Dan & Peter Sawatzky’s Fantastical Hazelnut Inn Signs

Coastal Enterprises, manufacturers of Precision Board HDU, is proud to announce a series of guest blogs written by Dan Sawatzky of Imagination Corporation, which will be posted on the Precision Board Blog at the end of each month.  In this month’s entry, Dan tells us how they created the signs to go with the three suites in the Hazelnut Inn, a fantastical property with themed rooms catering to the anniversary and honeymoon crowd.  The Sawatzkys used plasma cut steel and Precision Board HDU PBLT-30 to fabricate the signs.sawatzky

Every sign maker has a dream project where the sky is truly the limit. A project where signs aren’t the last thing to be done, a project where the signs inform the design of everything that follows. We have just such a project in the works.

sawatzkyWhen Peter and Hailey were married a few years ago they stayed in a castle on their honeymoon. They had to travel all the way to Europe to do it. That stay sparked an idea. They would build a castle in the little town of Yarrow for the same purpose. A second trip, a year later, to the Hobbit set in New Zealand added the idea of an underground suite to the mix. And a third idea of an ‘explorer’s suite’ was added for good measure. They purchased some land next door to the shop that was big enough for the three suites and a new house for their growing family and the planning was begun in earnest.

The inn will cater to a honeymoon and anniversary demographic. The suites will be luxurious and create an experience guests can get nowhere else. Each suite will be about 600 square feet with a like sized private garden. We will lavish exquisite detail throughout.

The project was named Hazelnut Inn, honouring the former use of the property. Over the last year they have been working on the final plans and done the extensive engineering such an imaginative and unusual project requires. Proper zoning is now in hand with final permissions and permitting underway. While we were waiting for those things we began work on the signs.

The dimensional signs reflect the character of each suite. They are constructed using plasma cut steel and 30 lb Precision Board. About half of the work was done using our CNC machines with the rest of the labour provided by our skilled team.

This project will unfold over the next year and a half. In that time there will be a whole lot of construction and detailed fabrication. I’ll be taking lots of pictures and posting updates from time to time. Stay tuned…

Sawatzky’s Imagination Corporation is a small family company that specializes in the design and creation of dimensional signs and environments. They tackle projects of any size from small signs to entire theme parks. Their work has garnered numerous national and international awards.

Dan Sawatzky is best described as a creative force and visual storyteller extraordinaire. His art career spans almost fifty years of magic. Dan’s passion is to design and create imaginative places that take people from the normal world to a setting of delight and wonder.

You can get free samples of Precision Board HDU, request a quote, and sign up for the monthly Blog Roundup from Coastal Enterprises.

Read January’s guest blog here.

RELATED:

Signing Off (Dan Sawatzky’s Blog)

Why Dan Sawatzky Exclusively Uses PBLT-30 Precision Board HDU

Imagination Takes Flight: Our Interview With Dan Sawatzky

Add Shine to Your Sign with a Chrome Coating

When Jim Dawson from Synergy Sign & Graphics got the call from his friend Steve at Liquid 3D Design about collaborating on chrome coating of signs, he was intrigued.  Steve asked him to carve a 3D sign out of Precision Board PBLT-30 so that he could practice his chrome spraying technique.  Jim decided to make two signs- one for his own shop and one for his friend’s shop.  After a lot of trial and error, they are now offering their own line of chrome signs.  We asked Jim for some design tips and lessons learned from his experience.

sign with chrome coating

Chrome spray really highlights the surface details of your sign substrate, so you have to prep your material ahead of time.

“The higher the density of the Precision Board, the smoother the surface and the better to handle the chrome coating,” Dawson stated.  “Because it’s a silver nitrate, the chrome pours onto the HDU smooth, like liquid, and has almost zero texture once the hardcoat dries.”

Jim says that because it’s not a plating process, but rather a spray process, you have more flexibility.  You can do a lot with how the chrome is applied, whether in stages or using different inlays.  There is definitely an art form to creating chrome signs and Jim and Steve seem to have figured it out.

In partnering with Liquid 3D Designs, Synergy Sign & Graphics can create 3D signs with complete chrome finishes or just small chrome accents. Combine this with lighting and traditional sign techniques, and you have a real showstopper!  Check out their website or give them a call at (330) 878-7646 to see about your next project!

You can request a sample of Precision Board HDU on our website, get how-to tips, watch training videos and search our distributor directory to find a supplier near you.

Meet Rob Estes, Hand-Carving Signs with Style from Paducah, KY!

Example of hand-carving a sign

Rob Estes, of Brushstroke Signs in Paducah KY, wants everyone to know that hand-carving is still alive! Rob has been making signs since 1985 and has always been an avid hand carver and hand painter.  He’s been using Precision Board Plus for years for his dimensional signs and does not own a CNC, and he doesn’t plan on buying one anytime soon. “I use Precision Board Plus because it’s the premier HDU on the market. It is easy to carve and I can be extremely creative in my designs”.

Examples of signs done by hand-carving

Rob has always specialized in sandblasted, hand carved designs, and gets the most joy from designing and fabricating these types of signs. For years he’s also been very involved in gold leafing, smaltz, digital printing, hand painting, vehicle wraps, logo design and branding.

“This year it seems like we’re getting more calls for dimensional signs and I feel an optimism that I haven’t felt in a long time.”

Rob, for many of his 30+ years in the sign industry, has been involved in The MidCoast Letterheads and is still very involved in meets that include hand-carving, gold leaf on glass, and hand painting (to name a few). Being part of Letterheads ‘The Keepers of the Craft’, is extremely important to him.

Rob is also involved with “The Walldogs” which is a group that specializes in hand painting large wall murals.

If you’d like to talk to Rob about his work and get a quote, or get involved in Letterheads or Walldogs, give him a call at (270) 442-8665 or e-mail him at rob@brushstrokesigns.com. Be sure to ask about his portfolio because he definitely has enough talent to help you out, no matter what the need is!

Fantastically Rich, Beautifully Strange: Workspace Renovations with Synergy

workspace renovations

Workspace Renovations with Synergy Sign and Graphics

Every once in a while, a skilled sign maker finds his workspace in need of some sprucing up. For top-tier craftsmen who make their living churning out beautiful, skillfully executed creations, it’s only natural that they’d want their creative space to reflect the art that they’re capable of. Today, we’re going to take a look at some upgrades that Synergy Sign and Graphics performed on their own creative space.

workspace renovations

The renovations all concern a metal door leading into one of the main work areas at Synergy. With the help of a little PBLT-18 and TSF-45, the Synergy crew turned it into a fun part of their laid-back, artsy aesthetic. The first step was to rout out a portion of Precision Board slightly smaller than the surface area of the door itself. The idea was for the PBLT to function as a facade on the front of the door, so it could have some rustic wood stylings without the actual wood!

workspace renovations

The Synergy crew used their CNC router to produce the general shape of the door, along with the faux-metal reinforcing slats and Jules Verne-esque porthole, but the wood grain was predominantly hand carved. Many artists and sign makers who work with Precision Board find that one of the best methods for getting an authentic wood grain effect is to carve it by hand. Slow? Of course. But definitely worth the time and effort with how life-like the wood effect is. For a capable artist, Precision Board offers a lot of freedom to get exactly the result you’re looking for.

workspace renovations

Once the door was routed, carved, and primed, it was on to the small signs, to be mounted on either side of the swinging door. The Synergy opted for a corrugated metal effect and contrasting color palettes, with one of the signs painted emerald green and the other fiery red and orange.

workspace renovations

The door is still a work in progress but it’s looking great so far. Tune in for the next edition of Workspace Renovations, when we find out what finishing touches Synergy decides to bestow on this little project.

Take a minute to check out the Synergy Sign and Graphics website. Click through their projects gallery, read the blog, or even request a personalized, hand-made creation of your own.

Hogging the Spotlight with Xpressive Graphix: Perfecting the Multi-Material Display

xpressive graphix pig

Xpressive Graphix Gives a Master Course in Complex Dimensional Displays

Xpressive Graphix, a sign and display design group out of Zanesville, Ohio, recently got the chance to go hog wild on a job: Creating a massive, ten foot tall yellow pig display! Rittberger’s North Market needed an eye-catching installation that would promote their brand and bring in traffic from the busy main street. They approached the Xpressive Graphix team, who started putting together a memorable design. Over the course of the project, the team proved that Precision Board is perfect for a multi-material display– It’s versatile enough to work in tandem with other materials for a unique final product. Don’t forget to check out some of the other projects Xpressive has done with Precision Board, and take a look at their website here.

 

xpressive graphix pigpen

Assembling the pigpen

Step One: The pigpen. The team decided to go with concrete poured over a steel frame for reinforcement, a good choice for long-term durability. Since they didn’t own an industrial welder prior to this job, they had to buy one to weld the frame together. Plus, they had to learn how to use it! That’s what we call “on the job training”. Once the pigpen was assembled, they hand-painted it with PPG Sun Proof exterior latex paint in a deep brown shade, mimicking the appearance of weather-worn wood.

 

Xpressive Graphix pig

Painting the Pig

Step Two: After the pigpen came the star of the show: the big yellow pig. It needed to be lightweight enough to stand securely, but still be able to resist harsh weather and other environmental damages. Xpressive decided to use ultra-lightweight EPS foam, hand-sculpted into shape and coated with fiberglass resin for protection. Since the pig towered at six feet tall, even the lightest-weight Precision Board would have made it too heavy to stand. After coating, the team sanded it down, used Bondo putty for smoothing, and used PPG Sun Proof to paint the big pig.

 

xpressive graphix pig sign

Painting the Precision Board signs

Step Three: Next up were the “Rittberger’s North Market” signs, to be mounted on the sides of the pigpen. The crew used PBLT-15 for the twin signs, a good choice for outdoor dimensional signage. The signs were hand-carved to shape with a hand-held router and dye grinder. They used our FSC-88 WB primer to coat the signs prior to painting with a vibrant blue and yellow color scheme. Slots were added for variable lettering so the sign’s text could be changed as needed. This shows how Precision Board can fit in with a multi-material project– It’s versatile enough to complement other materials, and make for a varied and professional final product.

 

Xpressive Graphix pig transport

Transporting the Display

Step Four: Finally, it was time for assembly. The entire display was huge– So large that it needed to be transported in separate components by two large trucks, then assembled onsite. The Xpressive Graphix convoy rolled out with the pig in a pickup truck and the pigpen and signs on a large flatbed.

 

Xpressive Graphix fullpiginstall

Finished!

Step Five: When the different components arrived at the market, it was a simple matter of putting it all together. Metal slats on the pigpen’s frame were bolted to the cement, securing the display. The Precision Board signs were already installed on the pigpen, so the big pig was bolted to the rest of the pigpen. Finally, the team added soil and potted plants to the recess of the pigpen display, giving the entire installation a natural flair. The entire installation stood at about ten feet tall, easily visible from the street and surrounding area.

This was a complicated, labor-intensive project, but Xpressive Graphix pulled it off with no sweat. The final result is highly professional and well designed, but also has some playful, personalized appeal. Don’t forget to check out the Xpressive Graphix website to see their other projects and commission a design of your own, or give them a call at (740) 452-6804.