While recovering from a herniated disc in my neck, I discovered an ad campaign for Jack Daniels that featured Derek McDonald hand painting a sign on an old truck door. After several views and hours of google searches I have fully emerged myself into the art and craft of the hand painted sign industry. I took a two day class with Damon Styer in September 2012 at New Bohemia Signs in San Francisco a
nd learned the basic brush handling skills and went home with a booklet and one Mack lettering quill. Well, I actually left my brush at the shop and they were so kind to mail
it back to me. With tremendous help from Sean Starr of Starr Studios and other hand letterers such as Colt Bowden and Derek McDonald, I have been learning and progressing everyday in the craft of sign writing. Now that I am fully recovered, I have been constantly painting signs and working on my lettering skills. My girlfriend came up with the name on a recent trip in February 2013 down to San Diego to visit friends. It was what they used to call Navy sailors back in the 1940's. I even have an original Bluejackets Manual from that era. A hand painted sign company might sound like a pipe dream but to me It is something I am constantly thinking about and stay up late researching. This endeavor is something that I have thought out for quite some time and although one might not think there is much of a demand out there, there is a respect and admiration I believe that can be appreciated by someone who creates things with their own bare hands and is not spit out by a machine. My goal is to spread the word and work of sign painters and hand letterers to my community and abroad and to give the respect it well deserves. Bluejacket Sign Company's goal is to create custom hand made signs and spread the knowledge and the beauty of the craft of sign painting.
