Rockstar of the Quarter: Kelsy Hayes

Rockstar of the Quarter: Kelsy Hayes

And Creative Sign Rockstar of the Quarter goes to…. Kelsy Hayes!

Position:  Senior Sign Consultant

Trait of Extreme Awesomeness:  Identity

What her team says about her: 

“When I work with Kelsy, I truly feel that she thinks about what’s best for the company and the customer.  She is always available for discussion on projects and puts in the leg work to deliver information as soon as she can.”

“Kelsy is a great face for our company, constantly presenting her best self.  She’s one of the hardest working people I know.”

Kelsy joined our Creative Sign team as a Sign Consultant in 2019, more than doubling her yearly sales from 2019 to 2021.  Now a Senior Sign Consultant, Kelsy has just celebrated her second year as part of Creative Sign’s Million Dollar Club.

In addition to her Creative Sign accomplishments, Kelsy has become a Rockstar of the Sign Industry.  She was one of 35 people chosen (worldwide) to be a part of the International Sign Association Young Professionals Class of 2016, is the leader of the WSA Young Professionals, on the WSA Board of Directors, a part of multiple networking groups, Ambassador for the Oshkosh Chamber, and was nominated for a 2022 Women in Signs Award!

Congrats, Kelsy!  Thanks for your hard work!

#RockstarOfTheQuarter #SignNerds #CreativeSignCompany #TraitsOfExtremeAwesomeness

 

Celebrating 20 Years of Building Growth

Celebrating 20 Years of Building Growth

This July marks 20 years since Todd purchased Creative Sign, and the Sign Nerds are excited to celebrate 20 years of building growth.

When Todd bought our small sign company in 2003, the pale blue corrugated building was a modest 8,430 square feet.  The non-lit letters across the building front read “LIGHTED AWNINGS • CUSTOM NEON • ELECTRIC SIGNS.”

 

One third of the building was the Vinyl Installation Bay, with two full rows for semi-trucks to pull through to get their vinyl graphics applied.  The second floor consisted of only some storage and our Neon Department.

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In 2010 we got our first router, which allowed us to route any shape with precision.  What a game-changer!  It’s hard to image making signs before this piece of equipment.

The Design Department broke away from the Graphics Department in 2011, with two employees becoming dedicated Designers and two employees becoming dedicated Vinyl Producers and Installers.

2012 brought a new department to Creative Sign.  We disposed of our outdated flatbed printer, investing instead in a new roll-to-roll printer with a much smaller footprint.  The space became the new ADA Department, making us one of the few sign shops in Wisconsin who could produce ADA compliant signs in house!

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By 2015, we were bursting at the seams.  The rapidly-growing ADA Team was struggling to find space for their inventory of materials and increased amount of machinery.  A temporary bump out for ADA ate into the Vinyl Installation Bay space, as did the second paint booth and routers.  Todd knew we needed to increase the size of the building, and by 2016, the renovation to over 20,000 square feet was completed.

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The 2016 renovation gave the Fabrication Team three times more space, an additional restroom, three offices, and an enormous, state-of-the-art paint booth. 

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A dedicated Channel Letters area was created with a dedicated Channel Letter Fabricator, right next to a new employee breakroom that overlooked the new Fabrication Shop.

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The Graphics Team took over the old Fabrication Shop, cleaning, painting, and installing new flooring and lighting.  It took a lot of elbow grease, but the wide-open, bright area with vaulted ceilings was now clean enough to print in and apply vinyl in.  Two offices were added to the area, which neighbored their brand-new Vinyl Application Bay. 

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The ADA Team moved into the old Paint Shop and got an additional designated Photopolymer room, leaving the old ADA Department free to become a conference room.

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Offices and an enlarged Design Studio grew from the old Graphics Department, and the front office area got aesthetic upgrades, including a new front desk and signage.  The scheduling area and upstairs storage area became office space.

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In 2018 the Routers moved to the new Vinyl Application Bay to accommodate the new mixing booth in the Fabrication Department.

As we continued to grow and add new equipment from 2017 to 2021, the motto became “add a second floor.”  A storage mezzanine was added to the Truck Bay, Graphics got a second floor in 2019 to accommodate their new flatbed printer, and by 2020, ADA also had a second floor.  Each department needed more space for their materials and equipment as the number of signs being produced each year continued to rise.  The storage mezzanine grew in 2021 and became an enlarged Channel Letter area.

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In 2020 we bought an additional paint booth and finally sold our Neon equipment.  As one of the last companies able to produce and service real neon in Wisconsin, we hated to give it up, but it was time.  Our faux neon options were more energy efficient, less fragile, and could be made in just about every color, size, and shape imaginable.  Plus, we really needed the office space.  By 2021 our remodel of the Neon room and second floor office space was complete.  The Design Team moved into the new, larger Design Loft, and the Project Management Team moved into the space previously used for Neon Fabrication.  In homage to the space’s previous life, we hung a couple Neon signs on the West wall.  We also started storing our Install trucks offsite in 2021, so Graphics could use the Vinyl Application Bay full time. ­

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It’s starting to feel like 2015 again.  Each department is thinking about space and how to use it most efficiently.  Our COO Brian likes to say that our growing pains of 2015 was a testament to how well our departments came together as a team to solve problems.  “Just imagine how well operations will run once the renovation is complete,” he’d say in 2015, “if we are working this well when we’re working on top of each other.”

 

Our New Channel Letters

Our New Channel Letters

The customer always comes first at Creative Sign.  We’ve put so much energy into channel letters for other businesses in Wisconsin and beyond, and we’ve invested in equipment to make those letters (and other signage) better and more efficiently.  So many gorgeous, lit letters… but never for ourselves.  What’s that saying about the shoemaker’s kid?

We’ve finally decided we need to look as good on the outside as we make on the inside.  Now our lit building letters are an example of what we can produce within these walls!

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Wanting to be easily seen from Hwy 41, we maximized our allowed square footage with two big, bold words:  CREATIVE SIGN.

The building, now painted dark blue with white trim courtesy of Griffin Prestige Painting, provides high contrast with the white letters.

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The letters are face lit with white LED to maximize readability, but back lit with color changing LED just for the fun of it.  We are a sign company after all.  Blue LED rope lighting will also soon run along the peak and front bump out to showcase one of our favorite accent lighting products.

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We are so happy with our new store front that it’s hard to remember how it looked before… so it’s good we took a lot of progress photos.  Thank you to everyone that chipped in between customer projects and helped make this possible!

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We are so proud of our welcoming new exterior!  We welcome everyone to find an excuse to swing by, day or night, to check out our new letters and (coming soon) accent lighting.  We love showing off our work!  Call ahead for a tour of the building, or to schedule to meet a sign consultant after dark to see our building lighting up close and see how it works.  We also have channel letter and accent light samples inside, including trimless channel letters.

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Rockstar of the Quarter:  Zach Ellner

Rockstar of the Quarter: Zach Ellner

And Creative Sign Rockstar of the Quarter goes to…. Zach Ellner!

Position:  Install and Service Technician

Trait of Extreme Awesomeness:  Fellowship

What his team says about him:  “Zach is always positive in every situation.  His happiness is contagious, leaving me with a smile when I’m lucky enough to interact with him.”

“Zach represents Creative Sign well to both customers and co-workers.”

“He is always willing to discuss projects when needed and strives to make Creative better whenever he can.  He brings a great attitude to the install crew!”

Zach joined our Install Team in 2018 and has since gone on to get his CDL and become a dependable lead on the road.

Congrats, Zach!  Thanks for your hard work!

#RockstarOfTheQuarter #SignNerds #CreativeSignCompany #TraitsOfExtremeAwesomeness

 

2022 WSA Design Awards

2022 WSA Design Awards

Creative Sign was excited to join all the wonderful Wisconsin sign companies and vendors at this year’s Wisconsin Sign Association Design Awards, held in Madison, Wisconsin.  So much great signage has gone up in the state over the past year, and it was wonderful to celebrate the triumphs of the sign industry.

A special congratulations to our newest Design Team addition Bailey Schulte, who brought home an award for her first (and only) entry, Redneck Addiction!  What a way to start your first WSA conference!

We are all so grateful for our whole amazing Creative Sign team that sells, designs, produces, installs and supports all of the spectacular projects we do.  It’s been a great year!

 

#LocalSignShop #CreativeSignCompany #SignNerds #WisconsinSignAssociation #DesignAwards

 

See more of our Award Winning Signs

 

ADA Sample Wall Complete

ADA Sample Wall Complete

We’re happy to announce the completion of our ADA sample wall.  A BIG thanks to our ADA team for helping produce these samples so that we can show them off to customers!

 

What’s on the wall:

We’ve collected some of our favorite sample signs from the last couple years and produced 30 new signs.  Each of our 10 designs featured on our Custom ADA Signage Collection found here are displayed, each made in our three different construction methods so that you can compare each type side by side.

Our Photopolyer is a hearty and reliable method great for use in schools, hospitals and other buildings that require a vandal resistant solution.

Tactile and Braille is an economical solution with a sharp appearance and wide variety of material choices.

Our Raised Direct Print method is both economical and durable.  Most laminates and textures can be mimicked for a lower cost than traditional laminates.

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Take a tour:

We love showing off where the magic happens.  Ask your Sign Consultant or call us at 920.336.8900 for a tour of our facility.  See the production of our ADA signs up close, touch and handle the samples on our new wall, and ask any questions you may have about our process and products.  Our experts would love to answer any question!

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Our Capabilities:

Creative Sign can design, produce, and/or install your ADA signage packages – big and small!  Our team can design ADA compliant sign packages that turn heads!  We can plan and execute a quality wayfinding solution while using superior products and construction methods, as well as those fine design details that can add a real luxury to your signage.  Our sign schedules and installation guides take the guesswork out of your project.

Let our experts get you compliant!  Contact an expert.

For photos of our ADA signs, take a look at our Gallery here.