Austin, TX provides one of the most invigorating signage palettes I’ve ever seen. Whether it’s the high-energy clubs and shops on 6th St. or the kitschy stores and galleries on South Congress St., cool signs abound.
Jesse James, famous, custom-car chopper, opened the Austin Speed Shop, which gained fame as the backdrop for a new Discovery Channel series, “Jesse James: Outlaw Garage”.
Located in nearby San Marcos, Blackout Sign turns heads with this retro-cool pole sign (appropriate, given the vintage of many cars James’ shop chops), designed by Jay Gordon, the shop’s owner.
“Darcy Hanna, our shop manager, contacted Rocco, the Speed Shop’s manager,” he said. “Rocco sent out our into to Jesse, and he called when he needed a sign.”
Gordon and his team – Hanna, Shay Miller and Zach Foerster – modified the existing sign structure with a new, MIG-welded steel frame. He hired Kirk Tunningsley, owner of Big Dog Neon (Lockhart, TX), to outfit the sign with new, 15mm Voltarc neon tubing. France 15,000V transformer keep the wow factor bright, and a Transco dimmer blinks the word “Speed”. Miller painted the sign with 1Shot lettering enamel, mixed with a flattening agent, and dry-brushed the sign to create an aged appearance.
Venturing through California’s Mojave Desert, James found the 55-year-old rocket at an abandoned gas station. He purchased it, and Blackout rewired the rocket, and it received completely new, luminous tubing. Upping the “back to the future” feel, a series of scintillating, 11W incandescent lamps create the rocket’s blazing tail. With a little tinkering, Blackout restored the original, four-circuit Signtrol controller.