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Garden House was the hardest piece of wood I have ever carved. I’m not sure what wood it is—the customer gave it to me. It was like rock!
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I use a clear matte deck stain on the wood, which also comes in various tints and sheens. How long it lasts outdoors varies depending on location. In full sun, about a year is all you can realistically expect. I have some pieces in the shade that are still good after many years. I explain this to customers, and tell them that when it starts to go, to bring the sign back for refinishing—for a modest price!
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Philip’s Villa and the slate/wood Phandara signs were lovely to carve, much like mahogany.
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This sign was made from a piece of wood called mai yang which was cut from large branches that were trimmed from huge trees here on the island.
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Sometimes real wood works for the mounting but isn’t practical for a background, so I paint it as an effect. Sabai Cafe and Drift use a cartoon-like woodgrain on painted plywood.
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Fizz is one of my favorite pieces. It is made of two massive chunks of wood slotted together with the F carved into the upright slab. Fizz is one of the more successful bar/restaurants on Koh Tao.
My first attempt at the wood slat background on Drift failed miserably, as I had the strips all the same length and at 45 degrees so that it looked like a piece of lattice. Changing the lengths and the angle made it look much funkier. And funk is number one in my shop (along with soul and blues!).
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I painted their logo on a bark-edge slab of mai yang.
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The owner of Villas del Sol saw another wooden sign I had done and wanted something similar. He supplied the laminated wood—which he had planned to use for a table.
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All three of these signs, Solana, the sun face and Eliana use carved, gilded slate framed with wood.
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This sign is two pieces of wood joined together, with the joint hidden by a V-routed green line.
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This is a typical mounting of mine for painted plywood signs—a wood base with a natural finish.
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For directional signs, I typically use hardwood, as plywood starts to delaminate when they are small like this. And the wood just looks better!
