Video clip of Channel Ten news story about the Lewis & Skinner exhibition in October

Old Victorian bank in Kensington with ghost sign on window is for sale - and cafe find

Just saw this posted online:

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-kensington-115409691

On the side window is a great gold leaf sign for the bank it used to be. Can't find my pic of it at the moment so you'll have to take my word for it...

Also, this morning I popped into a cafe on Grattan Street, Carlton to get a takeaway heart starter  - and saw these. Apparently the owner's sister had them for years and they decided to put them up on the wall:

Sign Painters movie showing last night

Last night the Sign Painters movie came to town:

It was a great evening. The documentary was entertaining and very well-constructed, and the (sold out) night was attended by a broad mix of people: sign writing and design people (some of whom I'd met at my exhibition), young hipster/student types and others - and quite a gender mix too. The event provided so popular that they'd also run it the previous evening, including the live signwriting demos and tryouts before the film started:

In my old days playing rock music we used to joke about the 'hot industry vibe' assigned to particular local bands. Looks like the vibe has well and truly attached itself to the craft of sign writing.

There's more info on the book and movie here: http://signpaintermovie.blogspot.com.au/

Great story by Vin Maskell about ghost signs and an encounter with Williamstown's past

Vin's website has this story, published in 2010 in the Big Issue. It describes how an interest in ghost sign photography led to a sign under threat and a chance meeting with a woman who grew up in a former sweets shop. Has pics too:

http://vinmaskell.com/2012/06/07/tell-tale-signs/

An uncovering in Yarraville

Here's a pic of a current (but temporary) uncovering of a Taubman's Paints sign in Melbourne's inner west, sent to me just now by Trevor Junge (thanks Trevor):

Nice ghost signs article in the Independent (UK) featuring an interview with Sam Roberts

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/architecture/writing-is-on-the-wall-britains-ghost-signs-provide-faded-memories-of-our-consumer-past-8925766.html

Vote for the 12 images to go on the 2014 Ghostsigns calendar

Check out and vote for the entries for the 2014 Ghostsigns Calendar, created by Sam Roberts. The 12 most liked in this Facebook album will be included in the final calendar - so have a browse and choose carefully. (Voting closes midday, UK time, Friday, 22 November.) 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151962479160255.1073741828.205413150254&type=3

Details of the calendar and how to buy it can be found here: http://www.ghostsigns.co.uk/calendar