Electro Signs has made many large traditional neon signs for the front canopy of Selfridges in Oxford Street, London over the years
The Real Deal
Askilled form of sign-making that was once used for advertising and marketing purposes to light up hairdressers, restaurants, barbers, and other businesses, neon signage is now more commonly found in the form of one-off statement pieces of art or amongst businesses that are willing to pay more for ‘the real deal’.
The gas found in neon signage was first discovered in 1898 when chemists Sir William Ramsey and Morris Travers found out that neon occurs naturally in our atmosphere. The scientists went on to test this gas with other gases and substances and whilst the first tube containing neon was created for scientific research, it was Georges Claude who invented the neon sign as we know it today.
Claude discovered that neon gases, when combined with other gases sealed in a tube and fed with electrical charges, could produce a range of bright and mesmerising lights. Following this discovery, Claude showed his discovery to the public in Paris in 1910 and later went on to patent the neon lighting tube for commercialisation in 1915.
Life-long Skill
Inspired by old fairground rides, Carousel Lights was founded over a decade ago and specialises in decorative lighting and signage using fairground lights and real glass neon. Founded by Ben Reynolds and his sister Rebecca Reynolds, the company has since grown to offer a full custom signage offering to some of the world’s most well-known brands. Whilst the company’s product offering has expanded considerably, traditional glass neon is still an important part of its product range.
“Our independent glass blowers have been working with neon all of their lives and they trained either from their father or in one of the large glass shops that have now closed,” Ben Reynolds explains. “It takes many years to become proficient and the degree of skill is evident when you watch the process first-hand.”
Our independent glass blowers have been working with neon all of their lives and they trained either from their father or in one of the large glass shops that have now closed”
For Carousel Lights, the largest proportion of signage by far comes from LEDs and neon demand now comes predominately from the art world or offices and studios that still want the real thing. “We absolutely LOVE real glass neon and are doing all we can to ensure it lives on,” Reynolds continues. “Once the skills have gone then it’ll be very difficult to restart making it as you can only learn it from someone showing you as opposed to textbook learning.”
Ben and Rebecca recently won the Great British Entrepreneur Award for Creativity. Supported by Rishi Sunak, the awards are known as ‘The Grammy’s of Entrepreneurship’ by Dragons Den’s Steven Bartlett. The founders now judge these awards and in doing this, they are constantly promoting the benefits of real neon to business owners and entrepreneurs in the UK. The company also produces videos showing how neon is made and promotes these online as well as liaising regularly with the team at the Heritage Crafts Association to find out other ways to support the cause.
Producing traditional neon has seen Carousel Lights complete a whole host of creative and innovative projects including the iconic ‘Electra Cinema’ sign for Soho House in Shoreditch. The company was also asked by New Balance to produce what is believed to be the UK’s largest-ever neon shoe for the brand’s flagship window on Oxford Street to launch the 99H trainer.
Other jobs have seen neon produced for the West End, BBC dramas, nightclubs, hotels, and the company even produced two large neon crosses for the American rapper Pusha T’s tour, which could be seen flying above the stage featuring the words: ‘Sin Will Find You Out’.
Carousel Lights produced two neon crosses for American rapper Pusha T's tour
Singer Sophie Ellis-Bexter also sought out Carousel Lights to bring a tattoo on her arm to life. For this, ruby red neon formed the word ‘family’ with a stainless steel ribbon around the heart and clear fairground lights around the perimeter.
Another company that counts traditional neon glass bending amongst its signage offering is Sygns (sygns.com). Founded by Felix Hartz, the company in fact started out selling only custom-made glass neon, however like Carousel Lights, now also offers a range of other signage solutions but says it is the only company that ships neon Europe-wide and offers plug and play solutions.
Around 25% of Sygns' orders are still glass neon and the company has developed technology, such as what it describes as the world’s most advanced signage and neon configurators, in order to enable customers to personalise their signage without any technical knowledge required.
Neon produced by Sygns for a Nike window display
Reflecting on the fact that a quarter of its orders are still glass neon, Hartz says: “This is a remarkable amount, considering the new options in the market. Customers still appreciate the expressiveness of glass neon and the industrial and special look of the glass tubes, which never cease to impress.
“Our mission is to enable individual expression through beautifully crafted mediums, which always need to be tailored to the individual customer’s use case and objective.”
Glass Bending on Set
A company with its history steeped in neon is Electro Signs which has been trading as a family business for over 70 years. The company was founded by Dick Bracey in 1952 who, having worked in the mines in Wales, hated working in the dark. When the family relocated to London, Bracey started work at Power Neon where he fell in love with the craft.
Dick Bracey, founder of Electro Signs pictured in the 1960s after founding the business in 1952
When Electro Signs was founded, the majority of Bracey's work was on seaside amusement arcades. With the fairground rides travelling around the country most of the year, the winter months often saw a lot of neon needing to be remade and repaired. Bracey also worked on retail shops and high-level signage which featured neon on built-up letters with translucent Perspex faces.
Whilst neon was still only really being used for advertising, in the 1970s Bracey’s son Chris Bracey joined the company and as an artist saw that neon could be used as an art medium as well. This led to the design of creative signage for Soho London where he resigned and renamed around 90% of the sex establishments.
Chris Bracey sadly passed away in 2014 however he was widely recognised by the art world for his work and was known as the ‘King of Neon’ due to his vast knowledge and amazing designs.
Today, Linda Bracey is the owner and director of Electro Signs and the London-based Gods Own Junkyard museum, known as "a place where neon never dies”. Linda Bracey explains that over the past seven decades, Electro Signs has run a number of neon glass workshops with one of the most exciting being in the late 1980s which involved setting up an entire neon workshop on an unused airfield in Dominican Republic where two of the company’s glass benders made all the neon on set for the film Havana with Robert Redford.
Currently, Electro Signs has one neon bender who learnt his skill from working with other glass shops and Linda Bracey says there are many times when the company has had to use numerous glass shops to produce the neon for large projects to meet the deadlines. “Neon bending is a cottage industry usually learnt from father to son, so the days of having the likes of Masonlite in Kent where they would run large training courses appear to have sadly gone,” she says.
Whilst Electro Signs produces all types of signage, the company is known for specialising in neon particularly for projects that require fast turnarounds. The company also has a large portfolio of neon signage that it hires out to production companies for film and TV with these industries often requiring real neon due to LED signage proving to be difficult to film or photograph.
A neon sign produced by Carousel Lights for the iconic Electra Cinema sign for Soho House in Shoreditch, London
Long gone are the days of neon being used as the signage of choice for wide-spread marketing and branding and this can be felt within Electro Signs with the company having seen an increase in orders for bespoke neon pieces for people to have in their homes.
These, Linda Bracey says, are enjoyable to make as they are unique and often feature very interesting designs. Quizzed on what her favourite sign has been to make, she says: “Goodness, there are so many favourite traditional neon signs we have made over the years. The Raymond Revue Bar sign in Brewer Street is a good example of an original 1950s neon sign that we completely renovated.
This Raymond Revue Bar sign is an example of a 1950s neon sign completely renovated by Electro Signs
“We removed the whole sign, remade all the neon, and refurbished all parts before reinstating it back to its former glory which can now be seen sending its neon glow out onto the street. We have undertaken making many large traditional neon signs to the front canopy of Selfridges in Oxford Street London for different events over the years. They are always fun projects.”
An Uncertain Future
Neon signage is still a much-loved form of signage used today and its warm, bright light brings magic to any space. However, despite its century-long history, the skill is listed on the Heritage Crafts Association’s Red List of Endangered Crafts.
This means that traditional neon signage runs the risk of dying out before the next generation as misconceptions around its safety and environmental credentials and higher price points see many opting for cheaper, LED alternatives.
Whilst LED signage remains an important form of signage, the issue raised by a number of neon producers is that due to the marketing of these products as ‘neon’, often those opting for LED signage are doing so with no knowledge that what they are purchasing is not real neon after all.
Daniel Carpenter, executive director of Heritage Crafts, comments: “The Red List is the first research report of its kind in the UK to list craft skills by the likelihood that they will survive the next generation. We recognise that not all skills will survive, but up until the publication of the Red List, more and more craft skills were being lost without the general public having the opportunity to debate their cultural value, alongside other more recognised forms of culture such as music, dance, or literature.
“We hope that the increased recognition of crafts such as neon sign-making will lead to more demand for the products, but also more realisation amongst local and national policymakers of the importance of these skills to our national identity.”
On why neon has been included on the Red List, Carpenter says: “It is a much-reduced industry from its heyday in the mid-twentieth century when West Yorkshire was the main centre for neon production in the UK with around two dozen workshops, with now only around half a dozen.
“We will continue to raise awareness about the cultural importance of this craft to both the general public, policymakers, and funders, to expand its market and to ensure that it is held in similar esteem to other forms of culture.”
An important part of this, Carpenter explains, will be encouraging the UK to sign up to the 2003 UNESCO Convention on the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, which celebrates the importance of knowledge, skills, and practices as equally important to our cultural heritage as our buildings, monuments, and museum collections. Currently, the UK is one of only 12 countries not to have signed up.
Campaigning against the misuse of the term neon for LED alternatives, with support from Heritage Crafts, is Bolton-based Neon Creations, founded by Tony and Catherine Spink. The company is running a campaign that has involved sending a letter asking the Advertising Standards Authority to set out standards that ensure that unless a neon sign is made in the traditional way, it cannot be advertised or described as a neon sign.
The letter reads: “Whilst neon signs and LED signs are both types of illuminated signage, they are made from completely different materials and processes. Neon signs are made from glass tubes that are filled with neon and/or argon gas, whereas LED signs are made from plastic and LED bulbs. The process of manufacture is also completely different.
“We have nothing against LED signs and products, and both neon and LED can exist alongside each other to offer choice to the buyer, but we are against ‘neon signs’, ‘LED neon signs’, ‘LED neon lights’, or other derivatives being used to promote LED signs.”
At the time of writing, Neon Creations has 94 individuals from the UK and further afield including the US and Australia in support of the letter which was sent to the Advertising Standards Authority on November 6th. Anyone wishing to support this letter can contact Catherine Spink at catherine@neoncreations.co.uk. Once this initial phase of campaigning is complete, the company will be extending this to a wider campaign to gain the support of the general population.
On this debate, Linda Bracey agrees that the reference to LED signage as ‘neon’ is something that should be corrected by the Advertising Trading Standards due to the misrepresentation causing confusion amongst consumers.
Whilst neon has its own benefits such as longevity, and Linda says she has neon signage in her home that is over 40 years old and is still going strong, LED also has its place. One example Linda gives is in a children's bedroom for safety reasons. "LED does have its place in certain situations but it will not outlast the tradition of neon bending that is now over 100 years old during which time the process of manufacture has hardly changed,” she says.
This is something Ben Reynolds echoes having noticed two differences in consumer understanding of neon. The first is those in hospitality, events, retail, and visual merchandising who understand the difference between traditional glass neon and LED. However, where the company is seeing a real lack of understanding is within the general public. This is due to them being educated through Instagram and search engines where the term ‘neon’ is being used synonymously with LED flex. “The word ‘neon’ has taken on a meaning of its own whereby it’s used to describe any light or sign where custom-shaped lines light up in a choice of colour and design,” Reynolds says.
O Factoid: Neon is listed on the Heritage Crafts Association’s Red List of Endangered Crafts meaning that it runs the risk of dying out before the next generation O
Whilst Reynolds agrees that LED and glass neon both have a role and a future in signage and lighting, he says the sands have most definitively shifted. “Traditional glass neon is now viewed as higher end, and as such has found a home in the art world, whereas LED flex can be a lot cheaper with a shorter shelf life, and as such has found a home in the world of short-term events and exhibitions.”
Despite being on Heritage Crafts’ Red List, neon, even after all these years, hasn’t lost its magic with the signage providing a creativity and uniqueness that just can’t be replicated. “There is something rather nostalgic about looking at a hand-bent glass neon sign,” Linda agrees, adding: “It almost has a life of its own. People love them and campaign hard to save them all over the world. Need I say more!”
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