39 Issue 250 - December 2023 / January 2024 email: news@signlink.co.uk the neon, and refurbished all parts before reinstating it back to its former glory which can now be seen sending its neon glow out onto the street. We have undertaken making many large traditional neon signs to the front canopy of Selfridges in Oxford Street London for different events over the years. They are always fun projects.” An Uncertain Future Neon signage is still a much-loved form of signage used today and its warm, bright light brings magic to any space. However, despite its century-long history, the skill is listed on the Heritage Crafts Association’s Red List of Endangered Crafts. This means that traditional neon signage runs the risk of dying out before the next generation as misconceptions around its safety and environmental credentials and higher price points see many opting for cheaper, LED alternatives. Whilst LED signage remains an important form of signage, the issue raised by a number of neon producers is that due to the marketing of these products as ‘neon’, often those opting for LED signage are doing so with no knowledge that what they are purchasing is not real neon after all. Daniel Carpenter, executive director of Heritage Crafts, comments: “The Red List is the first research report of its kind in the UK to list craft skills by the likelihood that they will survive the next generation. We recognise that not all skills will survive, but up until the publication of the Red List, more and more craft skills were being lost without the general public having the opportunity to debate their cultural value, alongside other more recognised forms of culture such as music, dance, or literature. “We hope that the increased recognition of crafts such as neon sign-making will lead to more demand for the products, but also more realisation amongst local and national policymakers of the importance of these skills to our national identity.” On why neon has been included on the Red List, Carpenter says: “It is a much-reduced industry from its heyday in the mid-twentieth century when West Yorkshire was the main centre for neon production in the UK with around two dozen workshops, with now only around half a dozen. “We will continue to raise awareness about the cultural importance of this craft to both the general public, policymakers, and funders, to expand its market and to ensure that it is held in similar esteem to other forms of culture.” An important part of this, Carpenter explains, will be encouraging the UK to sign up to the 2003 UNESCO Convention on the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, which celebrates the importance of knowledge, skills, and practices as equally important to our cultural heritage as ▲▼ [Top] Carousel Lights produced two neon crosses for American rapper Pusha T's tour [Above] A neon sign produced by Carousel Lights for the iconic Electra Cinema sign for Soho House in Shoreditch, London [Below] Neon produced by Sygns for a Nike window display NEON SIGNAGE
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