“Painted letters are
artworks that talk inside peo- ple’s heads. It is why they are
called characters… they enter the lives of people.” - Nick Garrett
Heritage brands like Fred Perry favour hand-painted craftsmanship.
While the digital print media age may have impacted the traditional sector initially, for Nick, he still has customers that choose this type of signage over anything else – and for good reason.
“There is no place on earth that cannot ben- efit from a beautifully crafted, hand painted sign,” he says. “It says everything about the care for and quality of your business. A beautiful, human piece of lettering has no comparison. Painted letters have
life...they speak, shout, sing, whisper, reach, commu- nicate with an infinite range of voices. They are artworks that talk inside people’s heads. It is why they are called characters and they enter the lives of people.” For Nick, creating signs that help clients discern and communicate their story is a huge experi- ence, and one that builds great friendships and bonds.
Diversifying the field In addition to the development of technol- ogy, Nick has seen other changes in the tra- ditional signage market, perhaps noticeably the way in which the field of practitioners has diversified over time.
“Perhaps the greatest achievement for the past generations of blokes with brushes is feeling good about just how many women are now practicing and creating wonderful lettering,” he says. “It is a craft made stronger by the creativity of both women and men, and the young talented design- based writers have it all.”
In order to keep this sector of the industry alive, Nick has focused on teaching the next generation the art of traditional signwriting.
While you’d be forgiven for thinking that NGS stood for Nick Garret Signs, according to Nick – it really means “New Generation of Signwriters”.Over the past five years, Nick has trained a number of successful sign artists, including Jack Hollands, Tobias Newbigin, Hannah Matthews and Chloe Tickner, who now works as his junior part- ner. “It's all about sharing - I am proud of them,” he says. “I am an independent sign- writer mentoring in-house young artists who want to enter the craft, with a completely open doors policy. Our monthly NGS Sign- smith Courses are the leading, regular, sign- writing workshops.”
www.nickgarrettsignwriter.com
Taking a punt on hand painted signage
For Sheila McCann Downes, a career in traditional signwriting came about as “something of a fluke.”
She originally obtained a degree in graphic design, but upon graduating found there were no jobs available in that field. “Instead, I did a training scheme working for a sign company, and they put me through City & Guilds signwriting two year apprenticeship,” she says. “It’s not something I’d ever thought to do, and it was just so different from doing graphic design.” However, by the mid-1990s, the tides had turned, and there was no longer a strong enough demand for traditional signwriting. As such, Sheila moved back into graphic design, until de- ciding she wanted to do something for her- self five years ago.
Sheila's handpainted signage as seen on The Working Boat Pub in Cornwall's Falmouth harbour.
ISSUE 167 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 Sign Update 67
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104
