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Its hard to believe but this coming November I will have been making signs professionally for 40 years!
I started out painting seasonal window splashes when I was just in high school and made the lofty sum of $700 the very first year I tried it... after school and in only a couple of weeks. Not bad for a pimply-faced kid who had to hitchhike into town because I was far too young to drive. $700 was a fortune in those days!
The seasonal window splashes made way for graphic design and a career in fine art for the better part of a decade, then on to historical murals. I never stopped making signs either. Themed building design and construction changed the way I thought about signs in the mid 80's. My definition changed to include a lot lore than flat boards with lettering on them. Our projects suddenly got a lot larger too!
My first real signs were cutouts and layered MDO, but I knew I wanted to do more with dimension, only didn't have a clue about how to achieve it. I didn't have the knowlege, experience nor materials to do the job. That education would take decades and continues to this day. I suspect it won't stop anytime soon either!
In the late 80's I discovered theme park design and construction... and this I enjoyed the most of all. In 1992 we formed Sawatzky's Imagination Corporation and were off to the races!
Through the late 90's we grew rapidly and had 22 employees by the end of the decade... then came to my senses and realised I wanted to get my hands dirty once more. We downsized the company on purpose.
In 2000 we built our own themed tourist facility, going all out. The end result brought us some fantastic work over the next years! Now 8 years later we have it up for sale... time to move on to other things.
It wasn't until late 2003 we built our first real shop, having operated in our home garage or on work sites until then. And the shop was truly the shop of my dreams at long last!
Late 2005 saw the purchase of our CNC router which took the grunt out of much of what we did. The shop was equipped with a myriad of wonderful tools. Everything was organized. We could now take on huge projects without a large permanent staff to help me build them. Best of all we could minimise our out of town days when we were doing big projects.
The studio and shop walls are full of panels, projects, souvenirs, memories and awards which we've gathered through the years. Everything on display has a story to tell!
I'm proud to have good friends in the business from literally around the world. The wall of fame attests to many of their visits here in the last four years.
Its been one exciting ride! I can't think of much I'd do differently if I had the chance. Our business has afforded us so many good memories and travels through the years. Mostly its been about great people!
Now its 2008 and I sense change is upon us once more. Its been the only constant though the last 40 years.
Ready to roll in Yarrow...
-grampa dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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Happy birthday & congratulations! This year makes it 22 years officially in business for me, though you can add 6 years part time & learning the hard way to that too!
These milestones are great times to think of the direction we've come, and which way the road might turn just ahead, and whether or not we liked all the views along the way...
All the best for the next 40 years, Dan!
-------------------- "Stewey" on chat
"...there are no limits when you aim for perfection..." Jonathan Livingston Seagull Posts: 7014 | From: Highgrove via Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | Registered: Dec 2002
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Congrats! A day without learning is NO fun at all!
-------------------- Catharine C. Kennedy CCK Graphics 1511 Route 28 Chatham Center, NY 12184 cck1620@taconic.net "Look at me, Look at me, Look at me now! I't's fun to have fun, But you have to know how!" Posts: 2173 | From: downtown Chatham Center, NY | Registered: Feb 2004
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Congratulations Dan! As all writers know it is the easiest to write about your knowledge, your passions and your personal experiences. You've got enough material there for a good many "can't put them down" books. The challenge will be convincing the publisher and book sellers that this is not "fiction" this is for real. All the best to you a Janis as you blaze new trails and conquer new mountains.
How could that possibly be? I thought Chapman was the eldest fellow in the field. I learned almost everyting I know from him.
That's another reason I like you so much.
Joe
-------------------- Joe Crumley Norman Sign Company 2200 Research Park Blvd. Norman, OK 73069 Posts: 1428 | From: 2200 Research Park Blvd. | Registered: Sep 2001
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Mr Chapman is much, much older than I... I just started at a much younger age...
Still learning in Yarrow...
-grampa dan
[ June 30, 2008, 01:10 AM: Message edited by: Dan Sawatzky ]
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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Great to see someone that has been at it so long, with the enthusiasm, and energy you have to explore more, take on huge challenges, and still make time to share so much, with so many.
I'm only 5 or 6 years younger than you and feel I have alot of catching up to do!
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LOL, and I sense that I'm not the only one that gets bored doing the second side of a double-faced sign! Congratulations Dan. Here's wishing your second 40 years will be even better than the first.
-------------------- Ricky Jackson Signs Now 614 Russell Parkway Warner Robins, GA (478) 923-7722 signpimp50@hotmail.com
"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Sir Issac Newton Posts: 3528 | From: Warner Robins, GA | Registered: Oct 2004
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Congratulation Dan. Time flies when you're having fun, doesn't it? Doing what you love makes it go even faster.
You never get old when you have enjoyed everything along the way. I know some teenagers that are a lot older then me.
Another 40 and maybe you will be able to figure out how to make straight lines.
Thanks Crumley...you started my week off on a good note. Now get your tongue unstuck from your cheek. Joe is a little older than me, but he is one of those late bloomers that is still learing and teaching others as he goes.
Over 50 years ago I started making signs to earn a little spending money and here I am in 2008 still trying to do the same thing. And I'm still trying to figure out how to do it right.
Thanks for brightening our day Dan. You always lift our spirits.
-------------------- Chapman Sign Studio Temple, Texas chapmanstudio@sbcglobal.net Posts: 6306 | From: Temple, Texas, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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All the best to you a Janis as you blaze new trails and conquer new mountains.
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