What's New

The biggest and most exciting thing that's happened to me and my family is we've moved. Not far....just across town. With more room to grow now, we've expanded to a 40' by 60' sign shop with 16' high ceiling. I built the interior office / computer room to my specs and did not leave anything out. It provides a comfortable place to work and discuss business with customers. I also have a customer lounge room with cable TV and comforts of home while I work on their vehicle. How cool is that?

Related to moving....you old antique tractor enthusiasts might like this. With a bigger lawn comes a lot more grass to mow. I always loved driving my grandfather's old Ford 8N tractor on his small farm. So....I thought I'd relive my childhood (some of it anyway) by purchasing my own tractor for cutting the lawn. Now, call me crazy, but I bought this tractor off the internet from a guy in Erie, PA and drove with a friend and his rollback truck to PA to pick it up. The seller met us halfway. I know it's a long haul just to get an old tractor, but what a deal it was. A 1951 Ford 8N with completely overhauled engine and many new parts. Also repainted to original colors. Makes cutting grass kinda fun again.

I added a new sign printer/vinyl cutter to the sign business just before moving to our new location. This machine is really sweet. It prints with solvent based inks and cuts the printed images out all in one step. This is much like my water-based inkjet printer I bought in 1997, but with the added ability of being ready to use outdoors without lamination. Plus it's faster and much more state of the art to compete in today's industrial and ever changing world. Got kicked in the butt though. My rep said ''by the way, you can't use that new inkjet printer with your old sign software''. Okay, then, I'll upgrade my software. I guess it was about time to. Then the rep says '' you can't use that new sign software with those old computers". I felt like screaming! I just wanted to play a game and ended up buying the arcade that day. In the long run, though, I realize that's just business and now I have much more to offer my customers while making my job a bit easier with all the features of the new equipment.

Well, my brother Paul has done it again. He has won the 2006-07 Maryland Migratory Waterfowl Design Contest in Laurel, MD and has been basking in glory since April 2006. Paul sent in some fresh 'off the easel' entry paintings: A flying Canada Goose, a pair of Black Ducks, and a Redhead. Were the judges crazy or is Paul really that good? He took first and second place!! Never happened in Maryland before. His flying Canada Goose over a marsh area with wooded background took first and the Black Ducks on ice in a pond took second. This year Paul and I will be attending the contest as I am sending in three new paintings hoping for a win. I'll post my results here later after the contest. As for Paul, we're all proud of him and his accomplishments. You can find Paul's winning artwork at www.paulmakuchalsart.com along with many other works for sale. Give him a visit.

My other brother, Denny Makuchal, who lives in Stockton, MD with his family has of lately joined me in few joint-venture sign projects. Sometimes a sign project can be too much for one person to handle, so it's always good to have help. Denny has worked in the sign and outdoor advertising business for many years and is well experienced. We'll be doing more together in the future, I'm sure.

This isn't really new....but it is to some people. Yes, I love to paint art and always will. Visit the Hobby link and you will see I'm into something completely different....remote controlled model airplanes that really fly. Art was a hobby when I was a kid, but when I started making money with art, it became a job. Like hunting and fishing, I make $0 buzzing these planes around for people to watch and answering like a thousand questions for spectators, so I think it's definitely a hobby.

For me, the fun factor is a 10 out of 10 with two bonus points for flying on sunny days of 76 degrees and calm weather. This is something I don't ever see myself getting out of, at least in the foreseeable future. Yes, it is possible to get high and never leave the ground. Here's the transmitter....try it!

 

Makuchal Signs website