Better Letters - BLAG Magazine: Adventures in Sign Painting Craft, Community & Culture

People

India's Sign-Wallas: On the Brush on the Subcontinent

Meena Kadri takes us to India to appreciate the flamboyant work of the country's 'sign-wallas'.

Hand-painted grocery store-style showcard on top of a poster that shows various different types of letter shades.

BLAG

Why Everything Is(n't) Free at BLAG

BLAG is a reader-funded publication, which keeps most of the online content and events free for all.

Lower two-thirds of bifurcated letters 'RO' with scrolls in their centres and gilded and outlined in black.

Projects

Bringing a Gilded Victorian Transom Window Back to Life

Andy at AJ Signs in Dorset gives a new lease of life to a beautiful piece of Victorian glasswork.

Man and woman facing the camera, holding a framed sign that reads "Barker Signs, Est. 1964".

People

60 Years On the Brush: The Barker Signs Story

Maurie Barker founded Barker Signs in 1964, with his daughter Liane now keeping things hand-painted.

Wall sign with tall sans serif letters painted dark blue with a yellow block shade.

People

Ye Olde Sign Shoppe: Gran Canaria’s Tomás Prieto Gálvez

Adventures in life, family, and sign painting with Tomás Prieto Gálvez in the Canary Islands.

Horizontal purple banner in three parts with lettering, scrollwork, and decorative tassles.

Events

Meet the Letterheads: Keeping the Craft Alive

The Letterheads movement continues to go from strength to strength as it nears its 50th anniversary.

Letters cut out of cardboard and arranged in a line with a large 'R' and 'S' followed by a smaller 'R'.

Books

Peeling Back the Layers of Chrystel Crickx's Typographic Legacy

Chrystel Crickx's novel contribution to lettering and type history is celebrated in a new book.

Picture book illustration showing a sign painter painting the sun which is making everything else hot.

Books

The American Folklore Legend of Slappy Hooper, Sign Painter

The telling and retelling of 'Slappy Hooper, World’s Biggest, Fastest, and Bestest Sign Painter'.

Sign shop/artist studio with man at work, and signs and paintings on the walls and floor.

Projects

Algorithmic Art: The Sign Painting Project by Francis Alÿs

Artist's collaboration with Mexican sign painters challenges the idea of paintings as unique works.

"Better Letters" in cursive white lettering with a black/blue/red block shade on orange background.

BLAG

An Origin Story of Sorts: Better Letters

A decade ago, Better Letters 'launched'. But it's origins go back further, as Sam Roberts reflects.

Elderly man standing in front of a shopfront which is emblazoned with a huge fascia sign that reads "SIGNS".

People

Meet Earl Phillips: Cleveland's Greatest Living Sign Painter

Biopic of Earl Phillips, proprietor of Cleveland's U-Need-A-Sign Co. at 131st Street since 1960.

Hand-lettered and illustrated advertisement showing three tins of paint (blue, red, yellow) pouring from above the text.

Learning

Why Lead Paint Makes Signs Last: A Toxic Legacy

An account of the enduring (and highly toxic) legacy of lead paint on signs, and sign painters.

Hand-painted portrait of the Godfather holding a massively oversized cat smoking a cigar.

BLAG

Bonus Material from BLAG 04

Bonus content from the adventures in sign painting in Issue 04 of BLAG (Better Letters Magazine).

Hand holding a magazine with the person's torso visible behind in a burgundy jumper.

BLAG

What's Inside Issue 04 of BLAG (Better Letters Magazine)?

Between the covers of the adventures in sign painting in Issue 04 of BLAG (Better Letters Magazine).

View from behind a woman's head as she paints black thick and thin lettering onto a white background.

People

Getting Into It: Sign Painters' Stories Around the World

Six sign painters tell the stories of their paths into the trade, and offer their advice to others.

BLAG

BLAG's Top Ten for 2023, and Reflections on the Year

Round-up of the year's most popular articles from the adventures in sign painting at bl.ag online.

Man painting a brightly coloured sign that says 'Pinball' and has an illustration of the ball and flippers.

Learning

Tools of the Trade: Flying Squirrels Working Nine Two Five

Studio Sign Co.'s Nick Lee tries out the Flying Squirrel Brush Co.'s 925 series on paper and MDO.

Exhibition space with brightly decorated vehicles on low plinths.

Location

Phool Patti Brings Pakistan's Decorative Artform to the World

Meet Phool Patti's Ali Salman Anchan, harnessing Pakistan's decorative art for social enterprise.