Artisans

Auf diesen Seiten stellen wir Ihnen Handwerksmeister und Kunsthandwerker aus der englischsprachigen Welt vor. Diesen Monat hat sich Spotlight mit dem Beschriftungsdesigner und Schildermaler Ged Palmer unterhalten. Von DAGMAR TAYLOR

Meet Ged Palmer, a sign painter

Ged Palmer opened the first Luminor Sign Company two years ago in Shoreditch, in the East End of London. Current clients include a local property shop, a couple of clothes shops, the British Museum and Adobe. Traditional sign painting is experiencing a revival, and there’s a lot of work in the capital.

“People are more aware of what they can do to stand out,” Palmer told Spotlight. “It’s not the fact that it’s painted; it’s more the fact that the people who are doing painted stuff have a better eye for design.”

Palmer has always been “hooked on letters”. While studying graphic design in Bristol, he did apprenticeships in a couple of publishing firms, where he worked on digital layouts. It was when he met lettering artist and illustrator Tom Lane, though, that he really found his career. “I walked into his studio and saw him drafting everything by hand,” Palmer explained. “I spent two years shadowing him, and he showed me how to be a freelancer.”

Then a friend of Palmer’s asked him to do all the branding and logos for a restaurant in Bristol. Palmer convinced his friend that he should also create the 13-metre signs above the entrance. Knowing he was in over his head, he called local signwriters Dapper Signs. They and Palmer did that first job together, with enamel paint and brushes. Palmer loved the work and kept asking himself, “Why didn’t anybody tell me this stuff existed?”

The sign painter aims to make his work affordable for every kind of business and to help keep the high street alive. He enjoys the sense of community, which isn’t always easy to find in a city like London. “One day, you’re in a tattoo shop with death metal on, and the next day in a fancy coffee shop with classical music,” he says.