Ideas for a Beautiful World Celebrating the Beauty & Ingenuity of People & Nature
My love affair with signs started with this one. It was love at first sight. Everything about this sign is perfect. It draws you in. This sign belongs to the oldest Italian cafe in Africa, apparently. TO.MO.CA in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia was established in 1953 by Italian immigrants, just as their compatriots were doing all over the world after after the second world war. It was the first to use modern coffee roasting and espresso machines which must have caused quite a stir in a country that is the home of coffee. While TO.MO.CA uses Ethiopian coffee beans, like all other coffee sellers in the country, the use of machines for making coffee is in the minority. Coffee consumption is still done in the traditional way by hand in what is known as a coffee ceremony -. checkout 'Ethiopia' in the photo section to get the idea.
When I took this photo I had no idea of the history of the restuarant but I guess the stylish sign hanging over the door must have sub-conciously alerted me to this gem. Located in Seven Dials, Covent Garden since 1951, it is the oldest North Indian restaurant in the UK. The elegant design of the wrought iron hanging bracket deserves a special mention as it elevates the sign to a whole 'nother level of greatness.
Arthur Beale is one of those shops where you go in just because you're curious and come out with a whole bunch of super useful stuff that you never knew existed let alone even needed. I bought a waterproof back pack, an elastic string thing to hold my glasses on just in case I get caught on the deck of a yacht in the middle an ocean during a force 10 gale, and so on. The sign, which is over 60 years old, is just as curious as the shop and its contents. I like the metal frame and how it has an upper and lower section with different colour perspex. This is no ordinary shop business though. It originated on this site back in the 1500s as a rope making business and was surrounded by fields of flax from which they made their ropes. Today the fields have long gone, but the shop remains on London's famous Shaftesbury Avenue close to Theatreland and London's West End. Incidentally the shop is located a few doors away from the Punjab Restuarnt featured in this section making it a sign-spotting hot-spot of sorts. Both signs interestingly sport the same style of hanging bracket....
Pharmacy in Berlin. The sign is really cool but the wall-sign colour coordination really takes it to the next level.
Can't get enough of this sign.
The Tea Star sign defies explanation really but it has a charm all of its own. Maybe it's the asymmetrical positioning with its casual half-in, half-out attitude. Anyway it deserves its moment in the spotlight. The cafe itself is just one step up from buying a chai from a vendor in the street but for the weary traveller with no place to go its wide open frontage is very welcoming. It's actually a sanctuary where you can be part of the vibrant street life while at the same time being insulated from it. If you want to visit Tea Star it's located on Mithakali Road in Ahmedabad, India.
Somewhere in there is a cafe that sells coffee. Such locations for the consumption of coffee are not unusual in Addis Ababa, especially in the 'old' part of the city that is gradually being raised to the ground in the name of modernity. No, what is unusual about this coffee joint, is the somewhat aggressive yet triumphant tone of its sign. Most establishments settle for a quiet, unassuming and polite 'way-in' but not this place. I truly hope it's still standing.
This understated sign is a classic - hardly visible against the chaos of the street outside, it shouts confidence or is it complacence? Either way this boarding house style hotel in Howrah, Kolkata is busy and its interior, which was used in Bollywood films, has a period charm straight out of a novel.
Another view of this colossus of a shop sign.
Juice bars are ubiquitous in Ethiopia, especially in Addis Ababa where this sign was documented for in perpetuity. Looking like a truck has reversed into it, the angled post that the Fresco sign is mounted to is actually a straw, but you knew that didn't you. Anyway the bent straw in my opinion is just genius and makes this sign world class. It's obviously 1950's USA diner inspired and certainly whisks ones imagination away to Vegas....
This sign spotted in Dalston belongs to the first Cacti shop in London.
I'm sorry but I got totally distracted by the front of this shop in Soho, London and didn't really notice its sign which is a gem and it's just about possible to make out its pedigree in this far from adequate photo. Never-the-less it seeks into this coveted selection of shop signs based on the hats alone.
Pure class. I am speechless. Spotted in Totterdown, Bristol
I must confess that I have a conflict of interest on this one. Terry's Cycles was my local bike shop as a kid. It's where I got my first bike with gears, a Puch, back in the late '70s. Terry was a classy guy, lithe and smooth and always ready to fix your bike, which was quite often back then as we were out on our bikes 24/7. We, that is, me and my friends that lived down the street, even cycled to Wales and back over the Severn Bridge, a trip of about 60 kms. Not bad on a 3-speed Puch! Sorry, back to the sign. Despite the obvious personal nostalgia and bias I think it's a classic and as cool as the day that Terry put it up. I don't know where Terry is today but I hope he has a wry smile on his face while sat in his armchair clad in lycra and sweat bands admiring the longevity of not only his business but also his masterpiece of a sign. Terry this one is dedicated to you.
A lot has changed along this part of Fishponds Road in Bristol in recent years. Reassuringly some things defy the unrelenting march of modernity and proudly hang on, serving the community against all odds. Look at a map and you will see Doug Hillard Sports is an island of defiance in a sea of corporate and global blandness surrounded by Aldi and Morrisons supermarkets that stalk it like a shiver of sharks. But that is not the reason for its entry in this gallery of honour. No the sign deserves it's entry on its own right. The weather-beaten sign is an icon of resilience and the graphics just perfect. A special mention must also go to the brackets that give the sign a kind of rocketesque feel to it. According to the shop's website it was opened by Doug Hillard, a Bristol Rovers (they are a professional football team apparently) legend, after hanging up his boots in 1967 with more than 300 appearances to his name. The store was originally located on Stapleton Road just along from Rover's former home at Eastville Stadium before relocating in 1978 to its current location at 647 Fishponds Road. Respect.

Signs - An Appreciation

Documentary

Which came first? The business or the sign?