheltered area are things to consider when choosing the finish for your custom sandblasted sign.

That is how a sandblasted sign created here at Sign Depot.  To see more examples check out our photo galleries on our main website and our facebook page.  Have additional questions about sandblasting? Tweet them to us, or leave a comment below.

 

What Does Sign Making Have To Do With Movember? Community Involvement Is Just Part Of It

How The Sign Depot Made It Through MOVEMBER

 

Actually here at The Sign Depot, we think Movember has a lot in common with us!  Have you taken a good look at our logo?   Our brand is all about the moustache! Other similarities include our commitment to community involvement and finding ways to give back to a community that supports our business.  Perhaps the last thing that Sign Depot has in common with Movember is the appreciation for fine craftsmanship, whether it be in the form of a well crafted custom sign or well groomed moustache.  We see value and take pride in both art forms.

December 1st has now arrived, which means the end of Movember 2011.  This year the top fundraising (or should it be hair-raising) country for this year’s  Movember campaign is Canada.  Take a look at what all the Canadian MoBros and MoSistas accomplished.

• Canada raised $36,901,445.00 from the 246,126 registered CITIZENS OF MOVEMBER Canada
• In Ontario 107,074 people signed up  raising $14,892,613.37 in funds for Prostate Cancer Canada
• Locally here in Kitchener Waterloo there were 4365 Movember particpants that together raised $394,746.70 & Counting!

As mentioned a month ago Sign Depot was ready for the Challenge! Peter grew a moustach inspired by the shop sandblasted logo sign.  In under 10 days he had a filled in moustache, so the challenge had been met.  By day 15 many of our clients dropping by commented on his participation and lots of great convos spurred from that.  When day 25 came around he was hoping the end would be near because he mentioned it was becoming irritaitingly itchy & then it happened.  Dec 1st the last day to wear the Mo’

This may be the last glimpse of it before he shaves the evidence.  I’m thinking for next year’s campaign we should re-name ourselves the The Sign DepMO’

 

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.

Wholesale Wood Signs – Featured In SignMedia Canada

Sandblasted Signs To The Sign Trade

The Sign Depot was thrilled to featured in the January 2011 Edition of SignMedia Canada.  The article profiled the company starting from it’s humble beginnings and following how The Sign Depot evolved into a full service sign shop with a sandblasted wood sign wholesale department that wholesales to the sign trade.  This is want makes us unique to many other sign shops.  We are able to manufacture wholesale cedar signs here in our workshop.  Our wholesale wood signs have been shipped all over North America and our clients come back over and over. Hand-carved wood signs have lots of options so that sign retailers can customize the look they wish to achieve

The Five Steps To Wholesale Wood Signs

We always want to give our clients the best possible service and in order to adhere to the quick turnaround times required for our wholesale we ask that they follow these 5 steps.

1. Change all fonts to curves or line art
2. Send us vector file formats – .ai – .eps – .dxf – .cdl or .cdr
3.  Confirm overall dimensions
4.  Let us know if the wholesale sign is to be Single sided or double sided
5.  We will need to know if the sign is to be Finished or unfinished

By receiving the digital artwork design and following the guidelines for ordering with our wholesale sign department, the process is streamlined and your should receive your quote within one business day.  Please send the required info to sales@sign-depot.on.ca or visit our contact us page

*NOTE If you are a Designer and wish to learn more about The Sign Depot  request an invite to The Sign Depot Designers’ Demo Day happening Wednesday January 26th 2011 from 3-6pm.  We’ll be having live demos of how we manufacture signs here in our sign workshop and will be happy to answer any questions you have about out sign making processes.