Founded in 2017, Tactile is a collaborative project between lettering pros and Alphabetics Anonymous members Jake Tyler & Hana Sunny Whaler. The annual event is entering its fourth year and is returning to its original concept of a social space…
The history of Handover regularly brings up some beautiful objects, old labels, discontinued brushes, but nothing quite like these letterpress plates from the late 1940s. Found by our brushmaker carefully wrapped in paper – including some advertising window posters from…
Back in spring 2020, Adam Wilson contacted us to see if we could offer some support with the cost of materials on his final BA project for the City and Guilds of London Art School. The project he set himself…
Launched in 2018, our oil-based enamel range has been designed for signwriting and pinstriping to provide vibrancy, flexibility, durability, and excellent coverage. The paint flows well, and it can also be thinned with white spirit if necessary. Touch dry in…
The Ghostsigns website has long been a place where Sam Roberts has been documenting, researching, and writing about the fading remains of hand-painted signs and advertising. Earlier this month he launched Ghost Signs – A London Story, a book showcasing…
Earlier this week I visited the brushmakers to see just how Handover brushes are made, specifically the ever-popular 2112 series sable chisel signwriting brushes! The name on the door still reads ED W Mason LTD. Edward Mason Ltd. started at…
TIXE was established in 1939 under the name Cristoforo Tixe and still bears the name of its founder. Originally a small artisan company, Tixe relocated to the industrial area of Arenzano in the 1980s and has since expanded to its…
Robert Walker specialises in traditional signwriting and reverse glass signs under the name Signs by Umberto. We had a chat about his recent mural and his QEST Scholarship to train with David A Smith MBE but first, for those unfamiliar…
Fleur Designer’s Paint Verdigris is a four-part paint system consisting of a primer, copper paint, reagent, and clear finish, all items are available separately. The paint comes in two shades of copper and contains tiny copper particles that oxidise when…
I had been meaning to catch up with Archie for a little while now, his work combines immense technical ability with an eloquent understanding of design, the results are a stylised asththeic, rooted in tradition and craftmanship – and it…
Back in 2020, we were contacted by the volunteer-run community sign writing project, ‘The Gilbert Legacy’. The idea was they were going to run a number of sign painting classes in Morecambe, hosted in the Good Things Studio.Unfortunately, like everything…
There’s a lot to consider when buying gold leaf, genuine or imitation, loose of transfer, thickness, etc. I’m going to try and break it down and make it a little easier! SizeEach book of genuine gold leaf contains 25 leaves…
Brush Guide – Sign Writing Chisels Here at Handover we have a lot of brushes, and that can be quite overwhelming when you come to buy your first signwriting brushes! This post is the start of a series where I…
I’m so excited to finally have a reverse glass gilding tutorial! Here at Handover, we get asked a lot about the process of reverse glass gilding, Jay Holland, more often known as Greater Opacity, has created this tutorial to de-mystify…
Newcastle based Alex Richardson of Mango Signs has put together this brilliant tutorial on surface gilding and the wizardry of directional burnishing! Check out his video and instructions below, and to see more of Alex’s work, visit his Instagram here!…
– “The Poor Man’s Acid Etch” I’m very excited about this customer-created tutorial! Archie of Irregular Signs demonstrates how to create a beautiful texture to a reverse glass gild. Archie is a friend of Handover and has recently painted a…
This is the first in an exciting series of tutorials and tips led by our customers. The following tutorial was created by The Unlikely Painter, a Glasgow based sign painter and artist who is sharing his method of using mother…