Designs & Signs
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"Gold Leaf Signs"
Brendon Brandon applies a hand painted outline to a hand carved side board with gold leaf letters. After the gold leaf and painted outline have been applied, the board is finished with a protective clear coat. With proper maintenance the beautiful gold leaf name boards can retain their original beauty for many years. These particular side boards were manufactured for Kathleen, a beautiful Fleming Yacht, sold and outfitted by Burr Yacht Sales in Edgewater, Maryland. Carved side boards, also called running boards, name boards, or trail boards, can be carved from a variety of exotic woods. Most commonly we manufacture carved teak boards or carved mahogany board. We always finish our carved letters with genuine gold leaf. Designs & Signs offers a variety of gold leaf signs and gold leaf services. Designs & Signs specializes in manufacturing a wide variety of carved signs.
Carved gold leaf sign at the Annapolis Visitors Center on West St. in the historic district of Annapolis, Maryland. This sign was fashioned from sign foam, or HDU (high density urethane) and sand carved with a vertical wood grain finish. Once painted the sign is indistinguishable from a real wooden sign. The inline and letters on this carved sign are finished with genuine 22 karat gold leaf. Designs & Signs has created and installed a variety of gold leaf signs for businesses in the historic district of Annapolis.
A sand carved gold leaf sign at The Ruddy Duck Brewery & Grill in Solomons, Maryland, This sand blasted sign was designed, fabricated, and installed by Designs & Signs. The large duck was routed from high density urethane, also know as sign foam, and painted by hand. All of the gold leaf lettering was gilded by hand. The letters on the rider sign are carved. The large pin mounted letters were routed from half inch thick white komacel, and finished with 22kt gold leaf. The triangular background, and rider sign, were also fashioned with thin sign foam, abd sand blasted with a wood grain finish. At Designs & Signs we rarely use exotic woods to create our carved signs, due to cost and environmental concerns. We recommend sign foam, also called HDU, or high density urethane. It is far less expensive than exotic lumber and it is eco-friendly. We apply a wood grain effect during blasting, which makes our sign foam signs resemble real sand carved wood signs. Can’t afford cedar? Try sign foam today.
Faux stone carved HDU sign at The Josephine Butler Parks Center in Washington, DC. This beautiful gold leaf sign looks as though it is made of real stone, but it isn’t! This sign was actually manufactured with sign foam, or high density urethane, HDU, as it is often called. The sign foam is sand blasted, or sand carved, to resemble the look and texture of a real carved stone sign. The carved sign is then painted and the raised letters are finished with 22kt gold leaf and an airbrushed relief. Designs & Signs also manufactures genuine stone carved signs, but sign foam is considerably less expensive, and because we can fashion it to resemble either wood or stone, it is the perfect material for most of the signage projects that we undertake.
A carved community entrance sign at Holly Hill Harbor in Edgewater, Maryland. The sign is fashioned from high density urethane, often called HDU, or sign foam. The background is sand carved, or sand blasted, with a wood grain finish. The large heron was carved and painted by hand to match a photograph which was provided by the customer. The letters are finished by hand with traditional 22kt gold leaf. Designs & Signs has installed many gold leaf signs throughout Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.
One carved community entrance sign for Loch Haven Waterfront Community in Edgewater, Maryland. Both the copy and inline are finished with Gold Leaf, applied by hand. Designs & Signs has manufactured and installed many gilded community entrance signs in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC. This particular sign was sand carved with wood grain, then painted and finished with traditional 22kt gold leaf letters. The sailboat design was tier blasted and painted by hand. Due to high costs, exotic lumbers are rarely used in sign making these days. Instead Designs & Signs manufactures signs using high density urethane, also known as sign foam or HDU. During carving a wood grain effect is applied to the surface of the sign foam. Once the sign is finished it looks exactly like a geniune carved wood sign, but for a fraction of the cost, and it is good for the environment.
Two matching carved gold leaf signs for Escapade Advertising, designed and installed by Designs & Signs in Edgewater, Maryland. Sign foam was carved by hand to created the sun on each sign. The copy area was sand carved, also known as sand blasting. The letters were finished with 22kt gold leaf. The interior suns were also gilded by hand. The larger free standing double sided sign is supported by a robust wooden frame and custom iron scrollwork, fashioned by McCarter’s Welding in Mayo, Maryland.
Gold leaf on glass at Cafe Normandie, in the historic district of Annapolis, Maryland. Designs & Signs specializes in glass gilding and offers a wide variety of gold leaf signs and services. At Cafe Normanie the gold leaf was first applied the the interior surface of the glass, and then the letters were screen printed over the gold leaf. Finally once the back up paint is dry, the extra gold (outside of the letters) is genly removed from the glass window with a soft cotton ball. Designs & Signs President, Brendon Brandon, has over forty years gold leaf experience, installing a wide variety of gold leaf signs and gilded letters throughout the mid-atlantic region, and around the world.
Glass gilding at McGarvey’s Saloon in Annapolis, Maryland. This 22kt gold leaf was applied by hand and has remained in excellent condition for many years. First, gold leaf is applied to the interior surface of the glass, two layers of gold leaf (double gold) are always used when glass gilding. The lettering is then screen printed on top of the gold leaf. Once dry, this backup paint protects the gold lettering while the extra gold is gently removed from the glass with a soft cotton ball. Then the outline is applied with a fine lettering brush. Gold leaf on glass is a beautiful way to show off any storefront and unlike vinyl, when cared for properly, it will last a lifetime.
