What Spring Brings

A sunny 64 degree Sunday, followed by a damp and wet Monday encourages me to just retreat home and curl up with a new book. I wish it had been snow, as I am an avid skier, but spring is a good season too, even with all the rain it brings. It’s a chance to bring my friends out of their houses (those that chose to hibernate versus ski with me), and do more active things outside. All the grass and leaves come growing back in the most vibrant green.

It’s also the coming time of graduations, students finishing up either high school or college. The time for planning celebration parties, barbeques, and games. The time when you realize you do need a calendar for the year to keep track of everything, and maybe a few other items for your parties. If you have any interest in a graduation banner, please check our online ordering where you can receive a discount. Prices are listed on the page, no cost to take a glance.

Window Lettering: Inside or Outside?

Window Lettering: Inside or Outside?

Unless specified, all of our window lettering is made to place on the outside of the window. The reason for this is that most windows are tinted in some way to help against sun rays. If the lettering was on the inside of the window facing out it would not be as visible. If the window was not tinted, then it can still be difficult to read lettering on the inside depending on the position of the sun, or if outdoor lighting is present at night.

It’s without a doubt that outside lettering has the best visibility, yet there are still individuals cautious about. I think it’s because they don’t understand the durability of what they’re getting. The adhesion on our vinyl lettering is meant to withstand outdoor conditions (rain, snow, heat and cold) for roughly 6 years. Some people also express a worry of vandalism, thinking kids or teenagers might be able to pick it off. Should someone take off the lettering, they would need certain tools to help with gripping the lettering and quite some time to be able to remove all the lettering.

When I am equipped with both tools and chemical sprays to remove simple store hour lettering, the process takes me a half an hour to complete.

Six more weeks of Winter or Spring?

It’s hard to imagine that just last week, on Tuesday, Aaron and I were outside installing four signs at Shadow Lake Apartments. Each sign that we were installing required a post hole to be dug and it was quite a lovely day, because thankfully that was one of the rare warm January days. It was in the high fifties, and there had been a nice rain earlier to make the ground moist for digging.

I was very thankful to not have to do the install in twenty degree weather, with the ground frozen and the snow covering my level before I can read it. I’m not sure how construction crews manage it, but I have a new appreciation for them now. I love winter and the snow, but more for skiing on it than to be working outside. So while Punxsutawney Phil didn’t see his shadow, and we’re ‘expecting’ 6 more weeks of spring, I’m actually okay if it’s just a mix between the two seasons.

Progress Trail

As winter can be a somewhat slower season for us, it gives us time to clean up around the shop. Sometimes the time to muse over rearranging the furniture for a new look or trying our hand at organizing everything better. However this time it was more of a virtual cleaning. Our fileserver was closing in on its maximum capacity and we needed to free up some space. The first folder I tackled was Pictures, we like to take pictures of completed work and have kept files since the company came under new ownership in 2007.

The pictures I deleted were either duplicates, blurry or poorly taken. It was a lot of pictures to sort through, and nostalgic. Call me silly but the pictures helped me to remember some of the first signs I ever assembled. It showed a trail of progress that not only I but everyone else at the shop has made over the years. And the shop itself, seeing the improvement of quality in the signs with both our growing expertise and the new equipment in the shop. I’ll be uploading pictures to the website over the next few days, some old and some new, maybe you’ll see the improvement too.

Also, my efforts cleared up 5GB of space. We like to take pictures.