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Wood & Wood Signs Builds Program for Vermont’s Jay Peak

Ski resort receives handsome facelift

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Wood and Wood Signs’ (Waitsfield, VT) reputation has garnered nationwide jobs, such as a new, vintage-style sign for New Orleans’ French Quarter Inn during the post-Hurricane Katrina aftermath (see ST, November 2006, page 34). However, the company still enjoys lots of repeat business in its backyard. Predictably, Wood & Wood owner Sparky Potter counts Vermont’s ski-resort operators among his most faithful customers.

“A lot of skiers in the Northeast and New England have decided to save money and, instead of heading out west to Aspen or Lake Tahoe, are heading to Vermont, which offers great, packed-powder snow,” Potter said. “This increased traffic has led to numerous sign updates as resort managers and owners want to transform signs from antiquated to rustic, yet contemporary.”

In a remote stretch of northern Vermont, Jay Peak is an example. Nestled near the U.S.-Canada border, the resort attracts many patrons from Montreal and surrounding areas. Also, its owners are foreign nationals who wish to obtain U.S. visas. A new provision in federal law allows foreigners to invest $500,000 or more in a U.S. property in return for expedited visas. Wood & Wood has benefitted.

“It’s a good situation when you have a client with strong cashflow who provides complete artistic freedom,” Potter quipped.

Wood & Wood has fabricated Jay Peak signage for years. Recent pieces it’s fabricated include bracket-mounted signs for the Tower Bar (its main graphic panel depicts a glass of beer; it almost functions as a rebus); the Aroma Coffee Shop; and the Tram Haus Lodge, an onsite hotel.

Wood & Wood built most of the signs’ backing panels from MDO, and CNC-routed logos from PVC or 3A Composites’ Dibond® aluminum-composite material. The flat, cut-out letters (which were also CNC routed) were made from Sign•Foam® 3 18-lb. HDU. The shop painted all signs with Benjamin Moore exterior-latex paint.

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With winter temperatures routinely reaching single digits (° F) and winds known to gust up to 80 mph, engineering structural components and hardware poses a significant hurdle. Potter enlisted Burlington, VT-based DeWolfe Engineering to determine the size and type of hardware and fasteners.

He said, “It’s a challenge to hang the sign far enough off the building to be visible, and spread hardware out far enough over the face, yet still maintain structural integrity. They do a great job, and make sure Wood & Wood has addressed all safety issues.”

Wood & Wood’s contribution to Tram Haus Lodge’s environmental graphics didn’t end with signage. Shop metal-fabrication equipment crafted a sculpture from a reclaimed bull wheel, the powerhouse of the pulley system that keeps the ski lifts moving, that was cut in half. The installation crew installed the wheel with metal brackets and powdercoated-steel faceplates (aluminum wasn’t strong enough, he said).

Wood & Wood is currently finishing production and installation of signage for the Jay Hotel, an upscale, 150-room hotel scheduled to open this month, with the Pump House, an indoor waterpark. Potter said the project will include 10-15 exterior signs and 150-200 interior wayfinding placards and room IDs, among other sign types.

Wood & Wood also fabricated multiple signs for Sugar-bush, another popular Vermont ski resort. The signs were built from materials similar to the Jay Peak, and Potter said he decorated the faces with a mixture of latex paints and artists’ acrylics. Epifane, a high-strength wood varnish, helps preserve the face.
 

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