Shane Durnford Design :BLOG

This toy store in Creemore introduced itself to the marketplace 1 1/2 years ago. Promoting the basics of play, their core belief is that toys should inspire imagination. After testing the market, Cardboard Castles has decided to firm up their image and outfit their location with quality signage. They want to become a destination store and need to look the part. They commissioned us to design a hanging sign and dimensional fascia treatment that would project fun, play and engage everyones imagination with the hope of turning even the most serious adult into a kid again. My challenge was to design from a child's sense of play not an adult interpretation, fun for its own sake. The design had to respect the established logo and the historical architecture of the building and streetscape, blending authenticity and their unique brand, creating a sense of discovery and arrival.

This was their original logo theyhave been using for a year and a half.



We designed this hanging sign with a few tweaks to their logo - we wanted to reflect an established image and the quality of the toys they offered.



Approx 52" x 36" x 10" Corafoam (HDU) The sign will have a multi layered treatment with gilded letters.

This script lettering was specifically designed for this commission.





We designed this fascia sign to work in concert with the hanging sign. The playful bright design is a nice compliment to the more formal distinguished hanging sign. If the hanging sign had the same lively design as the fascia it would have been too busy.
Approx 25 ft long and constructed out of .5" intecel PW and blocked out in layers to have a playful contrast of shadow and light. Creating drama and interest on a reasonable budget.

It's easier sometimes than reasoning with some humans. Cats have the excuse of having a brain the size of a pea, where as human brains are the size of a cat and have no excuse.

We had a "difficult"customer a few months back. Too long and drawn out of a story to repeat but to say after a long and impossible relationship with these people they stuck me for a $2000. bill, in spite of approving the design. I received an email from them today telling me they don't know how to use one of the artwork files (the one they didn't pay for) and were going to hire someone to show them how and send us the bill.

I've only written two F-you letters in my life, one was today and it was well earned. It's never good to hold this stuff in and better yet put it where it belongs.

Balance maintained.

In spite of hating painting, Jackie does a very good job.

The final portion of the sign to be assembled. - The brass rod was heated, shaped and will be epoxyed into the back of the wing and leg components for structural rigidity and strength. The finishing assembly of the bee tomorrow morning and then to the paint room ...finally. It turned out to more involved than anticipated. Cutting and fitting of the many geometric shapes ate up the time. I'd hate to see what quick work a CNC machine would make of this project.





I finished assembling the bees as I run out of cheesy bee puns.
After shaping the legs they were fitted and tacked in place with quick setting glue.


Then filled with West Systems fast set epoxy with rag filler.


Et Voila - two interpretive bees




Tweaked the design for cardboard castles today (for production) and created patterns needed to template the shapes within the sign.

Another day another step closer to completing the bank cafe sign. All went smooth until the copier broke down and needed repair.

Block of HDU set up in the copier lathe.





Bee shape. It will be shaped further.


The cap for this sign was inspired by the reaching cieilings of the cafe with it's heavy crown.






Oops, this is what happens when I don't tighten the tool rest. The white stuff is spackle which will be turned to a smooth finish tomorrow.
Impatience gets the the best of me sometimes.

Put my bench to good use today while I worked on the bank sign. It's a beautiful thing ...the bench that is.

Cap and bee blocks in the raw.


Part of the cap is channeled to fit down over the sign.


The top part of the cap is bevelled in prep for the cove.




A jig is set up to match the radius for the coving on the cap.


After a slip with the table saw and a repair, a final sanding and ta-da. Some one told me once the mark of a good craftsman is one that can fix his screw-ups.