Sign Heaven in Cincinnati: Letterheads Turns 50
Letterheads 50 hosted in the American Sign Museum, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
We were lucky enough to make it to this year’s Letterheads gathering in Cincinnati, Ohio, from June 20th–22nd, and wow, what a weekend! This one was extra special, marking 50 years of Letterheads meet ups and it brought together over 450 sign painting fans from all over the world for three days of demos, murals, chats and general sign-nerdery.
The event was hosted at the _American Sign Museum_ , which I’ve been dying to visit for years after seeing photos online. So when I found out Letterheads 50 was happening there, I booked my ticket right away and it did not disappoint. Someone described it as “Disneyland for sign painters,” and honestly, they nailed it. The museum’s packed with beautiful old signs dating all the way back to the 1800s, neon, metal, distressed murals, gold leaf on glass, hand-painted posters, all kinds of styles. I was in total sign heaven!
Letterheads has been going since 1975, it started as a way to keep traditional signwriting alive and it’s grown into this amazing international community where people come together to share their love of letters, swap tips and learn from one another. I’ve been to a couple of previous ones in Amsterdam and London, but this anniversary edition was something else.
The weekend was full of demos, talks and hands-on sessions. There were experts showing techniques in everything from casual script and gold leaf to pinstriping and distressed finishes. There was no rigid schedule or pre-registration, we could float between sessions freely, which worked out brilliantly. I managed to see a bit of John Cox and Gary Godby’s distressed sign demo, then popped over to Mark Oatis’s talk on luscious layouts. So good!
One of the highlights was the four murals being painted inside the museum’s event space over the weekend, recreations of beautiful vintage ads. I got to jump in on one of them, painting alongside my husband Charlie and an amazing crew from Quebec, the US and the UK. It was such a great buzz working together on the mural, chatting about the kinds of projects we each work on and how things are done in our different corners of the world.
We stayed on in Cincinnati for five days in total and what a brilliant city. It’s actually got the most public murals per capita in the States and you can really feel it when you walk around. There’s a local organisation called ArtWorks that’s behind loads of the murals, the whole city feels like an open-air gallery.
All in all, Letterheads 50 was an absolute treat, inspiring, energising and a real joy to be part of such a warm and talented community. We’re already looking forward to the next one!
