Blowin off steam ! - not like you might think !

The Letterheads, for anyone outside of the signbiz, seems to be an informally organised coalition of old fashioned Sign Artists from around the world who's mandate is to get together with many other sign artists for a weekend, in various locations to exchange ideas, techniques and comraderie with fellow sign people and of course, Paint Signs. They have been organising these events for 30 years or more and have featured the results of these Letterheads Meets in several of the various Sign Trade Magazines. This is how I've admired from afar these fellow's works for all these years. I have never made an effort to participate usually because they are mostly in the States, or I've just been unavailable.

Well, with my one - off 13 minute CBC radio Documentary that has now aired three times, some people in the sign biz actually heard this and contacted me, and I have now been invited to participate in a Letterheads - type of meet which also happens to be just down the road from me. At the end of this month somewhere between 12 and 20 sign artists will meet at the Tottenham South Simcoe Railway which is a heritage operating steam train, to reproduce the old graphics on all the signs on and around the train. I can't believe this opportunity for me to participate !! Wow - I can't wait. When I first got the phone call, I started getting all nervous thinking I'd never meet the standards of these amazing Sign Masters, but then after a few days and looking over my own portfolio, my confidence has agreed that I am qualified. I've often thought I was better than your average sign writer, certainly imagination-with-design-wise, but these letterhead type of guys do super amazing stuff. Well, I have to now admit I've done my own amazing stuff too, although since I've rarely actually talked with others in my trade, I can't say I've had much feedback from my peers. So this chance I will take to work along side of others in a fellowship, volunteer way with the goal of producing an outstanding bunch of reproduction signwork. Doing old style has always been my favourite, especially with my 10 years of European and British Pub signage experience.

And in a very bizarre coincidence, just a few days before I received this phone call, I had Just installed a reproduction sign for the former Alliston Station of the train line which no longer runs through Alliston, but there is a little parkette beside the Zehrs store dedicated to that train station. very weird !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So If you get a chance to ever go to Tottenham to check out the steam train and indeed ride on it, maybe you'll appreciate signs in a new way that you may not have looked at them before.

If you are new to my blog - My most interesting stories are generally back in November and December of 04 Archives - click on them down the right side of this page. ( that was when I started this blog and was writing daily. )