Sushi Nami Wants eyecandy

In a perfect world, eyecandy Signs (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) co-founder Dave Johnson would meet with a client who would tell him that money was no object. Further, this customer would approve everything that Johnson suggested.

In reality, the conversations don’t proceed that smoothly. Dave Johnson and Jake Ethridge, eyecandy’s founders, haven’t always been that lucky. They founded the company in 1997 with a vision of creating a specialty market for sandblasted, carved and dimensional signage.

Allan Hines, who recently left the shop to work for his father, Bob, served us well as a fabricator. I function as account manager and marketing coordinator. From design to installation, eyecandy strives to create an environment in which clients feel welcome to call upon the shop as they please. The open-concept office allows free communication and inspires creativity, ingenuity and fun.

Keeping up appearances

In August 2003, Ken Greer and Borris Mirtchev, owners of several trendy Halifax restaurants, approach-ed eyecandy with sign ideas. Greer and Mirtchev sought to generate more style and attention for their Sushi Nami kiosk in Bedford’s Sunnyside Mall.

Impact Communications (Halifax) created the initial designs and presented them to us as 2-D renderings. Having worked on previous projects with the restaurateurs, Johnson and Ethridge had built a relationship and understanding with Greer and Mirtchev. As such, they conveyed the craftsmanship and commitment involved in producing carved and dimensional signage.

Mirtchev commented, "A sign is part of the branding; on many occasions, it’s the first impression the customer gets of the business. We wanted to continue with the fish because it’s part of our branding for the Hamachi House Fine Japanese Cuisine and the Hamachi Steakhouse. We wanted the Sushi Nami sign to have some consistency, yet still maintain its own image."

Making waves

Eyecandy altered Impact’s design to produce a sign blueprint. The Sushi Nami sign can be divided and described in three parts, all of which we mounted separately on one bracket. Johnson re-worked the drawing to create the specs for the final design.

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