Tis the season for Christmas miracles, and when the Muskingum Library needed to drum up some holiday cheer with an eye-catching display, they knew exactly who to call: Tony Rose and his team at Xpressive Graphix. Tony is the master of creating incredible designs from just a sketch and a dream (check out his visionary work for The Angry Bull Saloon earlier this year), and this time around was no different. The theme for the library’s holiday attraction is “A Storybook Christmas”, and what better display for a public library than a pile of oversized, well-worn Christmas classics?

The books began life as five plywood boxes, reinforced with steel cages for durability. The boxes were screwed together with self-tapping screws to form a tall stack. This would serve as the backing framework to support the Precision Board outer layer. Next, the Xpressive crew went to work with their Multicam 1000 Series CNC router. They machined the surfaces of each book from PBLT-4; our lightest-weight material but still dense enough to hold edges for intricate detailing. In total they routed twenty separate sections of Precision Board, four for each book.

Next, they glued the routed sections of PBLT-4 to the sides of the plywood frame. The tower of massive holiday classics was beginning to take shape.

After the Precision Board was attached to the frame, Tony and the team applied two coats of TSF-45 to the entire piece. The base layer was solely to protect the PBLT-4, but the second coat was for detailing. Our specially formulated Texture Surface Finish is perfect for adding protection to low-density Precision Board for a durable yet lightweight final product. Check out TSF-45 here. Tony used a paintbrush to texture the drying TSF-45, beginning to create the illusion of aged leather and worn paper. 

When the TSF-45 had dried, it was time to paint. The team used a combination of mixed glazes for the first coat, resulting in a range of vibrant colors that were a bit too bright for their purposes…

So they used exterior latex paints to rough up the too-new finish. This is where the true artistry of Tony and the Xpressive team comes into play. They subdued the colors, added wear and tear to the bindings, and yellowed the pages. By the time they were finished, it would be easy to believe that some ancient Christmas giant had left his book collection in the middle of their workshop.

All that was left was to wrap the books up in a big bow and deliver them to the New Concord branch of the Muskingum Library. Tony and the Xpressive Graphix team really outdid themselves on this one, but they’re used to people saying that. Incredible work like this doesn’t just happen by chance; it takes skilled artists working with the right materials. We at Coastal Enterprises are beyond proud that Xpressive Graphix chooses Precision Board for their display and signage projects, and we look forward to providing the material for even more of their masterpieces in the future. Check out the Xpressive Graphix website for a full rundown on their projects, services, and design philosophy. 

Have a display or signage project coming up? Request a free sample today and see for yourself why signage professionals choose Precision Board for lightweight, rock solid projects that can stand up to extreme winter conditions. The weather outside might be frightful, but keep your signs delightful with Precision Board Plus!