Learn how Lisa's Bespoke Hand Painted Cast Metal House Nameplate for her Swiss Chalet was designed and made.
In this short article you'll learn how we designed a bespoke cast metal sign for Lisa and her husband who live in a traditional 18th century wooden chalet in Switzerland.
Lisa's House Nameplate for her Swiss Chalet.Click here to enlarge 
Discussing design ideas
The most important part of the house sign making process was discussing design ideas with Lisa. Communicating via email we designed a house nameplate that Lisa and her husband were both happy with. She asked for a bespoke oval hand painted sand cast aluminium house nameplate approximately the size of a dustbin lid. We had a oval nameplate pattern that was 20ins by 14ins. We emailed her a photo of the wooden pattern with the wording 'Tante Louise' set on it. Also we made a digital mockup of the sign on her wall so it would be easier to visualise the finished result.
"What fabulous service - your customer contact is superb and you've produced exactly what I was looking for!"
Mrs Lisa Robertson, Switzerland
A sketch of the final nameplate design shown to Lisa
before we started sculpting. Mock-up sketch of the finished sign
After showing the oval sign pattern to Lisa we made a quick sketch showing how the house nameplate painted with a black background and white lettering would look. The background that the sign is against is brown representing the dark wood of the timber framed chalet.
Making a Line Drawing of the Motif
A line drawing used as a reference guide to the bas-relief
sculpture. Lisa wanted an impressionistic view of her house so we created a simplified line drawing based on a reference photo. We finally scaled the drawing to the full size of the motif. Two copies were made of the drawing, one for building the relief sculpture, the other for reference.
Sculpting the Motif
The final polymer clay relief sculptured motif ready to be fired. The motif was constructed by layering polymer clay over each section of the outline drawing. Creating the illusion of depth when the maximum thickness of clay is only 5mm requires planning. The trees in the background are the thinnest layer. The house and the grass at the right hand side of the plate are the thickest.
Casting the Metal House Nameplate
The wooden pattern complete with motif and lettering was sand cast in a foundry. The process involves making a mould made of damp sand off the pattern. Molten Aluminium is poured in the cavity of the mould. When the metal is cool the sign is fettled ready for painting.
Hand painting the Nameplate
The sign was first given two coats of a protective grey primer. That was followed by hand painting the black background colour. This was painted on the front and the back of the sign.
The finished bespoke hand painted cast aluminum house nameplate. Click here to enlarge The motif was painted using oil painting techniques. The illusion of depth was helped by painting the background trees in a desaturated green blue tone. Saturated colours were used on the house and the foreground grass to bring those forward.
Finally the white lettering and border were hand painted.
Delivered in time for Christmas!
UPS delivered Mr and Mrs Robertson's new house nameplate 4 weeks after Lisa first contacted us.
If you'd like to discuss your bespoke house nameplate requirements with us please call us now on +44(0)1274 570711 or contact us easily with our online form.
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