Business + Artist + Signmaker = CoSign
In late June, I applied to CoSign along with 20 other businesses in the Northside district. After watching the first round of signs go up last year, I knew I wanted this for my own shop this time around.
After all the applications were submitted, I attended a CoSign meeting at the American Sign Museum along with all the other business owners who had applied, the artists who were interested in submitting designs, building owners, and sign fabricators.
After the CoSign committee explained the process, we watched a slide show of Tod’s favorite signs. He explained why they worked. All I kept thinking was that we wanted a fat tire wheel with a skull in the middle. Would this idea fly with the CoSign team?
In the days following the meeting, our shop was bombarded with local artists who wanted to design our sign. We told every artist the same thing – we want a wheel with a skull in the middle. Simple enough, kind of.
We had 22 artists submit designs for our shop. I picked out my favorite design which was from Jason Snell of We Have Become Vikings, also the genius behind our Spun logo. He knows us, knows our shop, and I knew he’d nail it, but I kept an open mind through out the process and was happy to meet so many cool artists and see all their designs.
In late July I attended the CoSign “Blitz” at the American Sign Museum. I dragged in the front wheel of our Surly Pugsley and we sat down with fabricators who got a feel for what we wanted. Dana Burton and Dennis Dix of City Lights Neon knew they could do it.
All the paperwork was filled out and BOOM, it was over. All that was left was more paperwork, a final design from Jason, and then upload it all to CoSign.
Then we had to wait it out.
In early September, the week before we left for Interbike, I got the email.
“Congrats, your shop has been chosen to receive a sign from CoSign.”
WE WERE STOKED! Out of 20 businesses who applied, only 10 were chosen.
When we got back into town, a flurry of emails and meetings with our fabricators began. The city permits were done by CoSign’s Leslie Alexander (also a dedicated customer of Spun) in ONE day. The architects came to check the placement of the sign. The bike parts were put on order with our distributor, Quality Bicycle Products, which included the Surly Clown Shoe Rim, tire, rim strip, spokes/nipples, a Shadow Conspiracy half link chain, and a tube.
The fabricators got the go ahead to do the cast resin molding of our skull. Note, we didn’t want just any old skull. It HAD to be our smiling skull that is part of the SPUN brand.
Next they fabricated a hub that would hold the skull in place and allow our head mechanic, John Myers, to lace it up with 64 spokes. Once that was done, they brought it to the shop and John got it laced in under an hour.
Dana and Dennis continued to work on the bracket, the skull, and the lettering. Everything went by so fast. In early November, we met with some of the CoSign team at our fabricator’s studio and we got to see it all in place. I was blown away.
We were all so happy!
Next, the sign went up in the American Sign Museum along with all of the other signs and we went to a sneak peek party there the week before Thanksgiving. All of the signs were so awesome!
The unveiling happened the day after Thanksgiving.
A freaking fat tire wheel with a 3D skull in the middle, hanging from BMX chains. !!!!!
Our storefront is complete.
We want to thank CoSign for allowing us to think outside the box and do something a little different. This is a one of a kind sign that has NEVER been done before and we are so very happy with the end result.
Thanks so much to Jason Snell of We Have Become Vikings for creating our vision. (Also, thanks to your wife for helping us at the Blitz and the uploading of paperwork on a holiday weekend).
A HUGE THANK YOU to Dana Burton and Dennis Dix of City Lights Neon for allowing us to be a part of the fabrication process, every step of the way. Thank you for your patience, your understanding, and your friendship.
It’s been a helluva ride, but it was a fun one.