OUGD601: Whitelocks Research

by Roxxie Blackham on Saturday 27 December 2014

History of Whitelocks

Whitelock’s Ale House is nearly 300 years old (that’s older than America!). It opened, as the Turks Head, in 1715, catering mainly for merchants and market traders. The pub was especially busy on Tuesdays and Saturdays when Briggate marketplace was thronged with people.
In 1867 the licence of the Turk’s Head was granted to John Lupton Whitelock. He was followed by his son William Whitelock, then Lupton Whitelock and Percy Whitelock, who sold the pub to a brewery in 1944.
In the 1880s John Lupton Whitelock began to establish the ornate decor still in place today, the long marble topped bar, etched mirrors and glass. The mirrors are joined by polished brasswork and cast- iron tables, all making for a genuine Edwardian atmosphere.
From the mid-1890s the pub became better known as Whitelock’s First City Luncheon Bar and in 1897 John Lupton Whitelock installed electricity, including a revolving searchlight, at the Briggate entrance to the yard.
Whitelock’s was a favourite rendezvous with stage stars and it received royal approval when Prince George, later Duke of Kent, entertained a party in a curtained-off section of the restaurant.
At one time a doorman made sure that men wore dinner jackets and, as women were not allowed at the bar, waiters served drinks where female customers sat.
Poet John Betjeman enjoyed the atmosphere of Whitelock’s, describing it as “the Leeds equivalent of Fleet Street’s Old Cheshire Cheese and far less self-conscious, and does a roaring trade. It is the very heart of Leeds.”
In 2008, Whitelock’s was honoured by the Leeds Civic Trust with the 100th iconic “blue plaque” to be hung in the city. It was unveiled by Sarah Whitelock, granddaughter of Lupton Whitelock. Source.
The plaque reads:
WHITELOCKS Occupying a medieval Briggate burgage plot, it was first licensed as the Turk’s Head in 1716. Rebuilt by the Whitelock family in the 1880s, it later extended into the row of Georgian working men’s cottages. John Betjeman described it as ‘the very heart of Leeds’.

Pictures from their website









The pub interior is definitely very unique and traditional looking, with mirrors and brass furnishings. I think they've kept a lot of the original furniture etc. It's quite a small pub inside, but there is plenty of space for typography, as I found it in constant use around the pub when I visited!

OUGD601: Interviewing Signpainters and Gilders

by Roxxie Blackham on Thursday 25 December 2014

I sent out an abundance emails to a variety of sign writers, gilders, letterers etc and waited to receive responses to help focus my research.

Unfortunately, not a lot of them replied, but the responses that I received were as follows:

Ged Palmer

1. How long have you been practising lettering and sign writing?
I've been actively drawing letters since I was about 14. I started getting serious on calligraphy about four years ago, I've only been painting with brushes since 2012.

2. How did you become so interested in such practices?
It started out with an interest in graffiti and skate culture. I painted large murals a lot in my teenage years but when I came to study design I got a lot more interested in the history of typography. My interested in sign painting came about in 2012 when I was asked to do the sign for a restaurant called the Gallimaufry which I did the identity for. That sparked an interested in creating letters with a brush and the wider sign painting craft.

3. Do you get many commercial opportunities from your craft? Do clients approach you or vice versa?
It's taken a good few years but I am happy to that most of my work come from clients approaching me these days. Nearly all of my work is commissioned based. That said there have been a lot of times where I have decided I want to work with a certain client because I believed in what they do and because I was able to have lots of creative freedom with the project, and with that in mind I try to keep my fees down to make sure the project happens.

4. What industries do you find yourself producing work for most? For example: pubs, coffee shops, etc.
At the moment it's a good mix of commercial design work: logotype, book covers, advertising work and then working with independents such as coffee shops where I do the sign painting.

5. Do you get a lot of work in the UK or do you often travel?
Most of my work is UK based or I work remotely for US clients.
6. Do you get approached by clients who want something modern in terms of aesthetics? Or do people ask for more traditional design styles, because of the history of sign painting?
My aim to make work that looks classic. I get a lot of inspiration from classic styles of lettering, everything from Roman, copperplate, brush scripts, etc etc. I think the trick is to try and make the work look appropriate and also timeless. Sometimes it's fun to try and make it look really 50s or Victorian but there has be a reason for it.

7. Would you say that sign writing is a dying craftsmanship?
It was live and kicking last time I checked!

Manu from Pincel Signs

1. How long have you been practising lettering and sign writing?

For the last few years I have been painting words and murals for exhibitions, but I got my first "official" sign writing commission in october 2012. Since then I haven´t stopped doing it, constantly learning the trade and loving it more and more each day.

2. How did you become so interested in such practices? 
I have always liked big signs, specially the hand-painted ones I saw in the work of american photographers such as Stephen Shore, William Eggleston, Robert Frank...I used to take pictures of signs, later I started painting them myself for personal exhibitions, in a very amateur way. When I came to London and got this first commission I became more interested and started learning about the trade, tradition, and all the specific tools and techniques of sign writing. 

3. Do you get many commercial opportunities from your craft? 
Yes, I have been really lucky getting quite a lot of commercial opportunities in the field of sign writing and mural painting, although I also combine it with working as a freelance illustrator/graphic designer. Do clients approach you or vice versa? When I set up PINCEL I spent months doing promo work, sending hundreds of emails, cycling around London leaving my business card in every shop, and I still do every now and then. But I have noticed a lot of clients approach me from word to mouth, which I find amazing. 

4. What industries do you find yourself producing work for most? For example: pubs, coffee shops, etc.
In the last two years I feel really lucky to have worked in a very wide range of projects, from a massive mural at The Boundary hotel in Shoreditch, hand-painting all the signage for The London Coffee Festival 2014, to paint signs for art galleries, creative agencies, coffee shops and restaurants, food shops, bike shops, book shops, children´s shops, as well as painting signs and murals for personal exhibitions. If I had to choose one industry, hospitality is the one I have mostly worked for in the last two years(hotels, events, bars, cafés and restaurants).

5. Do you get a lot of work in the UK or do you often travel? 
Most of the work I have been doing lately has been in the UK, although I recently travelled to my hometown in Spain for a mural project at the art festival Arenas Movedizas, which takes place in Gijón every year, making use of abandoned spaces to transform the city through artistic interventions.

6. Do you get approached by clients who want something modern in terms of aesthetics? Or do people ask for more traditional design styles, because of the history of sign painting? 
I have been mostly painting rather modern graphics, but I am really looking forward to get more traditional commissions. Most of the clients already have a strong idea of what they want for their business when they contact me. Sometimes they give me a logo that I just have to paint, but some other times they want you to work on a full brand new design based on a briefing. Those are the most interesting and challenging projects. 

7. Would you say that sign writing is a dying craftsmanship? 
Not at all, for what I have seen in my brief experience in the trade there´s and there has been sign writers in many countries around the world, specially if we don´t take USA and the UK as the only references. Obviously vinyl signs and printing machines had a great impact in the trade back in the day, but I think there´s clearly a regeneration of the trade, with books being published, documentaries being filmed, workshops being tought, young people learning about it and setting up their own sign writing studios and projects... And of course a popular common taste for beautiful, hand-painted, long lasting words to inform the passer by and build preetier places to live.

Bob Dewhurst

Hi there Roxy hey this is Bob at sign language thanks for contacting me on that email I'm just going to answer the questions that you put forward okay I've been painting signs now for 38 years it just was a possible way to make money love doing anything for money so I try that okay so I'm busy year around now people always ask me from the start when they find out I'm a painter but I also used to and I still do hustle jobs at every opportunity I started out walking the streets door to door before the Internet but now I'm usually busy always booked with people looking for me much preferable as a stance for conducting business okay my main clients I don't know restaurants pizza places liquor stores café's truck fleets especially moving trucks for Irish movers whatever wherever there's money blue-collar industries hotels most of my works in San Francisco but I will travel even interstate for a job I want to do I like to take my tiny camper trailer on the road stay in it while I'm working I pay whatever they want for money I can duplicate any logo any size or do a layout but I don't push layouts let them decide and blame themselves if they don't like it now everybody's a designer so I don't get to do what I really love to do with the old time signs where you just sketch them out with a crayon and you've got some basic smarts and layout skills so it's a typical hand-painted sign which are rare but people are coming back to them they want that old-fashioned looking I always take special delight in doing an old-time vintage layout so as far as is sign painting a dying craft iit's dead in a big way because it's all computer now but no it's not totally out of it you probably know in the 80s computer came in and just decimated our industry but I'm one of the people just hung on with the brush and we still have a niche in there doing better than ever and now there's a whole new wave of younger people learning the trade with a lot of love and interest though the people you want to check out try new Bohemia signs in San Francisco you want talk to Damon area code 415-864-7057 I could tell you about lots of people too but who are you Roxxie and where are you and take a look if you haven't I have a website it's sign language sf.com so check out my portfolio and good luck with all your work there drop me a line or whatever if you feel like it and have a very Merry Christmas is over have a great holiday thank you Roxy bye

Roderick Treece

1. How long have you been practising gilding and sign writing?
I have been doing gilding and signpainting for around 48 years now.Since I was about 11.

2. How did you become so interested in such practices?
My Dad was a signpainters and head of the sign shop at Knott's Berry Farm.

3. Do you get many commercial opportunities from your craft? Do clients approach you or vice versa?
All of my work is totally commercial .I have repeat cutomers and new one that get ahold of me through my web site.

4. What industries do you find yourself producing work for most? For example: pubs, coffee shops, etc.
Most of my work is for private bars,Restaurants and large clothing companies.

5. Do you get a lot of work in your home town or do you often travel?
I used to travel alot for work but now most is done in my studio which is located next to my house.

6. Do you get approached by clients who want something modern in terms of aesthetics? Or do people ask for more traditional design styles, because of your own style in approaching design?
I am asked by clients to do all styles of artwork.

7. Would you say that sign writing is a dying craftsmanship?
Sign paint is enjoying a resurgence now.

Damon Styer

1. How long have you been practising lettering and sign writing?
I learned calligraphy when I was, I think, 12 yrs old. I had a little training in layouts in my first year of art school, 1988-89, and slapped together flyers and cover art for a band I was in, in the 90s. Other than that, I didn't practice lettering much at all before starting as an apprentice, here at New Bohemia, in June of '99.

2. How did you become so interested in such practices?
I've never been especially interested. This shop had been turning out attractive work in my neighborhood for 6 or 7 years before I walked in the front door, which I appreciated, but I was mainly looking for an opportunity to get myself into a "creative work ethic", and nothing so specific as sign writing.

3. Do you get many commercial opportunities from your craft? Do clients approach you or vice versa?
I don't have a marketing bone in my body. Clients approach us, more so each year.
4. What industries do you find yourself producing work for most? For example: pubs, coffee shops, etc.
Looking around the shop right now, I see projects in the works for a coffee shop, a Turkish restaurant, a private grammar school, and for Pinterest HQ. That may be a typical selection. Small local businesses and tech industry campuses call on us rather frequently.

5. Do you get a lot of work in your home town or do you often travel?
Most of our work is within 50 miles of SF, but I'm plenty willing to travel.

6. Do you get approached by clients who want something modern in terms of aesthetics? Or do people ask for more traditional design styles?
Probably somewhat more than half of our jobs are designed by the client, or someone else they hired, and we're just being asked to paint it (or to "make it look hand painted"). Those that we're asked to design are not generally heading in a "modern" direction, unless it's maybe mid-20th century modern.

7. Would you say that sign writing is a dying craftsmanship?
Quite the opposite. I s'pose my view from here is skewed, but I posit that while the craft went through a drastic winnowing in the 80s and 90s, in many parts of the world (and is currently going through such, in India), currently, in the US, at least, we're in a period of growing appreciation for the appearance of hand-craftedness. There are, of course, many hi-tech means of producing simulacra of that, but the actual pushing of paint with a hand-held brush, while it may never again be the predominant mode of sign production, isn't likely to die, as a craft, anytime in the foreseeable future. I tell people, frequently, that, in the coming decade, we can reasonably expect to find more active sign painters in their 30s, than we can currently find in their 50s.


I was also wondering if you know of anybody else that I can contact to talk to about the craft? I've been looking around for larger studios of several painters, and was wondering if you knew of any?
I've got four other painters working here. I don't know of many other multi-sign painter operations around. Mostly people working for themselves. Josh, at Best Dressed Signs, in Boston, has another painter working with him. Bob Dewhurst has been at it, here in SF, for 30+ years, and often works with another painter or two. You'd probably get some interesting perspective from the guys at Colossal Media, who send out teams of billboard painters all over New York, every day.

 Dapper Signs
Annoyingly, they didn't have time to reply to my original questions that I sent them, but luckily they had been asked similar questions from someone before, so they sent me the answers of these instead which were as follows:

 What or who inspired you to pick up a brush (or whatever else it is that you use!?)

About 6 years ago I had a fairly serious operation and after I'd recovered from it I didn't feel that I'd be able to go back doing any of the type of shitty jobs that I did before. It just felt like a bit of a waste to be given a second chance at life and then going back to washing dishes etc.  HOWEVER it was when I was actually washing dishes (I'm fairly fickle) for a friend's food tent at Glastonbury that I had the chance to write their menu boards. It occurred to me that I might be able to make a few quid doing that at home in Bristol, so I subsequently carpet bombed the town with business cards.  That was about five and a half years ago now and I haven't looked back since.

How do you go about creating a style for a sign for someone?

People will often have an idea - sometimes really vague, sometimes really specific - and it's up to us to discuss with them their requirements and it's through these chats and some pencil sketching that we help them come to a final design.

How steady do your hands need to be?  Did you do some sort of Zen Master style training?

I have to watch the amount of coffee I drink.  Some of the Italian cafes I've worked in that can be tricky (they load you up with great espressos) and have been known to subsequently shake like a shitting dog.

What are the best and worst bits about the job / business..

I love the variety for one.  The other day I did some gold leaf work for Aesop in their door window on Marylebone high street, then later on the same day I was helping an artist paint their mural on a wall down in Brixton.  
People seem to really like it when they see you painting letters, and will often stop to chat with you.  It's also the most satisfying work that I've ever done.  Most of our customers are independent businesses, so they a lot invested in them - money and emotion.  What I do is basically the icing on the cake and it's great when you see a customer so hyped on the work you've done for them.

Why do you think so many businesses use digital graphics / look so uninspiring

Digital graphics are quicker, generally cheaper, and can be uniformly reproduced countless times, so it's easy to see why business franchises use them.  I think there's plenty of businesses where they look good (or at least appropriate).  But some of the homogenised signs reflect the bland state of large parts of the high streets in Britain, so I guess it fits.  

Do you think there has been a resurgence in interest in hand painted signage? why?

Yep, definitely.  This has been the busiest year for us since I started five and a half years ago.  I think it's a perfect storm of doing something for long enough that some people take notice, my sweetheart Katie joining the business (I'm poor with any numeric values greater than four), and also a global resurgence in the craft.  People are after things that are created by hand.  When they have a sign painted for them, it's unique.  Nowhere else will have that and it helps them stand out.  
Painted signs will obviously never be as common place as they were before vinyl signage came along, but if there's enough businesses out there who value craftsmanship and have fantastic taste in what looks good (!), then there should be enough work for people like us in the future.

Do you use social media to advertise your work?


Traditionally, I have always openly sneered at Instagram and other forms of social media, but now I'm all over that shit - I've got loads of work through it, from Colossal Media in New York to Gordon Ramsay's new restaurant Union Street Cafe in Southwark, London.  It's also put me in contact with loads of other Signwriters and is a great platform for sharing ideas, techniques and inspiration.  People such as Best Dressed Signs in Boston, Colossal Media in New York, Golden West Sign Arts in California and Dave Smith in Devon are just a few of the amazing artists whose work I can now see regularly and fairly soon after they're completed.

OUGD601: Primary Research & Signage Inspiration

by Roxxie Blackham on Thursday 11 December 2014

Whilst out and about I photographed anything that could influence my design decisions, as well as a bit of primary research into the local pubs and market stalls in Leeds to help make my decision for what I was going to produce for my practical work..

I really like the Victorian feel to the Victorian Quarter in Leeds, and the typefaces on the shop facia are interesting.



I also noticed some signs painted on a Street Food building..


I quite liked the carnival aesthetic of these signs..


Having a look at pub typography, I noticed it's always very ornate and fluid..


A lot of gold is used..







I liked these signs at the Packhorse as they looked traditional.




Whitelocks has recently gone through some modernised branding, but still holds traditional aesthetics throughout the pub..










I noticed a Marks and Spencer stall in Leeds Market, which I thought was quite ironic as they tried to make themselves look old, when they're not a very old company..





Had a look at some other market stall fascia..


There was a bit of hand painted lettering in Trinity Kitchen..


I like the vintage feel to the type at Everyman Cinema..


The typeface used for Carlucci's is very scripted and elegant..


There was a little hand painted stall at Cielo Blanco..



The new Byron Burgors have used gilding in their windows, which is unusual, as most places use gold vinyl to try and pull off the gilding aesthetics, but on closer inspection I noticed that Byron Burgers have actually hired a gilder to produce the window displays..



They even had a hand painted menu inside the building..



I found this trip around Leeds really useful, as it gave me a bit more of an insight into the types of signage that are used commercially within pubs and in the market square.

From this trip, I have decided to produce a sign for Whitelocks pub, as it reaches 300 years old in 2015, which is a perfect time to commemorate the pub and produce a piece for them!
I have emailed the owner, to see if they would be interested in having something produced for their 300th birthday, which also means that I can photograph the final product in context.

I really liked the traditional feel to the design of this rose sticker.


I love the typography on this building in Banbury. It used to be a ghost sign (all worn out and hardly visible, just left over paint from years ago when it was first painted) but has recently been renovated and looks so good on the old building! Funnily enough the place doesn't sell coal, cake, etc anymore, it's actually an estate agents..


I found looking around for typography and signage really inspiring, as I started to notice a lot of particular aesthetics that I enjoyed and it's definitely encouraged me to get on with my practical work!

OUGD601: COP Tutorial 3

by Roxxie Blackham on Monday 8 December 2014

Don't talk about the use of vinyl in your last paragraph of the history chapter.
   - Try to state where sign writing is now, and don't be negative or opinionated.

Think about the hand crafted "vibe" to sign writing and how that adds personality to communication.

The introduction and conclusion are not chapters, so don't call these Chapter 1 etc.

Choose a brand that will be interested in sign writing for your practical. There's no point trying to create something for someone that won't be interested or won't need it in today's commercial audience.

Have a look at the pubs in Leeds - primary research
   - Whitelocks
   - Traditional pubs
   - Go into town and list potential places
   - Belgrave type places?

Your sign could work with traditional methods, e.g. gilding, but produce something contemporary in the design aspect.

Make changes that were noted in your written element.

OUGD601: COP Practical Crit

by Roxxie Blackham on Friday 5 December 2014

Feedback I received from the group crit:

- Have a look at places like Burger King and how painted signage could possibly work for them?

- Look at commercial places for signage

- Could produce a set of signs, if you have time?

- Think about traditional design methods.
How can you use these to their full potential?

OUGD601: Cop Tutorial 2

by Roxxie Blackham on Thursday 27 November 2014

- Make sure you make a point of sign writing still having a place in the last chapter

- Talk about the hipster aspect

- At end of 1st chapter, suggest today's use of application to lead onto further chapters

- Practical could be to paint a sign for a commercial company who doesn't usually need that kind of thing.

Structure Your Essay:
INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1 - Broad History

CHAPTER 2 - Contemporary sign writing
detailed analysis of the sectors that employ sign writing (descriptive)

CHAPTER 3 - The current commercial potential and need for sign writing skills (critical)

CONCLUSION

OUGD601: The Sign Painter's Film Notes

by Roxxie Blackham on Wednesday 19 November 2014

"Invisible art... invisible industry... people just take it for granted"

"I could do whatever the fuck I wanted to do and make a living"

"You realise that you're just painting signs for other sign painters?"

- Started about 150 years ago
- Sign painters creating advertisements for companies.
   - advertising medium
   - "local sign man"

- Marjory Garrison

- Tod Swormstedt
" Signs are everywhere but I never thought that somebody had to make those"

- Beverly Sign Company - 50 sign painters

- Justin Green

- Ernie Gosnell

- Roderick Treece
   - Sign painter since 12 years old
   - Specialises in gold leaf

- Gary Martin
   - Hoovering walls before painting on them

- Bob Dewhurst
"Letters are a really cosmic thing"

Quills, sword stripers, dagger brushes, liner brush, chop brushes, badger hair, squirrel hair

- Sean Barton

- Nick Barber
"Bought a bunch of these font catalogues and spent my time drawing them"
   - Teaches students

Type Designers and Letterers
John Downer
Ken Barber

"Lettering is a drawing of a letter or group of letters... (rest of quote at 00:25)

Ed Otten and John Downer work together in a studio

- Norma Maloney

- Jeff Canham
   - 35 years old
   - Started painting 5 years ago
   - BA in Graphic Design

- Damon Styer
   - New Bohemian Sign company founded in 1993
   - 1999 became an apprentice there

- Mike Meyer
"You're going to make more money out of this sign then I ever will"

- Phil Vandervaat
"I kind of push everything to the comical"
   - Started at 26 years old, been painting for about 32 years.

00:43 - good quote about signs

"Sign painters don't hate signs"

"No topping sign painters as a visual artists" from a book that one of the talkers read - said it was heartbreaking to read about the confidence in the industry.

- Mark Oatis
   - One of the Letterheads
   - Jerry Allbrights Sign School
   - 2001 type design seminar
   - Letterheads movement - meetings with letterers and painters
   - Letterheads motto: IOAFS: It's only a fucking sign

 - Pulse patterns
   - Pokes holes in paper to rub chalk over to create templates on walls for painting

'The Art of Hand Lettering' by Mike Stevens

'Sign Craft' Magazine

"The problem with technology is it doesn't stand still..." 00:54

"It's no longer about the quality, it's about how fast it is and how cheap the job is"

"Every human being has the capability of altering their environment with their bare hands"

- Colossal Media
   - Hand painted advertising company
   - 5-7 years of training
   - http://colossalmedia.com

- Syracuse - Stephen Powers
   - 'A Love Letter For You' project
"A vehicle for projecting larger ideas"

- John Starr: Starr Studios

"Victory over vinyl"

"Old signs become art, they become wall art. Vinyls shrink and you throw them away. I want to make signs that become art."

"You get that brush and you master that brush. You can get that brush to do anything you want it to. And that's power"

OUGD601: Primary Research

by Roxxie Blackham on Saturday 15 November 2014

I decided to take a trip down to Granary Wharf and Clarence Dock to have a look at canal boats and any old warehouses that still had ghost signs painted on them...

I also thought I'd upload 2 pictures I took when I went to the Neubau Talk in Huddersfield, as they related to what I was looking into for COP..



From the canal walk...
We walked down through Hyde Park and Leeds uni, so I had a quick look at some inscriptions..







Bit of a weird Railway tower we found on our travels..





Some old ghost type on the side of an abandoned building... Barely visible!



Stray canal boat..


The Onion Bargee!!!


I found the canal notice interesting as it dates back to 1890s..


Bit of old type on the side of a rusty boat..


Another ghost sign, this time on the side of a Salem Church..



Some more type on the other side of the church too..


And some inscriptions on the front!



We came across the Tetley's warehouse, so had to take a pic!


Also, saw a really strange looking building..


Down by the canal and river now, saw some hand painted type across the river.. Unfortunately there weren't ANY canal boats docked at Granary Wharf, so it was a long walk onwards to Clarence Dock..


Clarence Dock! And LOADS of boats!











Luckily, the owner of Rebecca was outside his boat and he was happy enough to stop for a chat, he even invited us inside to have a look and talk about the boat!!


The man was really nice and answered loads of questions, he even found this booklet which had various sign painters who specialise in canal boat painting inside, so I took a pic of the info - thought that I could probably get in touch with some of these people..


He also told us about a free boat taxi that we could take back upstream, which saved us over an hour of walking!!


Tried to get a picture of this nice type on one of the canal boats whilst on the taxi boat, but it was hard to zoom in well..


Also, got a better picture of the type from before whilst on the boat..


Anyway, I found the experience really useful. It was good to be able to talk to an actual sign writer's client (the man who owned Rebecca, who unfortunately we didn't quite catch the name of). He told us a lot about canal boats and joiners etc, and explained how he thinks it's really important for sign writers to keep up their businesses, as there is still a market for them, be it niche.

He also told us about when they bought the boat and how every single person who worked on it had been documented, but only the sign writer wasn't noted in the documents, which is a real shame! They don't really get much credit for what they do!!

He also explained how he's currently in the process of speaking to a local sign writer, as they need some touch ups on the paint on one side of the boat, as over the years the boat always docks on a particular side (due to the doors being on the left), so the sun always bleaches that side of the boat's paint work!


Also went past a bit of ghost signage on the side of a building near Kirkstall Lane a few days ago.. Thought it was quite interesting as you could tell that they had used the signage for advertising, particularly newspapers..