The Sign Invitational. Update

So, here it is. Our concept rendering for our entry into The Sign Invitational

Sign_Invitational_Entry

We are extremely excited to get started on the fabrication. 5 weeks out. I hope we can get it all done.

-Jim

Published with permission from Synergy Sign & Graphics. Source.

Never stop learning. Again.

I consider myself somewhat of a power user when it comes to using our cnc machining software, Enroute Pro 5.1. So why in the heck and I spending 3 days training on the software in Denver, Colorado?.

Simple. I’ve said it repeatedly…. Never stop learning. When I found out that my friend Dan Sawatzky was going to be here, It was a no brainer. I grabbed Bryan from the shop and we made the trip out.

Dan has become one of my most trusted friends and mentors over the years. Any time we get to spend together usually ends in many hair brained ideas, and a few really good ones. This year was no different.

In addition to Dan, Jeff Hartman coordinated the whole event. He taught and hosted us at his shop every evening after class. Jeff is a great teacher and knows Enroute in and out, as he should, since he and his brother in law are the creators.

In more news….we’ll be announcing an amazing event in the near future that came to fruition during our class time together.

That being said, I don’t care how good you are at anything. You can always learn more by helping others and you might just have that eureka moment in the process.

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Later this week, we’ll talk about the Letterheads meet in Cincinnati!!!!

-Jim

Published with permission from Synergy Sign & Graphics. Source.

At The Movies.

A while back, I remembered seeing a Han Solo in carbonite sculpture that caught my eye. It was made by a well known sign shop on the east coast and all I could think to myself was ” I could do that!”. Well, months went by, and I still never had the time to mess around with it. Then like usual, something popped up in the form of a prop we needed for the At The Movies series we put on at my church every summer. In the meetings, we ended up talking Star Wars and I knew it was my time to speak up.

Han in carbonite would be the perfect prop. So here it is.

I’ll be posting step by step pics of the process, so make sure you keep checking back. This is shaping up to be a fun one!!!!

Here is the 3D file we used for the carving. We used 18lb Precision Board and built the thickness via slices using Enroute Pro 5.1

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The entire sliced model was carved on our Multicam 3000 series router using 1/2″, 1/4″, and 1/8″ Ball End mill router bits.

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Here you can see the finished carved pieces. They are exceptionally smooth and accurate.
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Han is now awaiting his final mounting on the box that will be sculpted to look like the movie carbonite prop.

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Stay tuned for more progress pics!

-Jim

Published with permission from Synergy Sign & Graphics. Source.

Never Stop Learning!

This past week was a great week here at Synergy. I travelled to East Texas, PA to visit Smooth-On with my friends Derek & Sarah. We spent two days learning casting and mold making techniques with their products. Some of these new skills will undoubtedly end up in our signs.

It is amazing to see how to accomplish the same thing from many different angles. You remember the told saying “There is more than one way to skin a cat”. While I don’t advocate killing your pet cat, I do plan on learning every way to “skin” one.

Here are some awesome samples we were shown at the seminar.

class pic

Another thing I was able to accomplish while at Smooth-On was to demo their wide range of epoxy clays. They have thick, thin, light-weight, and fire proof iterations of the product. We have been looking for a replacement for our current clay for a long time, and this stuff looks very promising.

While I don’t think you will see me on Face-Off anytime soon, the visit to Smooth-On was well worth the trip! I can’t wait to share what we create with all of you!

-Jim

Published with permission from Synergy Sign & Graphics. Source.

Golf Fore Autism

This past weekend, I had a lady tell me that we do great work and she really appreciates what we do for the community. I proceeded to tell her we were just doing our part like any business should when they have been blessed as much as we have. She went on to say that we should tell more people and promote ourselves more when we give back. I though to myself for a minute and told her we were just paying it forward and really didn’t need all the recognition. ‘

I’m telling you this story to qualify this point. I’m not posting this to tell anyone how great we are, but to help raise awareness and show people out there what great things can be access polished when people put their heart and soul into something.

Autism is a very real problem in this country. Research has been under funded for years and it is one of the biggest problems we face today. A few months ago, my friend Dave Hartline brought Joe King into my life. They were just setting up a golf outing for fund a cause near and dear to Joe’s heart. Golf Fore Autism. They approached us with a request for some hole sponsor signs, but like usual, if we set our minds to something, there is no way we aren’t going all out.

In the end, we donated 250 decals, 2- 4′ x 8′ banners, a custom printed table, 20 hole sponsor signs and stakes, and 12 contest / thank you plaques.

Why you ask? Paying it forward. Joe needed help, we had what it took to help him, and it is near and dear to our hearts.

Melinda Shroyer has been working for us here at Synergy for over 4 years and her youngest son Colin was diagnosed a while back. I get to see first hand how a mothers love can overcome anything. I also get to see how hard these families have to work just to keep things somewhat normal.  In the end, there isn’t a lot we can do to help, but this little sign shop in Strasburg can at least work to raise awareness and support the people on the front lines that fight the fight every day.

I leave you with some pictures of the stuff we just finished and some facts about Autism.

Thanks!

Jim

autism

• Autism now affects 1 in 68 children (1 in 42 boys). – www.AutismSpeaks.org
• Autism is the fastest growing serious developmental disability in the U.S.A. – www.AutismSpeaks.org
• Typical ASD behaviors include stereotyped actions such as hand flapping, body rocking, insisting on sameness, resistance to change and, in some cases,
aggression or self-injury. www.autismsciencefoundation.org
• Although there is no specific cause for Autism, Scientists have determined it is a genetically based condition. – www.autismsciencefoundation.org
• Autism costs a family $60,000.00 a year on average – www.AutismSpeaks.org
• Boys are nearly 5 times more likely to have Autism (1 in 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls). – www.AutismSpeaks.org
• Although it’s unsure if the environment may trigger Autism, beliefs that vaccines may cause Autism have since been disproven. – www.autismsciencefoundation.org
• Autism was first described by Dr. Leo Kanner in 1943 in children who showed a marked lack of interest in other people, but a highly unusual interest in the
inanimate environment. – www.autismsciencefoundation.org
• No two people with Autism are alike – www.nationalautismassociation.org
• About 40% of children with Autism do not speak. Others might speak but not until later in childhood. – www.nationalautismassociation.org
• Autism is a bio-neurological developmental disability that generally appears before the age of 3. www.nationalautismassociation.org
• Autism itself does not affect life expectancy, but the mortality risk is twice as high as the general population, due to drowning and other accidents. –
www.nationalautismassociation.org
• People with Autism also suffer from other medical conditions such as: Allergies, Asthma, Epilepsy, Digestive Disorders, Sleeping Disorders, Etc. –
www.nationalautismassociation.org
• Some children with ASD speak only single words or repeat certain phrases over & over (echolalia) – Nation Institute Of Mental Health
• Children with ASD may: dislike touch or feel of clothing, experience pain from sounds, or have no reaction to intense cold or pain – www.nimh.nih.gov
• Approximately 10% of people with ASD have special “savant” skills, such as Dustin Hoffman in the film “Rain Man” – www.helpguide.org
• The most effective treatments are applied behavioral analysis (ABA) and occupational speech and physical therapy – www.autismsciencefoundation.org
• All children with Autism can benefit from early intervention and some may gain skills to be able to attend a mainstream school – www.autismsciencefoundation.org

Published with permission from Synergy Sign & Graphics. Source.