Design
Although it may sound obvious, the first stage in the design process is to establish what the client would like me to produce and more importantly to judge if it is possible to make what they would like.
Once the ideas have been discussed, i then spend hours considering many aspects of the design and making of the item: What is the purpose of the item?. Will it be subject to damp/outside conditions? Does the finish need to be child friendly? Is the item free standing or wall mounted? What decoration can be added to enhance the finished item.
In the case of a stable door sign it would be easy to cut a rectangle of timber, cut some lettering and call that job done. I feel my customers deserve more respect and I like to think that the thought I put in to my work leads to a far better finished product.
The first sign was made in mahogany as it has some resistance to the wet conditions to which the sign will be exposed, the name board was detachable with a drip rail across the top and the body of the board has a stylized horse head cut using an engraving tool in the router. Two keyhole mirror plates on the back allow the board to be hung on the stable door.
Other stable door signs
The second sign for Alices yard again was made in mahogany. The lettering was cut using a letter template and router and a drip rail added to protect the face.
The lettering was coloured using acrylic paint. It is important to use quite a thick paint to prevent the colour bleeding in to the end grain of the timber. Keyhole mirror plates on the back allow for hanging on the stable door. Finished in my usual teak oil/turpentine oil mix.
The sign for Amazon was very different. I had some live edge oak which gave a less formal feel to the design. The lettering was cut freehand with the router and as before a drip rail added across the top.
The horse head design again was added to this sign but back filled with copper powder.
Get in Touch
Call 07710 888611, or email mrhwoodwork@outlook.com.