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Since I moved from the Southern California coast to Prescott, in the mountains of Northern Arizona three years ago life has been different. I needed a new adventure. My plan, if I can call it that was to take a breather for a few months, travel some, then start doing a limited amount of signwork part time and try to pursue other artistic endeavors. I wasn't sure what. I had savings but not enough to totally retire and I wouldn't want to. I bought a fixer house, did some long trips, and met a lady who thinks I'm OK the way I am. After trying to sell signwork after awhile I was really baffled. Nothing. I'll admit I haven't tried quite as hard as I would if I had been flat broke but I have put in many hours almost every week. In California for the last ten years at I couldn't keep up with the phone calls and workload. My name wasn't even in the phone book the last four years. The one thing I didn't have here was a reputation. Attraction has always worked better for me than promotion. Except for my Truck lettering and yellow page ad and web. Going out cold calling didn't work here. If they talked to me at all all they would ask is "How cheap" "If you can undercut the other guy..." etc. I have not cut my prices but I have donated a few signs to worthy organizations. I'm back in school taking art classes again. I want to learn to be more of an artist. I have an instructor here who has worked in just about every area of commercial art all his life except the sign business. Listening to his experience really is opening doors for me. I have more confidence in my illustration skills so am offering that on my website. I would turn that down or use clipart before. In the meantime I started painting designs on furniture and making some antique looking signs and have actually sold some. This is fun doing something completely my way and if they like it they can buy it if not don't. But it hasn't brought in much and I can make good money doing signwork so I persisted. Somehow I got a few truck lettering jobs out there. The website brings more than the phone book now and starting to get referals from a few happy customers. Last week was the first time in three years I have had a full schedule of paying work. Knowing I can do signwork part time gives me the financial security to know I can do my other art and not feel pressured to make money at it. I finally got my website updated. www.chuckpeterson.com. My friend who knows about search engines and all that does it for me. It needs some adjustments and some of the self-centered stories are from the old site and will probably be taken off. I'm embarrassed about some of the drawings but its the best I can do at this point. A couple of the signs may look familiar. That's because if I see an idea I really like that I just can't get out of my head I gotta do my version of it. Bob Behounek's antique Harley sign, I changed the lettering. There seems to be different versions of that old logo. David Kynaston's flower sign. I'm not the master those guys are so I try to do my version and would never take credit for the idea. I borrowed some wording on decals from Glenn Taylor's site. I have found that customers who appreciate what I do are hard to find. I'll do my best for them. I just finished truck lettering job for a concrete redimix company and the guy is so thrilled with what I came up with he wants me to re-do some other trucks. I did another van lettering job this week for a guy who had his friends critique the design first and tried to get me change it to what they thought it should be but reluctantly agreed that a sign designer can probably design a better sign than a drywall installer, then I thought he was going to start crying when I wouldn't reduce the price. I did get it done and paid. So, I guess the lesson is because of this long semi-vacation I am far more open to other avenues of graphic art related work than just the sign business. Change is good.
-------------------- Chuck Peterson Designs San Diego, CA Posts: 1058 | From: San Diego, CA USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Great site Chuck! I'm glad to hear things are coming together for you. Good luck on your adventure!
-grampa dan
[ March 18, 2009, 12:46 PM: 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: 8741 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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That's a very nice site Chuck. It looks like you can do it all. . . . . and very good!
-------------------- John Arnott El Cajon CA 619 596-9989 signgraphics1@aol.com http://www.signgraphics1.com Posts: 1443 | From: El Cajon CA usa | Registered: Dec 1998
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Hey Joey, I don't know if I ever mentioned it here but I lived near Medford for a couple years in the early 80's and did some of my early sign painting there. I remember going around to sign shops to pick their brains and a few even helped me. An old guy Named Brophy who was about 80 or maybe just seemed like it to me was helpful in a very grumpy sort of way. While I was talking to him his phone rang, somebody wanting a sign and he was p***sed. I thought, man a customer, and he's p**ssed. I got to be that way years later so I'd think of him now and then. I was visiting about five years ago and saw a few of my signs still up.
OK, David, a new paragraph . I guess I'm used to designing in seven words or less.
-------------------- Chuck Peterson Designs San Diego, CA Posts: 1058 | From: San Diego, CA USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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