Dan Sawatzky

Creative samples sell creative work! I would attribute much of our success through the years to customers seeing the sample pieces in our shop. The many Sign Invitational pieces, along with a total of 150-plus other elaborate dimensional sample signs on display have sold hundreds of fantastic projects through the years. For more information on the “Sign Invitational 2026 Rules and Background,” click here.

I LOVE TO CHALLENGE and hopefully inspire people in the sign industry. Most of us got into the business because we have a creative soul but sadly, the everyday challenges of running a business soon suck us into the vortex of humdrum production work. In most shops, what walks into the door of our shop determines how creative (or not) we are each day. I have long maintained (and proven) that it does not have to be that way.

There is nothing quite like a theme park project that allows us as sign makers to pull out all of the stops and get truly creative. Our current project is all of this and much, much more. The owner encouraged us to simply go hog wild. And that we did. The park is just over one acre in size and will feature wall-to-wall eye candy when we are done. The choice of materials is important.