For a mom-and-pop coffee place to compete against Starbucks, distinctive signage must be part of the equation. In my humble opinion, this offers infinitely greater curb appeal than uniform, kelly-green channel letters. Larry Plummer, proprietor of Design Works Signs (Hillsborough, NJ), enjoyed collaborating with the coffeeshop owner, a children’s book illustrator, to develop the design.
He crafted this 38 x 46-in. sign with Sign*Foam 3 HDU, and also carved the cup, steam and beans from urethane, which Plummer bonded to the main panel with 3M’s epoxy. For added effect, he airbrushed a celestial background with 1Shot® lettering enamel and an Iwata Eclipse airbrush, which he subsequently clearcoated with Matthews’ gloss-finish polyurethane. Plummer gilded the text and, leaving no detail to chance, the coffee bean-shaped finials, which Plummer shaped with Bondo automotive body filler and carved, on the sign’s PVC posts.