First Place
Fabricator
Custom Craftsman Signs
Sevierville, TN
(865) 429-1934
www.customcraftsmansigns.com
Designer
Brother Zank
Custom Craftsman Signs
Client
Bear Cove Village
As he does most years, Brother Zank sent us down a winner from East Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains. This 20-ft.-tall pole sign, completed for an RV park, comprises a cedar post that extends to a rough-sawn face and main-ID letters plank-carved from 18-lb. Sign•Foam HDU. The bears and log bridge they’re crossing were chainsaw-cut from pine; “Bear Cove Village” was chisel-carved, and the bottom panel, installed over a powdercoated-steel substructure, was plank-carved with sandblasted copy.
Second Place
Fabricator
Pro Image Design
Rapid City, MI
(231) 322-8052
www.proimagedesign.net
Designer
Alan Hubbard
Pro Image Design
Client
Bewitched Farm
Selling Price
$4,800
This enchanting sign identifies Martha and Roger Myers’ rhubarb farm in Traverse City, MI. Hubbard sandblasted the 15-lb. Sign•Foam background, and prism-cut the main copy on a Gerber Sabre 408 CNC router before decorating it with 23k goldleaf. He used West System® epoxy to bond the panels to 0.187-in.-thick, waterjet-cut aluminum capped with 16-oz. copper. Hubbard clad the treated-wood posts with rough-sawn cedar.
Third Place
Fabricator
Danthonia Designs
Inverell, NSW, Australia
(612) 6723-2100
www.danthonia.com.au
Designer
Rosalind Thomson
Danthonia Designs
Client
Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council
Selling Price
$18,000 (AUS)
The Shire Council wanted an updated sign that reflects tribal roots while envisioning a positive future. Danthonia fabricated the main panel with 18-lb. Sign•Foam® laminated with 3M epoxy to a PVC backing. The shop cut the mask with a Roland DG Camm-1 Pro plotter and cut the perimeter’s shape with a Festool 1400 EQ handheld router. They incise-carved the text and boomerangs with Pfeil woodcarving tools. The fabricators gave the sign its brilliant sheen with Resine quick-dry primer, Dulux Weathershield paints and Luxury Paints’ Graffiti Buster 200. The posts were built from powdercoated, marine-grade aluminum.
Honorable Mention
Fabricator
Danthonia Designs
Designer
Donal McKernan
Danthonia Designs
Client
Tabourie Lake Motor Inn
Selling Price
$15,000