How to Make a Sign - Part 3

Here's the sign at the end of the Artists' Alley (La Galleria).

How to Make a Sign - Part 2

It would have been best to use 1/2" treated plywood, but I didn't have it, and I didn't want to deal with the weight. So I used what I had: 1/4" plywood, primed with Kilz Outdoor formula, and an outdoor latex on the front and an oil based paint on the backside.

To counter warping and give the sign visual weight, on the back of each panel I used 1"x3" boards at the top and 1"x2" boards along the sides and bottom - I left them long to act as the legs of the sign. Everything was glued and screwed in to make it sturdy. The top wood was bigger to accomodate the door hinges that I used. The stabilizers on the back were installed after I painted the front, and the back painted after the glue dried. A light-weight chain was attached to cup hooks on the inside angle, to keep the sign from splaying out too much.




After sketching everything out with pencil on the painted boards, I painted the store name in burgundy, similar to the highlight color of my shop. (The back-ground mild gray was similar in tone to my main interior color. This way, the sign strongly mimics the shop colors.)

The dark grey paint for the back of the boards I used on the front for body text, and for highlighting the arrow and word "GOLD". Since I was aiming for pedestrians, not car traffic, I designed for a more leisurely comprehension speed. But I made sure all the important information was there: services provided, hours of operation and phone number. The address was not important, so long as viewers knew which way to turn at the end of the alleyway.

Thank goodness I remembered to paint the arrow the correct direction for the back panel of the sign!

I learned from the first panel that standing over the sign to paint was a pain in the back. In my garage I have a stool on wheels, so I used that for the 2nd board - that's why it looks like I was painting at odd angles to the sign.

To give a feeling of completeness to the design, I sponged a border on each panel in the gold color that I painted the word "GOLD" and the arrow body color.

All in all, I did this in one day and four evenings, and spent just over $30 in materials that I didn't already own. Much better than the $120+ for just a commercial sign frame without even any graphics!

I'll post photos of the finished sign next time.

How to Make a Sign - Part 1

A friend of mine from the Orchid jewelry forum (www.ganoksin.com) visited me from Columbus, OH. Gustavo gave me a quick lesson on sign painting and construction.(See his website at http:// beechwoldcustomjewelry.com/ Beechwold_Custom_ Jewelry.html) Armed with this information, I made my own while properly supervised by my cat Roxy Hart.

I started with a generalized layout with my logotype scaled for the 3'x2' sign. By cutting out an elipse shape from card stock I was able to draw in guide lines, then sketch the store name based on the layout.

I decided not to use the font I had selected for the text. Instead, I used it as a placement guide for the lettering (and to help me spell things right!).

Filigree project

Being the proprietor of a newly opened store, I find I have lots of time on my hands (witness this blog). The upside of this is that I have plenty of time for fun projects, inventory, practice on all sorts of things you can't do to the customers' jewelry.

My mom really admires my filigree work, so she commissioned me to create a pendant for her that would be a display for her strange diamond. Just over a carat, it measures 7.6mm x 3.4mm; not likely any commercial setting would work. Since it was rather yellow (the cert said J, but I think that was generous) we decided to use 18k yellow gold as the frame and setting. Might as well as make it really really yellow, right?

Since I had a limited budget and only 10 inches of 18k wire (16 gauge) for the frame, I made it in sterling silver first. Made lots of shapes until I found a combination that worked. That's about where the planning on this ended - it took on a life of its own, and nothing turned out like I expected.

After a comedy of errors I'm too proud to reveal, I got the diamond set. Turned out the gold made the diamond look whiter rather than yellower. Depends on the light... Then I realized I'd forgotten to take into account the bail, and all the 18k wire was gone, DANG! Thank goodness I had a short strip of 18k bezel wire, 26g.

I had just seen Luis Moreno's video about making a bail, so I borrowed the idea. Worked out pretty nicely, and made everything hang gracefully (the setting had moved down, but it looks better that way).

Just for fun I got out my UV flashlight and found the diamond fluoresces a lovely blue-violet.

Even though it's a month early, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!

Customer Antics - The Princess

Customers are great people. They help you earn your living, provide comic relief, teach you something about yourself and sometimes provide examples of what *not* to do.

Lady from Big South FL City (BSFLC) walks in on a hot day, wearing cheap jewelry and a cap marked "Princess". She wanted some jewelry cleaned; handed me her bracelets and an anklet. Then proceeded to tell me how to run my business and why it would benefit me to do art shows in BSFLC.

Next she quizzed me on my personal life: age? married? kids? I sidestepped the questions and finally said that I don't bring my personal life to the shop.

About then the timer on the ultrasonic chimed, giving me a blessed distraction. I steamed everything, gave it a quick shine and brought the jewelry to the counter, on a velvet tray.

Without a word, she extended her wrist, clearly expecting me to put her jewelry back on her. That I could live with until she said, "So how are you going to put on my anklet? Can I put my foot up on the counter?" (She was serious!)

I was flabbergasted - I mean, just the thought of it made me cringe and want to go wash my hands again. I put on my best stern school-marm face and said, "Oh, you can't do that - what would all my other customers think?!?"

Either she came to her senses or decided it wasn't worth pursuing. She put on her own anklet and left.

It made me wonder if she got away with it down in BSFLC or not?

July Birthstone - Ruby! Part 1

So it's July, and the birthstone for this month is ruby. It's a hot color for a hot month.

Ruby is characterized by an intense red, with purplish overtones. It's a gem that can fit any budget. There are 'fine' stones with the best color and clarity, 'phenomenal' stones with optical effects (the star stones), commercial-quality gems typically seen in consumer jewelry, and beads.

I found a source of ruby briollettes, the pear-shaped drops that are faceted all around. They have intense color, though not the clarity of a fine gem. Still, their opacity give them a substantial look.

The earrings are available in my shop this month. The chain mail design has lots of movement, but is very comfortable to wear because of the ball-end post with large nut. Go out and catch someone's eye with these!

Grand Opening

After opening two weeks before (to get used to the cash register and my shop layout), I had a Grand Opening. OK, maybe not so grand, but a lot of friends showed up and made it a great day! Besides Art and Mary Jane, my brother and sister-in-law (Gordon and Beverly) let me practice on them. Well, on their jewelry.

Art took a few photos of me in the shop. You can see the wide screen that shows how well the camera can capture detail. And there's my bench with all - almost all - my tools. It's a great place to be. I've worked enough places that were drab and mind-numbing...if you are going to spend most of your day at work, it might as well be a beautiful place.

Here I Am From the Outside

Easy to read from across the street, and I even put up address numbers.

Exciting news for store owners and customers - the old Melbourne City Hall is on the verge of being completely torn down to make way for a new parking garage. Right now only the front wall (south facade) and one exterior side wall (north facade) are still standing. I suspect those will come down tomorrow or Monday, after most of the rubble is removed from behind them. I'll try to be on hand with my camera.

New Door (Finally!), and Window Sign

After weeks of negotiation and coordination, the new door finally arrived. The old door had to come out...what a mess!...and the new one went in. Whoops, the gap between the new sill and the existing floor wasn't part of the deal - I'm going to have to figure out how to take care of it.

Once the door was in, I could contact a sign company with the dimensions and get my sinage installed. All looked good from the inside. The next day I looked at it from the outside and discovered they had misspelled my domain name. To their credit, they had someone out in a few hours to fix it. (ALWAYS proofread text before and after it goes to the printshop!)

There I am on the ground finalizing the freeform mosaic that mom and I laid in yesterday.

Crown Molding In Place

Earlier this week my mother and a friend put up the crown molding in the front section of the shop. Wow! It makes a world of difference!

The new door comes tomorrow; stay tuned...

Finally an address and phone number

I'm in the phonebook, and the DSL equipment arrived today. Look for me online at http://www.dragonwerx.com. If you come to the Space Coast (Brevard County) of Florida, you can find me at:

DragonWerx Jewelry
821 E. Strawbridge Ave.
Melbourne, FL 32901
321-837-0900

I think I'm going to open around the 23rd of June; Tues-Sat, 10am to 6pm.

It's always been frustrating to me to need a service and have to take time off of work to get something done. This is for working folks: come to me after work and I'll repair your jewelry, or replace your watch battery! Got scrap gold to sell? I can help you out.

DragonWerx Jewelry, from inception to almost open...

I never thought I would want to work for myself. Until the day I asked for a raise, got a weak promise of "yes, but later," and decided I could do better. That was back in February.

Once the idea was set, I couldn't get rid of it. So I started looking for a retail location. After a few false starts, I found one in Melbourne, FL, that was a great fit.

After weeks of waiting and negotiating (with one of the few landlords who does not financially need tenants!) I signed the lease. As soon as I got the key, my mom and I started tearing the place apart and putting it back together.

The posted photos show the 'before', 'during' and 'almost done' phases. I expect to be open by the 23rd of June. No doubt there are many more surprises along the way before that happens...