Where do you go for sign inspiration?
My grandmother was born in Ridgewood, Queens and I spent a lot of time at her house growing up, walking the two blocks to "the avenue" (Metropolitan Ave) to stop at the bakery, the butcher shop, the grocery store, or the 5 and 10. There was a small neighborhood feel to this little pocket of the biggest city in the world, and I didn’t think about it much at the time, but that personal quality was really embodied in the storefront signage.

You want to open a museum? That’s big, tell us about this
A few years ago we decided that the eventual goal of our sign painting project should be to open a New York Sign Museum. Our hope is to ultimately recruit a team of like-minded people to make a dedicated, physical space a reality.

Where would you travel for a hand painted sign inspiration field trip?
I am overdue for a trip to the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati, but in terms of exploring hand-painted signs in the wild, I’d love to get to South Asia, where some really exciting and colorful vernacular sign painting styles are still in use to this day.

Do you have any current projects or future plans that you are excited about?
A project we’ve been working on for the last 6 months that is finally coming to fruition this month is a projecting neon sign for the bar Brass Monkey in the meatpacking district. The sign will be visible from the High Line and the West Side Highway. The custom lettering and paint color are direct nods to 1950’s New York design, and the overall effect is something so authentically old-school that we feel like we are really contributing back to an urban landscape that has been robbed of so much of its character and uniqueness over the years.

What radio stations or music/podcasts do you listen to at work?
Since high school I’ve been a regular listener of WFMU, our local (and justifiably globally known) freeform radio station. I also listen to a lot of WBGO, the excellent jazz station that broadcasts out of Newark.

What is your favorite sign project you’ve done?
That’s like asking someone to pick their favorite child, but a few that come to mind: Pickle Guys, Ace’s Pizza, Smoked Joint, Harlem Breakfast Club, Kind Regards, Corner Grocers, Campbells Funeral Home, Joe’s Italian Deli, and Cheeseboat, among others.

If you could choose any client to paint a sign for, who would it be?
Coca-Cola. What brand better personifies the style of mid-century American design, especially as seen through the lens of signage, than Coke?