As a sweetener for those who completed our annual State of the Industry survey, Signs of the Times held a $100 Amazon gift card giveaway in which all respondents were automatically entered.
Mark Klimaszewski of SoloNeon (Greenbank, Ontario) was drawn as the winner, but he informed ST that he won’t redeem the gift card and will donate it instead.
“I did receive the Amazon credit but did not cash it in. I was thinking and hoping the $100 could be sent to a charity, or somebody who really needs it,” he told us.
Klimaszewski was a full-time neon glass bender in the mid-’90s and later worked out of a few shops in the Toronto area. Now, with a full-time factory job and young kids, he says neon signmaking is more of a hobby than anything else. “I wish I had more time to bend,” he said.
More information about his neon exploits can be found on his website, soloneon.com, and Instagram page.
Signs of the Times also awarded a $5 Starbucks gift card to every person who completed our inaugural Big Survey, the results of which can be found here.