Mike Jackson

Mike and Darla Jackson operate Golden Studios in Loveland, Colorado, and do a variety of sign-related projects. Mike’s website is www.goldenstudios.com. His email address is golden@goldenstudios.com. You can see more of Mike’s photos at <a href="https://tetonimages.com/" />www.tetonimages.com</a> and <a href="https://goldenstudios.com/" />www.goldenstudios.com</a>.

1976: Wood signs of Aspen revisited

A 1976 trip from the Oklahoma flatlands to Colorado’s mountain towns resulted in a treasure trove of inspiration. I burned through dozens of… Read More

The signs and sights of Port Townsend, Washington

Port Townsend is located on the remote northeast corner of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. The picturesque coastal town is nestled alongside the remote shoreline… Read More

Back in time: Vintage sign shop posters

Back in the day—before the Internet—a few leading-edge sign shop owners created posters to help advertise their creations. The ’70s and ’80s were… Read More

The essential bench grinder setup

Sharpening and grinding are common tasks in most sign shops, so it makes sense to do that as quickly and easily as possible…. Read More

What’s it cost to produce these printed truck door graphics?

We designed this logo for a local electrician long ago. We’ve lettered several trucks for them over the years, but we always did… Read More

Upgrade your workbench!

Not long ago I purchased a bench at Home Depot that checked most of the boxes I would have wanted for a good… Read More

Getting the most out of clip art

According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, clip art is a noun, defined as this: Ready-made pieces of printed or… Read More

Color ornaments from a century ago: The Modern Sign Writer

I was initially exposed to old sign painting books back in 1982, following my first Letterheads meeting in Boise, Idaho. I saw a… Read More

Vintage car emblems are packed with ideas

If you are ever looking for a little vintage inspiration, take a walk through some of the car shows in your area! Auto… Read More

Borrow some inspiration from these classic horror movie posters

October is the month of monsters, witches, ghouls, goblins and creatures. Whether they came from outer space, out of the caves and caverns,… Read More

12 vintage billboard designs

Scale—that’s probably the biggest difference in the products commonly referred to as early outdoor advertising and what we now think of as commercial… Read More

Howdy, pardner! Step back in time, saddle up and head west!

Vintage movie posters of the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s often packed powerful punches of both color and expressive lettering. Westerns were the movie… Read More

A basic approach to selling signs

Training new owners, sales staff and employees led me to evaluate the process of selling a sign. To help them know what to… Read More

Are we charging enough for our work?

 Mike Jackson wrote this article for the September/October 1995 issue of SignCraft—almost 30 years ago. Now retired, Mike and Darla were running a… Read More

The brushstrokes of a ghost sign show the signpainter at work

In most cases, brush strokes do not show up in a newly lettered sign. But over the years, the rays of the sun… Read More

Worth a look: Maker Spaces!

Maker Spaces, Art Labs, and Creator Spaces dot cities across the United States. Those are just a few of the names for facilities… Read More

Wall signs were once a part of every cityscape

In early days, buildings in many of the large cities were made of bricks. Much like the brick house in the children’s story… Read More

Those fine old “ghost signs” are disappearing by the minute

A photographer with a sign background probably sees the world differently than an average photographer. That’s especially true if the photographer likes vintage… Read More