They don’t make ’em like they used to. Unless you work for Wood & Wood Signs (Waitsfield, VT), in which case, you make ’em exactly like they used to. When a trading company wanted to implement new, nature-themed branding, Wood & Wood founder Sparky Potter used a large piece of laminated pine and paint washes that allowed the wood grain to show through.

Starting with a full-size paper layout, the lettering came from a font library, while the border and vines were hand-drawn and burned in using a Wall Lenk creative woodburning pen. Washes using Benjamin Moore flat house and Golden Liquid acrylic paints helped provide the “unmistakably hand-done” look the client wanted. “It’s all about letting the wood show through,” Potter said. “There’s no mistaking what the base is.”

The sign was installed to the building’s façade with 2½ x 2½ x 6-in. aluminum angle brackets.

MaryKate Moran

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