Note from the Road 🚗

Why we’re writing here

I think we have figured out what we will use Substack for. While the We Are Makers print magazine celebrates the world’s most exceptional craftspeople in a carefully curated physical form – and wearemakers.info archives those stories digitally once the print sells out – this space is for everything else.

It’s for the brilliant makers we meet by chance, the hidden studios down side streets. The workshops we stumble upon on road trips. This is where we’ll share the behind-the-scenes and everything in-between.

In the spirit of breaking free from perfection paralysis, I won’t attempt to retell our entire journey to date. Kate and I have spent far too long doing just that, and it's held us back. So here I am, at the end of week three on our four-week States trip, writing about a visit from just a couple of days ago - and what a stop it was.

Columbia Neon Co.

Katie Stofel, a brilliant young woodworker featured in Edition Twelve, reached out when she saw we were visiting Real Milk Paint Co. - a longtime sponsor of We Are Makers.

“You’re nearby,” she said. “Come by my family’s sign shop.” So we did.

We had no idea that Katie’s grandfather founded Columbia Neon Co., or that it would be one of the most fascinating workshops we’ve visited. Family-run since 1934, it’s equal parts industrious and archival, filled with signage and Americana dangling from walls, ceilings, and every available hook.

A small, multigenerational team creates signage for major US brands and small-town shops alike. Yet tucked away in the back sits their neon department - underused and quietly waiting. Once the heart of the business, neon has faded in favour of LEDs, not through any fault of Columbia Neon Co., but because the world has changed.

There's a photo from 1997 on the wall: 21 staff members and a handwritten note that reads “378 years of experience.” They still champion neon when they can, but it's a tough battle. Rising energy prices don’t help, of course. But imagine how much more attention a shop might get today with a classic neon sign glowing out front. Bring back neon, we say. And when you do, head to Columbia Neon Co. or Solas Neon, if you're in Scotland.

This workshop is so much more than a sign shop. It’s a living example of what a family can build for themselves and their community over generations. It’s hard to comprehend the distance between now and 1934, when Katie’s grandfather, Charles Stofel, started it all. Today, it’s her parents at the helm. One day, maybe Katie too. Maybe we can help her find a neon mentor to carry the light forward.

The Archives – a century in signage

To cap off our visit, Katie and her dad took us into the archives – a treasure trove of sketches and signage from the past century. Think drive-in cinemas, tyre shops, brands you’d recognise. Tens of thousands of signs, each seen, appreciated, and remembered by someone passing by.

There’s an old piece of advice that still rings true: “If people don’t know you exist, your business won’t survive.” Columbia Neon Co. made sure people knew. Their signs were beacons. Not just art or adverts – they were lifelines.

Frankly, these archives deserve their own book. They’re not just drawings or quotes. They’re a slice of time. A reminder of an era when we took more pride in craft and presentation, before everything became about KPIs and profit margins. Maybe I’m just nostalgic for a time I never lived through, but stepping into that space felt like stepping into something rare and deeply important.

As for Katie and her family, the kindest souls. They even invited us to go fishing this weekend. We had to move on, but we’ll be back to take them up on that one day. Soon, I hope.

P.s you will be able to read the story of this incredible family in Ed.15 of We Are Makers, coming August 2025!

If you’d like to subscribe to the magazine, see below:

https://www.wearemakers.shop/products/subscription