TRMacSigns

04/25/2026

Back in the fall of 2000, this sign went to its forever home on Kennebec Lake. I happened by one day, not so long ago, & it looked like it needed some love. It arrived in the shop about a week ago. I started to refurbish it & immediately ran into a mess of wet-rot.
This was not repairable. However, the area containing the name was fine, as was the pictorial. So, between the chop saw & the tablesaw, with client's approval, it became a lot smaller.

BTW, the sign is leaning against a planter, almost the same colour. You can see the different shade of grey below the pictorial.

04/10/2026

While we're on the "Community Living" move, we also had to move the mural. It's painted on 3mm Aluminum Composite, over a pine frame. It put up a good fight the first time we moved it .... in fact, I pretty much demolished the wall it was hung on, getting it down. It now lives in their boardroom. Hopefully we'll not need to move it again..
I can't take credit for the pictorial. Probably close to 90% of this mural came from the very talented brushes Donna Larocque has in her arsenal.

04/10/2026

This sign was made 19 years ago. Since then, Community Living North Frontenac has moved twice, & all it really needed was a fresh coat of paint. It even fit almost perfectly into the space above the main entrance of the former Central Frontenac Municipal Office. that, I must admit, was more luck than good judgement. This was made from 15lb density Everwood HDU. Everwood ceased to exist a couple of years prior, & I switched to using Corafoam , from DUNA USA, in Baytown TX

04/03/2026

April 3rd, 2026 ..... Good Morning & Good Friday

Many of you might recall that I spent over 2 decades in the long-distance trucking industry. By 1995, I was pretty sick of the way things were going, & I decided a change was required. I had lettered a few trucks over the years, & decided that I might just be able to make a living making signs. So, I spent the first 3 months teaching myself CorelDraw 4 , & I purchased a vinyl-cutter.

I sold the equipment off piece-meal & on April 3rd, 1996, an awesome driver from Uxbridge, Cam Fraser, who had purchased my last truck, delivered my last load & the same day, changed the lettering on the door to Maye Transport. ...... that was 30 years ago today.

A few days later, I sold my very first sign ..... vinyl on clear acrylic.... a "backlit " face. It was $53 . You have to start somewhere. I quickly realized that I needed to specialize somewhat, & a magazine Sharon brought home from work had an ad for wholesale sandblasted cottage signs .... well, the rest is history.

The success of this was as much good luck as any other factor. People I knew from "trucking days" liked my work, & within 2 years, I was busy enough to need a helper, & Natalie Colton came on board, bring artistic skills I certainly didn't have, She despised the "business end" of signmaking, & was happy to fetch her clientele over. ...... hence , the Hwy 41 corridor has been good to us. She moved on in 2000.

In 2003 , Donna Larocque wandered into my shop , portfolio in hand. With skills I couldn't even dream of having . In 2004, we started working together & here we are, 22 years later, still collaborating .

Through all of this, my wife, Sharon, has kept the bills paid , and the books in order. More than one than one accountant has told me "Sharon keeps good books".

So, I'm not looking for "pats on the back" , but I just thought I should share this milestone. Perhaps this will inspire someone to take a chance on a new endeavour . My only good advice .... you need both guts & brains. All the best & Happy Easter to all.

02/08/2026

Another refurb of a sign that has withstood the elements since 2010. In spite of getting 15 winters of salt-spray off Hwy 7, it was still in remarkably good shape. 2 small repairs & a complete re-paint. Western Red Cedar. All acrylic paints & primer.

01/17/2026

Just finished this afternoon ...... 39" x 9" x 1.25" on clear Butternut. Modern Masters Iridescent Gold. This is the recipient's favourite Bible verse. I have several pieces of clear Butternut in stock. Available with your choice of verse

10/01/2025

Good afternoon. Sorry, no photos of signs on this post.
"Retirement" has been stuck in the back of my mind for years. I'm still not completely ready , but the time has come for me to "cut back" . For the record, I still have 185 pre-printed invoices left.

2025 has been a very challenging year. I'm tired, & Sharon is really tired of doing all the paperwork that is part & parcel with running a small business.

"Phase One" ...... As of January 2026, for starters, we will be opting out of collecting HST & , in turn, we'll not be able to claim the input tax credit, as our sales will below the threshold.
Phase Two ....Although I'm in reasonably good shape for my age, There are elements of my job that are a struggle anymore. Some larger signs are quite heavy, but setting up & tearing down scaffolding "does me in" for the day. Also, I'm not particularly comfortable doing all that "monkey-climbing" around. I fell back in 2006, & that was bad enough ..... I don't care to repeat that,
I'd also like to outsource the sandblasting of signs. I don't do that many anymore, & sandmask has a fairly short shelf life.

Phase 3 .... It's my intention to cease offering anything that requires material I no longer stock, with the exception of digital prints, which I outsource anyway. Most substrates , such as High Density Urethane, are imported, & are quite expensive. I doubt I'll be selling any of my substrates or tools. Almost all of my inventory would be worthless to anyone other than another dimensional signmaker anyway.

So ..... what might I actually be doing? Frankly, I'm not sure. There's an old saying ..... "IF you want to hear God laugh, just tell him your plans" . One thing I'll be doing, for sure, is refurbishing signs I made in years past. I've even refurbished signs that were made by other dimensional signmakers, & I love it.

April 3rd, 2026, will be the 30th anniversary of my ditching the trucking industry & taking the big leap of faith. I've been mulling an "Open Shop" event that day, but it turns out, that is Good ,Friday, so it won't be happening. Perhaps later in the spring . I'll have "faux vintage signs" for sale, & if you have an idea for something you'd like. it'll be a good time to share it.

Please note, I no longer heat my shop in the winter, but IF you want something for spring, the sooner you share it with me, the better.

Have an awesome October. TR

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09/04/2025

Well, I'm not sure why this took so long, but it was 4 years from the time this sign was commissioned until the recipients were ready for delivery. Finally .... it's out of my shop & doing what signs do best. It had a pretty good later of shop dust on it from living in a high storage space for 47 months. Customer wanted a more "modern" looking hanger that what I usually design, & my blacksmith, Tim Wheeler, did not disappoint. Western Red Cedar .... acrylic paints & domed 23kart gold leaf

08/16/2025

Just finished this morning ..... the refinish of an 11 year old monument sign. The paint on this sign takes a beating ..... full sun on clear days, & salt-spray off Hwy 41 in the winter.
Both blues & reds are not as UV stable as many other colours. I suspect that repainting again in 7 to 9 years would ensure several more years of service after that.

07/21/2025

This sign went up in the fall of 1998. It needed a refurb, but mostly because of lichens having taken up residence on the face. It faces north.
The big surprise was the longevity of the SignGold ..... a product that can be laid down like vinyl. I tried taking it off another sign a few years back, & that was a pain in the arse. This still looked pretty good, so I left it be.
I never dreamed that 27 years later, this sign would still be in awesome shape.

06/24/2025

Well .... you know how ratepayers always think that municipal governments throw $$$ around like drunken sailors? Well, that's definitely not always true. Both the Federal & Provincial governments keep mandating/ downloading things that municipalities end up dealing with.
Anyway ... the upper sign was made about 15 years ago, & was mounted between stone pillars. It was faded , but otherwise in good condition. So, it got a wee overhaul, including add-ons that cover up the internal steel structure. It's now "wall-mounted" .
The cost saving to the municipality??? ...probably $2500 less than creating a brand new one the same size.
It's easy to forget that municipal employees pay property taxes as well.

05/21/2025

We have some pretty good neighbours here along Price Road. I few weeks ago, this "sign-shelf" was commissioned by the directors of Circle Square Ranch Arden, , as a welcoming "showpiece" for the "Hope Lodge" building, on site.
On .75" MDO , with a shelf of Douglas Fir, & corbels from Cedar & HDU, it graces the kitchen area in the "lodge".
Both .75" MDO & Douglas Fir are heavy, so, yes, it has some heft to it.
Thank you to Daniel & those who aced the installation.
TR