Tony Vanderheyden

The Sign Shop,1514 E. Wisconsin Ave. - Appleton, WI

Back in high school, Tony Vanderheyden thought it was great when his dad or a friend asked him to make a hand-lettered sign. it was fun to put his artistic talents to good use.

Although a couple of decades have passed, Vanderheyden still enjoys creating signs, the work that has become his career. He fine-tuned those early skills at the Laton School of Art in Milwaukee and opened The Sign Shop at 1514 E. Wisconsin Ave. in 1977. Over the years, a good portion of Vanderheyden's work has involved the painting of lettering and logos on vehicles, everything from boats to trucks to semi trailers. He has also completed countless board signs and banners, which are bound to be familiar to those who regularly travel about the Fox Cities. He has built a one-man operation that serves many business and corporate customers, as well as individuals.

While Vanderheyden hand-lettered all vehicles and signs for his clients when he first opened his business, times have changed. As in many other businesses, computers are now playing a major role at sign shops, he said. Computer design work and vinyl lettering are common. "I didn't want to accept it at first," said Vanderheyden. However, Vanderheyden admits that computer-generated lettering and graphics are done with precision, allowing for a perfect result without hours of tedious effort. he still enjoys hand-lettering signs, though, an art he is afraid will someday die out." Years ago, I would pull out my brushes every day, now it's down to every other week," he said, "I still like hand-lettering work, because it's very rewarding."

Vanderheyden works with his computer often these days, to create sign concepts and logos for his clients. The new ideas, once painted and applied to vehicles, often become familiar fixtures in the area. On other occasions, Vanderheyden scans his customers' logos on the computer, turning them into signs. Once the information is in the computer, he can call it up when another sign is needed or a new vehicle is brought in for lettering.

Vanderheyden is able to produce computer-generated, high-grade vinyl lettering in his shop, which he applies with the assistance of transfer tape. Once the design is placed on a vehicle, it should last over 10 years, depending on road and weather conditions. "The same lifespan applies to hand-lettering," he said.

Whenever Vanderheyden is called upon to do large vehicle lettering projects, such as on semi trailers, he uses hand-lettering. He maps out the design using a grid before transferring his work to the vehicle.

Although Vanderheyden relies on his commercial accounts to maintain the success of his business, he enjoys doing projects for individuals. A little while ago, he had many requests for customized "bug shields", a craze that has in a sense died down. Now he's getting a lot of requests for signs to be placed outside of cottages, most of which he paints by hand.

Murals: "In Our Dreams" and "Rack 'em Up"