Better Letters - BLAG (Better Letters Magazine)

Sign painter working with paint and brush.

History

Carga Máxima and the Sign Painting Styles of Lima, Peru

How regulatory signs on goods vehicles gave birth to Lima's Carga Máxima sign painting style.

Ladders and a tower in place below a part-gilded dome.

Learning

Introducing the Basics of Architectural Gilding

Leah Beth Fishman gives a primer in the craft of gilding large and unusually shaped surfaces.

Events

Walldogging Galore at the MuralFest In The Dalles, Oregon

The Walldogs painted 17 murals celebrating the city, history and people of The Dalles, Oregon.

Highly decorated Urdu lettering on a flamboyant painted panel

People

Painter Kafeel: Keeping it Hand-Painted in India

Delhi sign painter Kafeel rejected vinyl, kept it hand-painted, and now has a new global clientele.

Instruction poster for casual sign painter lettering.

Learning

Tips For Left-Handed Sign Painters from Larry Stammers

Being left-handed is no barrier to becoming a sign painter, and these tips will help you get going.

Projects

Noble Signs in the Ascendency in New York

David Barnett's award-winning sign painting for the Ascenders at Type Directors Club.

"Bright vixens jump; dozy fowl quack" with pictures of a fox and a duck.

Learning

Playful Pangrams for Sign Painters (Plus Other Languages)

Power up your sign painting practise with these playful pangrams. And then try to write your own.

Projects

Behind the Panel: Alf Becker at Lockdown Letterheads

Alf R. Becker's alphabets and the inspiration for Mark Oatis' Lockdown Letterheads panel.

Decorative artwork in gold and paint on glass.

Films

Craft & Creativity: The Making of Ludlow and Blunt

David A. Smith and Danny Cooke on 'The Making of Ludlow and Blunt', an incredible artwork and film.

Tow truck with hand-painted lettering on the side.

People

Chain Letter: Etienne Renard

Etienne Renard, co-founder of Enseignes Brillo in Paris, shares some lettering that has inspired him.

Books

Signpainters Don't Read Signs by Syl Ehr

Signpainters Don't Read Signs (1957) by Syl Ehr published as a digital download in seven parts.

Sign painter working on a decorative glass panel.

People

Glittering Glass in Vietnam: The Story of Saigon Gold Sign

Saigon Gold Sign's Thien Nguyen on his gilding journey, and the challenges of working in Vietnam.

"Grave No.7, approx. 800, April, 1945" and "Grave No.2, approx. 5,000, 24th April 1945"

History

Sign Painting the Horror of the Belsen Concentration Camp

The sign painting work of Reginald Price commemorating the dead at Belsen concentration camp.

Painted sign saying 'Helsinki Letterheads'.

Events

A Steamy Letterheads in Helsinki, Finally...

Sign painters at Helsinki Letterheads were given the five-star treatment with a sauna and a hot tub.

A doctor's kit bag painted to advertise a sign painter and mounted to the rack of a bike

People

Two Wheels Good—Even Better Lettered

Sign painter bicycles around the world lettered to advertise their sign painting services.

Books

This is How Signs in London's Heyday Were Painted

Full text and accompanying images from the 'Sign Production' chapter of Ghost Signs: A London Story.

Hand-painted letters with upright appearance.

Learning

The Inspiring World of Vintage French Reference Alphabets

Bruno Durand guides his practise with reference to alphabets in vintage French sign painting books.

Events

Sign Painting a Festive Farewell to the Fair

The Letterheads were out in force for the last ever Signwriting Festival at Carters Steam Fair.