Back in 1973 I was still a few years away from a drivers license. All I had  was Hot Wheels, plastic models, Ed Roth cartoons and second-hand Car Craft magazines. It was also the year that my buddy's older brother took us to a local movie theatre to see the release of American Graffiti. It left me with a hunger for nostalgia that would last a lifetime. In one way or another I've been connected to cars ever since.

In 1974 at age fourteen I had a part-time job pumping gas at a Gulf service station, later as a tow truck operator, then worked in a repair shop for a few years changing tires, oil and brakes. By '85 I was working in an auto parts store when my boss asked if I knew someone who could make a sign for the building. Because much of my high school class time was spent drawing hot rods, I considered myself somewhat of an artist. And since I had recently painted signs on a tow truck with questionable success, I offered to paint a sign for the store. My boss was pleased with the result, commenting that I might consider a future in signmaking. So I quit my minimum wage job at the parts counter, gathered a few supplies and began promoting myself around my small town as Pete's Signs. Using only paint and brushes, I was the only sign shop for miles around, but by 1990 an increase in population forced me to purchase a used computerized vinyl cutter to keep up with demand.
By this time I had owned a few '55 Chevys, and through my involvement in the car hobby and two seasons helping a friend in the pits with his oval track Chevelle, I became known to some local racers in the nearby city of Calgary as a source for lettering on drag cars and circle trackers . It was the most enjoyable work, but unfortunately our Motorsports facility was reclaimed by the city in 2011 to make room for housing, and the need for race car lettering disappeared as well.

Fast-forward to the year 2018. Losing interest in typical sign work and now surrounded by competitors, I decided to combine my passion for classic cars with signmaking and focus on producing high-quality car show boards for fellow enthusiasts who appreciate craftsmanship and attention to detail. Producing display signs for some of the finest collector cars in North America is something that I thoroughly enjoy. I'm motivated by the challenges of editing, research and design. The reward is meeting people, learning about the cars and staying connected to the collector car world.

 

I hope to be a part of it for many years to come.