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Brewpub Slate Signs with Microbrew Label Dog Chalk Art

Knowing that the heart of chalk artwork started in pubs throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland, we were looking for inspiration close to home. While on a visit to a local microbrewery for a growler refill, we picked up a “passport” to New Hampshire breweries.  Just that spring we discovered roofing slate here in New England. Brainstorming on how they could be used, brewpub slate signs kept floating to the top.

Brewpub Slate Signs

One of the first stops on our New Hampshire Brewery road trip was to Throwback Brewery. It was an early spring day and unusually warm – especially since this old converted farm is so close to the seacoast.  While all the excitement and energy was outside, inside we were slapped in the face with what we saw.  Old roofing slate, likely from an old post and beam barn, was being used for brewpub slate signs of all the beers on tap.

Neatly formatted on the wall, they hung from hooks and as a tap ran dry, they would be removed and replaced with the next craft beer.  What an outstanding concept!  So we thought, “How could this be made better?”  The idea fermented as we continued our tour of more than 20 breweries and brewpubs during the summer of 2016.

 

Brewpub Chalk Art Slate Sign closeup of a Microbrew Label Dog

In an act of kindness, our daughter and her wife bought us a tour to the only brewpub in Manchester, New Hampshire.  While we had our passport “stamped” at this venue, the visit was not memorable.  It could be that we were fatigued from other visits at that point, or just not paying attention.  But everything happens for a reason, and Stark Brewing Company was going to get a second chance.

Stark Brewing Company

Researching the brewpub brought a surprise about the label designs on the cans.  We knew the original name of the famous venue down by the Merrimack river in Manchester was Milly’s.  What we did not know is that it was named after the owner’s favorite German Shepherd.

Stark Brewing Company new Can Lineup featuring images of dogs

With still no idea where the project was going, the path was going to be full of surprises.  Looking to another local business, “The Lazy Dog Beer Shoppe” in our hometown of Londonderry, New Hampshire, the call went out.  Well actually, in today’s modern world, the tweet went out.  We needed the can with Milly’s picture on it to create a brewpub slate sign.  The goal was to create a chalk art replica of the new labels used by Stark Brewing.

Zipping over to the beer shop, they had some of the oatmeal stout in stock.  Honey, the owner’s dog, gave us no more than a lift of the head, sunning herself in the front window that day.  They had singles, but we opted for the full 6 pack since, well, since we had to do a full review.

Our Budding Chalk Artist

Milly's Brewpub Slate Signs in production at the Cohas studiosWhen selecting interns here at Cohas Chalkboard and Marker Systems, we look for a broad set of skills. Often this includes an interest in the arts.  Melina Kae has done a number of chalk art projects for us including our popular pineapple welcome sign.  We know she loves to draw dogs. Though this was an adult beverage image, she had to be the one assigned to it.

Melina is a senior at our local high school with plans to attend a school for the arts next fall.

Working for the afternoon, Melina brought the Stark Brewing Company label to life on the slate.  “The thing I find amazing about this replica of the Milly’s Oatmeal Stout can label is that it was all done with chalk markers. Other than of course the fact that I love dogs, but everyone here knows that,” said Kathy Wagner in the studio while Melina worked. Melina had fewer words for us when asked about the project, “This has to be the most fun thing I have ever had to do here!”

Back to the Brewpub

Brewmaster Peter Telge believes in giving back to the community. As something we can appreciate, it is one of our primary goals here at Cohas Chalkboard and Marker Systems.  Each year Stark Brewing Company holds “Sip for Strays”, with the proceeds going to saving puppies. This is something we thought about while sipping our flight of Stark brews after our tour.

First Bottle of Stark Brewing Company Vodka Our tour would have ended then but one of the brewmasters was “taking the day off” and in house.  He had to show us the new distillery operation making vodka using distilled grain from the brewpub.  Made right here in New Hampshire, this was smooth but powerful when splashed over ice and sipped.  Truth be told, the fragrance of the aromatic still with a steady “drip, drip” may have made most of the impact on our palate.

Stark Brewpub has been in operation since 1999. If you are in southern New Hampshire looking for a good brew and a bite to eat, seek them out.  They even have a function and catering operation where they can seat 10-100 in a private area of the brewpub.  Looking to try your hand at chalk art on slate?  Be sure to order some markers and slate here on Cohas today!

While those vodka labels did not have the impact of the dogs on the company’s beer cans, we expect soon they will come up with something to capture your imagination.  If not, we are sure a young budding artist like Melina would be happy to help out.

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Devens Solid Waste Saves Planet with Zig Posterman Recycling

Repeated Annual, Monthly, Weekly, Daily event, but don’t want to reproduce a new banner for each event? Use the Zig Posterman recycling water-proof markers! Do surface irregularities make it challenging to change information? Use clear package tape to make it easy to write, change and remove markings!  A Massachusetts community used these ideas and more to solve solid waste problems in town.

Devens Solid Waste Saves Planet with Zig Posterman Recycling printed sign with 15mm date marked on it

The North Central Regional Solid Waste Cooperative also known as MassToss promotes routine events for member communities with yard signs and banners. It is a recycling and waste management cooperative that serves over 80,000 residents and 14 plus communities. It’s important to members that resource material be conserved and used responsibly.

Signs were produced and information such as dates and location were changed by taping updated information on to signs and banners. This procedure was time consuming both with labor necessary and material preparation. Information was laser printed on to recycled overhead projection film and then taped to signs and banners. Removing the tape was cumbersome and left residual adhesive that collected dirt and debris making the signs look worn and ratty. It became difficult to update with new readable information.

This problem was resolved by using the Zig Posterman Recycling 15 mm markers. The information could be changed and updated easily. Initially the narrower 6mm waterproof markers were used but were not nearly as noticeable. Additionally, some surfaces of posters and signs were found to be difficult to remove some residue of the markers, so clear packing tape was applied to the areas were information would be updated which made the application, removal and updating quick and easy!

Signs and Step Stakes

The type of plastic in the image is referred to as Coroplast, it is a corrugated plastic that looks a lot like cardboard.  Since it is non-porous and made of plastic it does a good job with the Zig Posterman markers.  With age the signs may start to “chalk” and some staining may occur, for the price even this limitation is often overlooked.

This customer used a hybrid solution. They used the Zig Posterman Recycling on printed signs, and remove then change the dates each year.  Blank signs and wide markers can provide a very flexible option for quick sign needs.

Often used for printed political signs, Coroplast signs are great for garage sales, event signage or quick directional signs.  In 2017 we will be rolling out kits that include coroplast, step stakes and a marker for fast easy signs.  You can make these signs at a moments notice, like when that detour you did not expect is set up past your store!

When cut so the corrugation is vertical the sign can be used with Step-Stakes.  The name comes from the thought that you can “step” on the crossbars to place the stakes into the ground.  Unless you have sandy soil we do not recommend that, the stake will bend or break.  In New England, or anywhere with hard ground we recommend using a 1/4 inch extended length electricians drill bit.  This can be used with a battery powered drill to put holes in the ground for the stakes.

Need help with your sign or chalkboard projects? Reach out to us here at Cohas Chalkboard Systems on our contact page.  The best products come from finding solutions to our customers needs.

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Zig Posterman on Canvas Goes to School Fun Night

Zig Posterman on CanvasNot a month goes by here at Cohas Chalkboard Systems without being asked “Can we use Zig Posterman on Canvas, as in the traditional art media canvas stretched on frames?” Thanks to a volunteer in the community event one of our designers had a chance to find out in June of 2013. 

Recently I was asked to make some posters for the Lawrence Community Day Charter Public Schools annual Family Fun Night. My sister is a teacher at the Gateway School and the mother of one of her students is the president of the PTO and was in charge of getting the posters made. She saw some of the artwork I had done for my sister’s classroom and hallway and asked if I would be willing make them. Thinking to myself, why not what could be so hard about that?

A bit surprised my sister brought me four 4×5 foot stretched canvases, so I ran with it. (I was thinking more along the lines of some poster board.) So I picked out my supplies and got to work. To make things easier and more uniform I made construction paper templates for the letters and traced them onto the canvases with a light pencil line. For the color I used three different types of 15mm (aprox. half an inch) Zig Posterman paint/chalk markers. The red and green markers I used were waterproof, the blue was wet-wipe, and the violet was an Illumigraph.

Zig Posterman on Canvas

Having neveZig Posterman on Canvasr used the Zig Posterman on canvas before yet it worked great. I didn’t have time to go the traditional brush and paints route due to painting and drying times. The Zig markers were a perfect alternative; I used the front of the 15mm tip to outline and then fill in the large letters. In the time it took me to outline and fill in one letter the previous letter had already dried. For the smaller school names in the corner of each poster I was able to use the side of the 15mm tip which is approx. 9mm or a bit more than a quarter of an inch. This made a perfect block letter font for the names. Also for a bit of flair I used the width of the front side of the tip to make dashes on the side of the canvas.

The posters had a nice clean crisp look using the Zig Posterman on Canvas. As a side note I also found out that you can write over white out with a Zig Posterman marker. I had to fix a typo in one of the school names and was relieved to see that the white out covered my mistake and I was able to write over it without it affecting the look of the paint.

Supplies Used

  • 4  stretched canvases 4×5 foot.
  • Construction paper, scissors, pencil for letter templates.
  • Zig Posterman markers 15mm red and green waterproof, 15mm blue wet-wipe, 15mm voilet Illumgraph.

The participant in the event was Kris one of our artists here at Cohas Chalkboard Systems.  Trained classically she learned computer art over the last 15 years while with ImageAbility Inc..  If you select any Zig Posterman marker here in our store likely the tip rendering was hand crafted by Kris.

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How to put Paint Marker Color Overlay

The amazing skill of John Wren Sign Board Artist creates chalk board art, with paint marker color overlay. The Zig Posterman Marker is great for complex designs like this since once dry you can write over the marks without damaging the work you have already done.

Ever write over a dry erase marker and find it destroys the mark? That won’t happen with these unique markers available in many sizes, colors and finishes!  The opaque matte finish Zig Posterman Calk Marker allows the artist to put color on color in any display.

How to Create Paint Marker Color Overlay

To start the artist letters in “Meals from around the world” using a 15 millimeter Zig Posterman Marker.  That’s 5/8 inch for us yanks’ he then adds a brown drop shadow. Finishing with 6mm chisel tip white highlights and brown with some neon drop shadow. This is a technique anyone could use, just watch the video and give it a try yourself.

Notice the guidelines in light chalk on this board.  Those can be removed when done, with an eraser, your Zig Posterman marks will not smudge or smear.

John then uses a Zig 15mm marker to create a green oval shape looking a lot like a football here in the United States. Watch carefully as this part is in fast motion, he creates the outside of the oval with the green. He then switches to the white 15mm marker to create a gradient and a 3d affect.

Editors Note:

I could not help but notice the frame that John Wren is using, the saw marks can be seen on this clearly recycled wood that come from a vertical saw. Likely from a time before neon and LED full motion signs.  In the United Kingdom and here in the United States these distinctive saw marks date the wood between 1700 and 1860.  How quaint that the sign artist is able to use old wood on an old school chalkart sign.

Then after the oval has dried in this video he uses a clear acrylic varnish to “fix” the paint so it will have no chance of running with the future layers he plans to ad.  Depending on your design you may not need this method for paint marker color overlay.  The reason for this is Zig Posterman semi-permanent markers can be drawn over when dry.  Test your design to determine the best option for your application.  If the marker does not dry fast enough you can use heat to cure it.

 

Detail Time After the Color Overlay

Following the shape of the oval a pop-out 3d affect is created, this is a plan ahead project, you don’t want to run out of room for your letters. Silver and black highlights or in the case of black more appropriately shadows are added by John to give even more of a perspective.  Layering the Zig Posterman marker on top of an existing mark is no problem.  In this video he could have completely recovered the white “World” text, but instead highlights the center.

Using the guidelines text is added to the blackboard. “Try a different dish every week” in this case the text is gone over twice for that nice bright white on the blackboard. Even if think you can not letter that well give it a try! The Zig 6mm chisel tip markers give a nice look to hand written text, almost a calligraphy marker look.

In the end making sure with a tape measure our artist adds “This Week and Next Week” with a nice simple parchment box framing what will soon be the specials on this restaurant board.

Here’s a tip on Paint Marker Color Overlay!

Now that you have your board done, you can add your specials to the menu board and change it every week!  Use the Zig Posterman Wet-Wipe markers so you can wipe the board clean with a damp cloth.  Your menu board design will not come off because you need Windex to make that happen.  Why not try the over 23 different colors of the Zig Posterman waterpoof Marker? Or test the Wet-Wipe marker for indoor applications with 27 colors and three tip sizes.

Another Zig tip, chalk board artist John Wren offers on demand downloadable DVD videos on how to create artwork like this be sure to visit his website and tell him, “Cohas Chalkobard Systems sent you!”

These Markers were used in this project.

White 6mm used for fine lines and text touch-up

 

White 15mm used to make the larger text and highlight larger text

 

Green 15mm, this marker made the football shaped object

Yellow 6mm used for highlights, 2 coats provided extra bright color

We did not include the black 6mm John used to put the website on the back of his hand.

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