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SHOP TALK
B y A s h l e y B r Ay
Custom Designs Signs of Keene, NH
Big Business in a Small Town
J
im Vitous, owner of Custom Designs Signs (www.signskeene.com), demonstrated on page 40 that he has a handle on donor recognition signage But he also has a hold on his corner of business in the small city of Keene, New Hampshire (population: 25,000). Vitous says you have to be a full-service shop to survive here. “People come to you wanting wraps, parking signs, etc.,” he says. Vitous has been taking on jobs since moving to the Keene area and purchasing his sign shop eight years ago. The previous owner of the shop, Jim Pulaski, had been in business since 1969 but was looking to retire. Vitous had worked fourteen years for custom metal products manufacturer Matthews Bronze Architectural Products and was looking for a change. He immediately recognized the shop’s history and heritage in the community. “There are still neon and hand-painted signs standing in this town that [Pulaski] built back in 1969,” says Vitous. The previous owner not only made sure his signs stood the test of time but also his business. “He was conscientious to adopt vinyl technology,” Vitous says. “He was the first in town to buy a Gerber vinyl cutter and the first to buy a router. So we were really ahead of the curve.”
Today Vitous keeps the business going with his partner Kris Arnold, who has thirty-plus years as a classically trained sign expert. The duo works on a variety of projects—channel letters, lightboxes, monuments, and of course, donor signage. The 2,000-square foot shop houses a Graphtec plotter, a CamTech CNC router, a panel saw, and a variety of hand tools. “We’ve held off on purchasing a printer because we can buy from other sign shops that do it much more cost effectively,” says Vitous. “It often adds up to an even cost on a buy-vs.-make decision. “We’re still the biggest shop in town at two people, but being the biggest fish in this little sea is kind of relative.” Logic would dictate that sign shops would be fiercely competitive for jobs and customers in a town the size of Keene. But this isn’t the case. “There’s four other sign shops in town, and nobody really disturbs the market,” he says. “It’s not really competitive. I throw the annual Christmas party, and everybody comes down to my place.” Each shop has its own niche, so business doesn’t overlap. In fact, the shops even share accounts sometimes. Vitous says, “We respect each other’s territories, we respect each other’s customers, and more importantly, we respect each other’s work.”
Photos: custom designs signs.
In a small town, you have to be a full-service shop to survive.
Jim Vitous (left) and Kris Arnold hold up a plaque they made to honor a dedicated camp instructor who recently passed away. 64
Sign Builder Illustrated // December 2013
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