Thanks and where to next…
A big shout out and thank you to all my repeat sign customers, even the one and done customers. I have enjoyed making your hard working signs for almost 40 years. These days I still service a handful of sign and graphic customers needs. In season you’ll find me most days driving a golf cart with a bucket of tools and TeeRific signs around the area’s golf courses. Thanks to the golf courses for trusting me with their needs and even for my big key chain of universal golf cart keys.
After all these years, I’m still enjoying doing this TeeRific thing, but as you can understand, I’m doing it a little less on purpose.
I’m doing more writing, songwriting, guitar, drawing, gardening, walking, biking, hiking, traveling and living.
Life is imitating work, it’s TeeRific. - Tomm
After 40 years, I am not taking on any new sign customers. I am only doing TeeRific Signs and a handful of regular customers. I like what I do, but am doing it a little less. I do close for the Winter Season, but I am open for the Season now. I do return calls or emails. Thank you - Tomm
Custom Vehicle Lettering
Whether it’s business or pleasure, I have prided myself in giving my customers the maximum bang for their buck when it comes to vehicle lettering. I have made every vehicle an extremely readable rolling billboard and helped my customers build their brands at the same time. I have worked with customers to determine whether cut vinyls, large format printed vinyls (wraps) or a combination of the two are best for their needs. I have measured and photographed all vehicles beforehand (available templates aren't always accurate) then designed and created scaled renderings for proofing and customer acceptance. I stock the entire 3M 220 series high performance vinyl color palette, including all reflectives. (I like color). All production is in-house. Yes, I still use my brushes and hand letter on occasion. Customers weren’t afraid to ask for fast turn around when it came to vehicle lettering. I understood that their vehicles don't make money while being lettered, they needed to be working for them instead. In addition to me applying the graphics, if they chose to install themselves, I sent them ready to apply graphics along with my instructions and tips and links to my how to videos. My process has worked effectively for over 36 years.
Custom Interior & Exterior Signs
affordable signage for any situation.
If you're tired of cookie cutter production house signs or are looking for a sign that really sells, you're at the right place. I create all my designs with your end result in mind, while always trying to stay within your budget. Email me some copy, a few measurements and let me take it from there. I do my job so you don't have to and if I can't or don't do it; chances are I can steer you to someone that can.
From simple to intricate, I always try to stay in my customer’s budgets.
It all starts with a problem or need for a sign. I try to solve it with an idea, a thumb nail sketch and a touch of trust from my customers. So far, so good.
Custom Banners
Banners are perfect for short term, seasonal and some long term promotions. I have created my banners in house using my large format digital printing capabilities. Bright, true full color printing is at my customers fingertips. While banners are typically considered for short term use, for longer term projects we recommend cut vinyl which can last 7-10 years in optimal circumstances. We carry the entire 3M vinyl color palette. My customers have trust me to suggest the correct weight and style banner to best meet their needs.
Changeable Cafe Signs
Most of our customers have utilized a changeable cafe sign. Whether they used it roadside, curbside or on their sidewalk each cafe sign is the next to the last chance to ask for a sale. (The last being your front door which should be used to upsell as the customer is already walking in). Cafe signs are reusable, so after a year of selling your promotions, they are ready for next year. They are easy filled with a few pounds of play sand (fine grain) to handle most wind loads. Any price or price changes can be made by you, when we send so vinyl updates. "Nothing is final with vinyl". Cafe signs work 24/7. Add reflective to your roadside cafe sign and it works great at night. Cafe signs are cheaper than paying an employee to stand outside and hold a sign, but if you want to do that - we make those signs too.
While not originally from Utica, after 37 years it’s safe to say that I became one. Great City with a huge history and amazing people. I wanted to create a visual that reminded Utican’s of their great City. Frank and Heather, the owner’s of Utica Coffee Roasters, have for years helped me out and sold and shipped my original UTICA - GATEWAY TO THE ADIRONDACKS poster for me. The 22x28” posters are eco-solvent printed right in our Studio on archival paper and are ready to frame and hang in your office or home. They make great gifts. UCR ships worldwide for me. And if you’re ordering a poster, remember to “Wake The Hell Up!” and grab a bag or 2 of their outstanding coffees. -Tomm
& More
It's not enough to be just a graphic service bureau and Golf Advertising Company that consistently delivers real working results. To keep the creative juices flowing I also have created custom graphics and “TOMM TOONS” and have sold them worldwide.
In spite of the fact that I don’t have a retail location, over the years my “UTICA - Gateway to the Adirondacks” posters have found a following and are hung in countless offices and homes with the help of my friends at The Utica Coffee Roasting Company. They stock and feature the posters for customer pick up and also offer shipping.
I have also offered the extra services of consultation and graphic design. Everything I have done for my customers had the end result in mind. What do they really want? To sell more? Give directions? Be seen? To be unique?. I have tried to be a one stop source for all their graphic needs. Sure there were signs, TeeRific signs, banners, and vehicle lettering, but I have also created flyers, sales kits, brochures, packaging design, custom logos (in formats for embroidery, screen-printing, TV Production, web & mobile, print and stationary). I'm most of my customer's graphic department. The rest of my customers - I have worked with their graphic departments. Often my ideas and concepts actually have become the promotion. At one point you could follow my daily antics at TOMM STUDIOS on Facebook, but these days I don’t post my antics. I’m not looking to expand my customer base at this time, because after 40 years, it’s time to not slow down, but do more other things.
Thanks for visiting my page.
Have a TeeRific day. - Tomm
Cool Lettering Projects Over The Years. Most days you’ll find me designing retail signs that help my customers sell more, easily and more efficiently. But once in a while I get a chance to have some fun painting or lettering some different and interesting things. A big thanks to all my customers that trust and look forward to my creative solutions.
For years the bulk of my work was hand lettered neon window splashes.
Occasionally I get the lead out and go to great heights to keep my Wall Dog status among other fellow Old School Letterheads.
I duplicated the lettering on Jeff Hudson’s complete restoration. I worked off his scale model race car kit’s decal set.
I restored the 50 year old fiberglass cows at Holland Farms Bakery & Coffee Bar. Over the years, they have become local landmarks.
Here I am after successfully reinstalling “Chuckie” and “Cupcake”. We had TV and newspaper coverage…until the cows came home.
This sign is at New Hartford’s main intersection and while not apparent from the road is completely hand lettered except for the 22 karat gold bullets. With 4 coats of oil enamel on it, I hope it too becomes a time worn landmark.
Among the packaging things I’ve designed these are the latest Holland Farms coffee cups.I know that everyday hundreds of folks are waking up to fresh hot coffee and my cartoons and designs.
I tried to creatively make people smile as they drove by Holland Farms during the Covid 19 pandemic.
I wasn’t sure if the cow masks were too early in the pandemic to be humorous, but apparently it was cool. They made the front page of the local news paper, a snippet on local TV news and a nice Editor’s Note in Signcraft Magazine.
Once again, this project started with a problem, an idea and a sketch. Charlie at “It’s A Utica Thing” makes and sells food items that were originally created in Utica, NY. (Tomato Pie, Chicken Riggies, Halfmoon Cookies and the famous Utica Greens.) He has had a Food Truck for years at the New York State Fair. Yes, I designed and lettered that also. He wanted to make his presence at the New York State Fair bigger, more exciting and enticing. He also truly is Hometown Proud.* He came up with the idea of calling the whole thing “EXIT 31”. That’s Utica’s Exit number on I-90, the New York State Thruway. The Matt Brewery (Utica Club/Saranac) saw the potential to increase their brand exposure just with a sketch. Once I received the logo art from Mark Joseph Kelly, Charlie’s designer and the Brewery’s art department, I was able to convert the files to my need and begin fabrication.
I can create anything you may need. If I can’t, I can steer you in the right direction.
*While I’m not originally a Utican, after 40+ years it’s safe to say that I too am a Utican at heart. This project was special because Charlie truly is trying to promote a city that has given us both so much. - Tomm
While not dynamic, it is big. I was presented with the customers problem. A TeeRific customer of mine, Steet Ponte, took over a dealership with a secondary building that was gutted and unattractively visible through the windows to passing cars on our main Commercial Drive. They asked me for a way to hide the inside and turn it into a quick read billboard for passing cars, but do it on a budget because the building’s future is uncertain.
So after measuring the site and turning the measurements into a digital template, I offered the customers a few choices of designs. They chose BIG CLEAN letters that were easy to read. In the end, it’s all about ease of readership. If people can’t read your sign quickly they may choose not to.
I back painted the glass with latex and used intermediate cut vinyls to keep the cost down. Now they have 3-5 years to decide the building’s fate AND they have a billboard. Price divided by 36 months makes it cost effective.
And for the record, I have hand lettered and vinyl lettered these particular windows for over 36 years. First E.J. Peters Jeep, then the Carbone Hyundai, then Carbone Nissan, then Lithia Nissan and now Steet Ponte Nissan. And while the building may not last, I look forward working with the Steet Ponte Auto Group because it’s always so easy to do business with them.