Lightship Neon

Sneak peek of the neon sign we're creating for The Gables Raleigh. After years of driving by the property on Wake Forest Rd, we're so excited to be part of lighting it up once again!

We do a lot of business by email and by phone, but sometimes there's no substitute for coming into the shop in person to see all the colors, lights, and effects we can create with neon tubing. We loved hosting the team from The Gables Raleigh as we reviewed color choices for their soon-to-be-iconic roadside sign.

The Gables has long marked old US Highway 1 with a neon sign, an original YELLOW GABLES version and a later version that remained up until recently. Our design team had so much fun stopping by Lightship Neon in Raleigh to talk neon next steps...

Having your team event at Lightship Neon is a bright idea! Come enjoy a one-of-a-kind experience and learn the art, science and history of neon signmaking, even getting the chance to try your hand at bending glass using fire.

Neon can be subtle as well as spectacular - check out this recent install we completed for Little Gem, adding purple accents to their entryway. We went with 15mm tubes for the outer borders, and 12mm tubes for the inner, to create a little bit of depth in the window. We also added a set of acrylic covers on 1/2" standoffs inside, to keep curious fingers away from the glass tubes.

It may be staying lighter later these days, but once it gets darker, you know where to go 😎

Follow the neon lights over to Little Gem this weekend for immaculate cocktails and vibes.

Saturday night will feature the one and only Ron Liberti for our next so don’t miss out 🎶

Shoutout to Jared and Rich of Lightship Neon in Raleigh for continuing to wow us with their incredible neon work!!

The end of the year is always a time for reflection, and we're looking back not just at this year, but at the past two years since we've launched Lightship Neon! We've had the privilege of creating and supporting some amazing signs.

The attached image is from one of our new postcards, showcasing some of our neon work here in Raleigh & beyond, which are now available in our online shop: https://lightshipneon.com/store/p/souvenir-postcard

Lightship Neon

Here's another look at Capital Pizza Box's new animated pizza monster sign. We loved collaborating with Anthony Guerra & Paul Tuorto on this project, taking the little mascot from the Oakwood Pizza Box website and bringing him to life in neon tubing, three feet tall.

We're also including a shot of the sign in our workshop, where it's a bit easier to see the tricky coolness that allowed us to stack the glass tubing for the animation. The feet and lower jaw are static, and the two states of the upper jaw, eyes, and hat are made up of separate sections of clear tubing, so that when they're not lit, you see the glass and neon below shining through.

I've long said that you really have to see our shop in person to fully appreciate neon's unique glow, but if you're unable to make it out in person, we recently had some 360º photos captured and uploaded to Google Street View so you can visit us virtually: https://maps.app.goo.gl/YqS59bopoDgUYX3a6

Instant360 created five photospheres, taking you from our showroom, through our storage area, and into the main production workshop. Come take a virtual tour with us!

Google Maps Explore a place through a 360° photo.