in 2019, when the installation of a new roller coaster required a suite of temporary directional signs. Lindquist says that while they had “some really nice signage”, a lot of it had “started to look really plastic and computer-made”. He continues: “I guess they contacted us because they wanted to go back to ‘real’ signage to reflect the amazing heritage they have.” Gröna Lund’s in-house art department delivered the designs for these early projects, and Sthlm simply painted them. Today, however, Sthlm works on pieces from the outset, taking them from concept to design to delivery. “They put a lot of trust in us. For the most part we can do whatever we want now. There’s no strict design brief or brand guidelines”, says Lindquist. New attractions, or updates to existing ones, mean that “we can be really creative”, says Bergman. “We just have fun with it. Working with an amusement park is like creating a fantasy world where you can combine styles from different eras and places.” Art Deco signs that mimic fin-de-siecle (‘end of century’) Paris, for instance, can (and do) rub shoulders with German Blackletter type, gaudy neon Vegas-style lettering, and traditional British pub signage. Inspiration and Application At times, their work has been interpreted in far more grandiose ways than they’d intended. According to Sthlm, on occasion they’ll sketch out how the signage would be applied to a house or building; then on visiting the park a month later, the very same structure will be standing there, fully realised. “The carpenters just made it from our drawing, no real blueprints or anything!” says Bergman. The key stylistic consideration for the lettering is that it invokes the idea of heritage: “It can’t look box fresh”, says Bergman. Lindquist adds that “for a lot of people, theme parks are about nostalgia, so we try to contribute to that with a lot of references to ‘the good old days’”. Where they take the designs and letterforms depends on the place or era they’re looking to capture, which involves a lot of research—from the architecture to the illustrations and, of course, the type from that time or place. The Show Goes On Sthlm’s work for Gröna Lund is seasonal— busiest in the spring as the theme park prepares for summer opening—and so Websites: www.bl.ag and www.ghostsigns.co.uk 33 Issue 255 - October / November 2024 email: news@signlink.co.uk ADVENTURES IN SIGN PAINTING WITH SAM ROBERTS they take on other clients outside of that time. While their sign painting business has grown over the last eight years, there hasn’t been a wider resurgence in craft in Stockholm. However, there’s clearly a market for their work, and Sthlm’s approach has paid off both personally and professionally, “Our ▲ Henrik Lindquist applying some scrollwork to the shopfront for a chocolate wheel of fortune job is straightforward: making an establishment or company look good”, says Bergman. “And we really have a lot of fun along the way.” The work of Sthlm Signs was first explored by Emily Gosling and published in Issue 05 of BLAG (Better Letters Magazine). ▼ This was a collaboration with a neon sign company after designing this sign for Gröna Lund’s Skee Ball attraction. All the lettering is hand-painted
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