In its day-to-day business, Signs & Labels Hereford offers signage solutions such as safety signage, vehicle graphics, retail and point of sale. However, driven by a passion for working with people who “have imaginative ideas and love creating something bespoke”, the business likes to take on other challenges too.
Run by John, Laura and Ross Hughes, the father, son and daughter trio is backed by “a fantastic dedicate team” of seven.
Ross Hughes explains how Signs & Labels frequently works with local public garden, Ralph Court Gardens, which runs themed events throughout the year.
The clown took 110 hours to complete
“They always set a challenge of giving an idea and then the Signs & Labels team are tasked with coming up with the concept, design and production of a truly bespoke product,” Hughes says.
This Halloween the Signs & Labels team took its creativity to new heights – literally – by creating a 3m high x 4m wide 3D clown for the gardens, which the visiting public are able to walk through the mouth of.
To begin, Hughes produced a 3D render which CNC operator, James Carpenter, used to create the “massive” render made from 50mm thick 8ft x 4ft sheets of Styrofoam.
Signs & Labels Hereford used exterior masonry paint to bring the clown to life
The giant clown head took a total of 110 hours to complete, with 50 hours of machine time spent using a Tekcel EXR to create the “jigsaw pieces”, and an additional 60 hours of drawing, sanding, painting and installing.
Next, exterior masonry paint was used to bring the clown to life, with Hughes working from just an A4 print out.
Describing the challenging nature of creating something of this size, Hughes adds: “The main hurdle was definitely the sheer size of the model. Measuring nearly 4m high, 3m wide and a metre deep, it was a mammoth task, nothing on the scale produced before.
“The team spent a lot of time making sure the finished thing looked as good as it could. However, everyone loved taking part and seeing it all come together in the workshop over the weeks. Once in place and lit up it was worth the long hours and hard work.”
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