Tag Archives: Neon Signs

Signs, Signs! Everywhere There’s Signs!

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I was walking down the street the other day and I noticed a new restaurant. I later saw my neighbor and told her about the place and that we should go down there and try it out. “Oh, it’s a good place. I eat there all the time,” she said. “What do you mean all the time?” I asked. “It’s NEW!” “No it’s not,” she told me. “They’ve been around for years. They just happened to get a new sign.” I thought about it and realized maybe the place was there but I hadn’t noticed it before! The big pink and blue buzzing neon signs they recently put up made me think it was a new place, but it wasn’t! I had been passing that restaurant every day for years but I never even saw it there. It just blended in with all the other places and it never stood out. That made me realize a good neon sign is a real eye catcher!

When I was younger, I always wanted a neon sign shaped in my name for my living room. I thought it would make a cool piece of décor. I don’t know what it is about neon signs but there’s something special about them that people love. It might be the bright colors, the unique shapes, the occasional little flicker and buzz caused by the neon gas that makes them perfect in their own way, but you never walk past a place with a neon sign and not notice it—that’s for sure. It might be that so many of them are different, or that others are the same, like the beer advertising lights in bars. Using neon signs are a great way to advertise a business right on your own property. If you have to get a sign, you may as well get one that will serve as a beacon and billboard without the cost!

The other kind of sign that I’m slightly obsessed with is those LED signs that you can program. I like that you can customize them and write scrolling notes across them. These lights are cool because they are environmentally friendly—they use way less electricity than a neon sign, and they also save businesses paper plus the time and money it would take to have a paper sign printed. A store owner can advertise a different special every day across an LED sign and it takes seconds to set up. A bank can advertise new interest rates with minimal effort. I often see beauty salons offering specials on manicure/pedicures advertised on LED signs and this has successfully lured me in for some impulse pampering.

Ultimately, though, I have a dream that I will put an LED sign in the rear window of my car, so that when someone driving on the road is being annoying, I can write them a rude message about how they are driving and then drive in front of them so they can read it! Of course this wouldn’t be legal because it’s too distracting, but a girl can dream, can she not?

Old and Vintage Neon Signs

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It’s become popular to collect neon signs, using them to decorate the home or even to add character to certain retail businesses, restaurants, and boutiques. However, depending on the use, you may or may not be interested in old and vintage neon signs. Some of these will need serious repairs and upkeep, and you need to be certain of the application for these before you take on the responsibility.

Neon business signs are often quite popular for advertisement, noting that the business is open, that you carry popular products, or offer unique services that are difficult to find. Some of these are discarded by businesses as they upgrade or change their particular product offers. Sometimes, the old neon signs that used to hang in the windows have lost some of their value due to letters being on the blink, and it isn’t worth the time and expense to the business to repair the sign based on the cost of a new neon sign.

Recovering these can be fun, if you are willing to pay the price to get the neon signs repaired, and you can use them to dress up a small boutique, a neighborhood bar, or even your home. Vintage neon signs can often be found in antique shops at great prices but may need cleaning and intense repair work. This kind of neon sign is perfect for a small, unique boutique shop, as long as what the sign says or depicts is relevant to the store. Even independent restaurants can have eclectic décor that includes a number of non-related neon signs.

It is important to seek quality old signs and to blend these with modern, more useful neon bar signs, especially the advertisement of your business name and an open sign that lets customers know that you are ready for business and welcoming of customers. This sort of invitation is necessary, or your vintage neon signs will never be seen and customers never experience the atmosphere you are creating.

Use the signs wisely, and don’t overpay; you can often find discarded neon signs at businesses that are renovating or redecorating at no charge or for a small fee, meaning you don’t need to go searching for auctions and other expensive places to purchase neon signs. Adding these vintage signs to your business is an intelligent way to stylize your location, but it must be done in moderation, and you should definitely be prepared for the cost of maintenance on such neon signs.