The Ask
When Danny so kindly approached me about doing a sign for his new restaurant, I was thrilled. Not just about doing the sign, but that he was going to open up a new restaurant.
In my early years on Koh Lanta, it was only Thai food. Some places boasted Western Food but it wasn’t really. Sure it resembled something, but only one restaurant really qualified. It was with a Sunday Roast, and it was exactly what anyone from the UK would recognize. The owner of this bar was a Brit and he knew if he did this, all the expats on the island would be there on Sunday. He was right. In those old days, Sunday at Mr. Bean’s was a thing.
Then Danny opened the Tavern in the Long Beach area, and we were all so excited. The menu was small, but it had all we wanted: ribs, chicken, chops, salads, and more. The portions were great, the price was right, and everything was absolutely delicious. This eatery became a staple for expats and most of us went a few times a week. And then, as lives change, and it closed.
Danny went on to do great culinary things in the following years. He made turned Otto’s on Kong Nin from a great beach bar, to a great bar-restaurant. He then spent over a decade at the Frog in Saladan, delighting a full house of patrons every night with European delicacies.
Last year Danny decided it was time to venture out again. We are all delighted. I told him I’d make a monster sign, something to see from space. Of course he thought I was a kidding. He save me the green light to do whatever I wanted. This was late Spring 2024. I’ve come a long way since then.
The Build
For a monster sign I decided to make the ‘D’ one meter high, and the other letters 2/3 of that. And the y the same height as the other letters with a crazy tail, and I mean crazy. I knew it would make putting it all together a challenge, but my ‘electrician’ and his buddies were smart guys. They could figure it out.
I sketched the sign with my sizing grid and showed it to Danny. Of course it looked like scratches of his name on a piece of paper, but he loved it. For sure I tried to explain the dimensions, stressing how crazy the tail was on the’y’. Being upfront on the design was important for me as I was very much aware that this might be too outlandish for this quiet, very focused British chef. But he loved it.
The 2 ‘n’s were built first, and I made them side by side to make sure they looked the same. The ‘a’ was next and then the ‘s’. I made sure they all looked like the same font. Oh ya, I think about all this. The ‘D’ was next and then the apostrophe. I wanted it all done before I tacked the ‘y’.
The ‘y’ was a blast. I had to use 2 huge boards to sketch out the base. I stood back and didn’t like it. It had to be bigger. As I built it I put a wave in the tail to give it some definition and movement. My goal was to make the eye go left to right, reading the letters, and then drop down and hover over the y’s tail. I asked everyone who stopped by to tell me what they thing and everyone remarked on the crazy ‘y’. Mission accomplished.
I gave all the letters three layers of glossy lacquer to give them a shinny glow. I was done. It took a few months, but it was a blast. Maybe it was the size of it all, but I think it was the fun I had with the ‘y’.
Everything was passed on to the electrician to install the strip lighting, figure out the frame and all the holes for running the wiring. The decks a mess of wiring, cables, drills and connectors for weeks.
The sign is ready now to leave my workshop. The letters are built and lacquered for a sparkling shinny glow. The lights are installed in each letter, and all is mounted on the giant frame and wired together.
The build was done.
Ready To Install
Now this massive structure needs to be moved to the restaurant, hoisted up over the entrance, and installed securely on the wall. More electrical work is needed to hook it all up to the power and run wiring for on/off switches in the restaurant.
I can’t wait til the ‘on’ switch is clicked. I’m going to message the International Space Station and tell them that very soon they will see something new as they pass over Thailand.
Stay tuned for Part 2 for my article on the next phase of this massive project: Installation and Go-Live!
It’s all good!
