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  • Celebration/ Birthday/Anniversary Signs – Anyone?

    Posted by Kate and Danny on 10 November 2006 at 17:32

    Painted wooden signs depicting deformed Fred Flintstone, and Tazmanian devils holding plaques saying " 40 TODAY " and storks holding newborn babies.
    They were all the rage a while ago round my way, but the company shut down ( probably because that was the only thing they did ! )

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    Anyway, I’m thinking of bringing it back with style – with much better printed laminated graphics and maybe using dibond.

    1)Anybody do anything like this?

    2)What do you use to make them?

    3)What do you use to secure them for the few days to a week that they’re only there for?

    4)Most importantly what do you charge?

    Cheers

    Danny

    Phill Fenton replied 19 years, 1 month ago 7 Members · 7 Replies
  • 7 Replies
  • Shane Drew

    Member
    11 November 2006 at 01:05

    I’m thinking the company may have shut down because they were not profitable or popular Danny.

    I’m struggling to understand the concept though…. got a pic?

  • Andy Gorman

    Member
    11 November 2006 at 01:13

    You could make these fairly easily. A bit of foamex shaped and stuck to a wooden or metal spike.

    The problem is, there are too many copy shops offering full colour printed banners for 5 quid a square metre. At least round here there are.

    The amount of work involved in what you are suggesting…..what could you charge? And would people pay? Perhaps if you had large quantities screenprinted, but that would involve keeping a fair amount of stock.

  • Kate and Danny

    Member
    11 November 2006 at 10:43

    This kind of thing.

    And they don’t buy them. They hire them for a week.

    I go and plonk them in the garden, pick them up a week later. Remove the old vinyl . Ready for the next job.

    I would only need a few of each design in . When they’re out they’re out. Like any hire business.

    So it doesn’t really matter if they’re not amazingly profitable, we’ve got all our other work and it’s free advertising for the company!!!

    Does that make sense?

    So,

    How much to charge? Any suggestions?


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  • Jill Marie Welsh

    Member
    11 November 2006 at 12:57

    Perhaps the reason that you no longer see Fred or Taz on lawn signs is that Hanna-Barbera and Warner Brothers may have sued for illegal use of licensed characters.

    Stick to your own design. I made some once, storks, from exterior plywood, that said "It’s a boy!" etc. I traded with a floral shop for wedding flowers for my sister-in-law.

    You could make them fairly cheaply, and rent them out for $75/week.
    However, there was just a case in the news here where a woman spied a stork sign in a yard, assaulted the new mom and stole the baby!
    Luckily, the culprit was caught and the infant returned unharmed.
    But many people won’t put "new baby" signs out any more.

    You could make a tombstone or Grim Reaper shape that says "Over the Hill" or a hen to advertise a hen party. But I sincerely doubt that this will be a big money-maker.

    love….Jill

  • Peter Normington

    Member
    11 November 2006 at 22:06

    Its a sad world sometimes, Jill.

    We made a few "hire out signs" for a local chap, it didnt catch on, people who put signs on roundabouts etc wishing "happy whatever" dont seem to be the same people who want to spend money. It maybe ok to do it in a private garden, but anywhere else. especially with your name on it, you could well be fined for fly posting…

    Dont want to put the dampers on your idea, but it needs thinking about,

    Peter

  • Kevin Flowers

    Member
    11 November 2006 at 23:21

    Kate, Danny
    have a look here might give you some ideas, costing etc

    http://www.giantcards.co.uk/giantcards/index.html

    Kev

  • Phill Fenton

    Member
    11 November 2006 at 23:32

    The reason why not many people offer this type of service is probably because it’s not all that profitable.

    In my experience the general public do not expect to pay much for signs. They are used to shopping in supermarkets where everything is produced in high volumes and is therefore cheap.

    Far better to concentrate your efforts on the business to business sector where companies are more likely to appreciate the value of your time and pay a reasonable fee for your work.

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