Signwriting Falkland’s oldest inn immediately gained positive attention – even before The Stag opened for business. Three bespoke, hand painted signs were manufactured and installed with artwork created by designer, Daniel Lockhart from Daysix – an Edinburgh based digital creative agency.
Innovative fabrication combined with the craft of signwriting produced sophisticated signs for this historic building.
On 18th November 2025, Dan sent me photo mock-ups and a brief outline of the project for The Stag’s proprietors, Mel and James Ryland.
The Stag dates to 1680. It’s one of the oldest inns in Scotland. Extensive refurbishment of the B-listed building was nearing completion with a plan to begin trading in mid December, 2025.
Dan’s original request was to hand paint an illustration and lettering directly on two of the restaurant’s exterior walls. I recommended signwriting on panels due to the high risk of poor weather and low temperatures preventing exterior painting. I also suspected the rough, uneven, and porous surfaces would result in furry, bleeding paint edges.
The desired turnaround was too short to manufacture and install durable hand painted exterior sign panels. I explained to Dan the process of painted signs manufacture. I was still interested and happy to assist. Early in the following morning, I considered the most practical approach to solve Dan’s enquiry and e-mailed my detailed process and indicative quote.
Dan discussed my proposal with Mel and James. A longer lead was approved to enable the manufacture of their signs.
Influenced by a similar sign he’d seen on my website, Dan also added a double sided projecting sign near The Stag’s entrance door.
We exchanged two more rounds of emails before talking on the phone, late on a Thursday afternoon. My emails detailed options for the signs’ substrates, their relative paint systems, as well as installation methods and fixings. I also sent photos to Dan of previous bespoke painted signs.
‘Good to chat earlier and appreciate you taking the time to explain everything, Dan said, ‘these examples are very cool to see, nice work!’
I drove to Falkland the following rainy Saturday morning to inspect and measure.
Armed with my favourite spirit level, I checked the roughcast back wall first. This location’s sign leads visitors down stairs at the side of the restaurant and to the entrance.
The projecting sign bracket was planned for installation on a lintel adjacent to the steps leading to the entrance. The lintel is just large enough to accept the bracket’s base plate.
At the front of the restaurant, the largest sign is close to a junction and a footpath. The wall is extremely uneven. Bulging stonework prevents a panel installation flush to the surface. Building a frame behind the sign was an option, but it would result in asymmetrical protruding edges. I wanted to provide a sign as slimline as practically possible, in addition to disguising both wall signs’ fixings.
The signs’ fabrication design required thought. My cogs were turning on the journey back to Dundee.
I spent the following early mornings researching. In addition, I prepared scaled diagrams for Dan, Mel, James, and John Rennie, the joiner with whom I’ve worked for years. John manufactures and installs most of the exterior signs I supply.
Technical specifications of materials, manufacture, and installation methods were emailed to everyone. I also wrote a scope of work contract stating my quote and my terms.
James approved, paid his advance, and then I purchased all the components.
Disguising sign panel fixings has always been important to John and me. Where possible and when practical, we design sign fixings fabricated into the structure of rigid sign panels.
Following my research and John’s advice, I decided to choose fifteen millimetres thick, Medite Tricoya Extreme (MTX) for the three panel substrates. MTX is an ultra-durable, exterior grade substrate comprised of acetylated wood chips bonded together with a synthetic resin. Similar in structure to MDF, the substrate proves superior in performance to marine grade plywood in exposed applications.
Threaded rods are inserted through the faces of the two walls’ signs’ panels. The rods are secured with washers and nuts on the backs of each panel. The drilled panel faces are filled and skimmed with auto body filler. Protruding approximately one hundred millimetres out of the backs of the panels, the rods plug the signs into drilled and cement filled holes in each wall.
This installation method allows self levelling of the sign on the bulging front wall, as well as a slimline edge thickness.
The MTX panel arrived at the timber merchants within two days of ordering, and John kindly collected it.
John delivered the three bare wooden sign panels to me before the end of the first week in December. The spiked plugs on the backs of the wall signs were tight and secure.
All three panels were fabricated with a top rain ledge for additional protection. Hardwood was selected for the two wall panels’ top ledges and a pressure treated timber batten was chosen for shaping the ledge on the top of the projecting panel.
We make hanging signs deliberately heavy. Doing so decreases the violent swing of the panel in high winds. I asked John to fabricate the projecting panel at thirty millimetres thick. The thickness increases the panel weight, as well as allowing a wider, robust rain ledge on the top, which the screw eyes would be drilled into. John sawed two fifteen millimetre MTX panels and bonded them together.
Everything was ready for the first coat.
In devising the signs’ fabrication, I felt a satin finish suited the mood of the signs’ environment.
A gloss finish for this project would appear too shiny. Matt finish is prone to marking and more difficult to remain clean in exterior environments. A soft sheen on the signs would sit well on the exterior matt wall finish, and allow the signs’ faces to be gently washed without tarnishing.
After researching appropriate paints for coating the MTX to a satin finish, and conscious of the winter temperature, I chose a combination of Zinsser water based paints. These dry faster than oil based, resulting in multiple coats over a shorter period.
The panels were primed twice on both sides with Bullseye 123 Plus. Zinsser Allcoat was generously brushed and rollered in layers on top of the primer, at least six times per side. I painted the panels almost daily for the remainder of December.
The drilled holes were additionally skimmed, and the signs’ surfaces were sanded between coats, taking care not to tear the paint off on the angled rain ledges.
Patterns of Dan’s scaled artwork were made and transferred onto each of the four sign faces in early January 2026.
I mixed enough paint comprising of half oil based black (gloss) enamel and half Japan fast dry oil based (matt) black. The mix would give me the satin finish to match the satin sheen of the signs’ clean white backgrounds.
Starting with the back wall sign, I carefully painted my first stroke of the letter. Immediately, I realised this was going to be a slow process. The satin background was absorbing my paint mixture, resulting in uneven coverage, especially on the edges of the strokes. I thinned the paint again and made myself comfortable.
Relaxed in my studio, I went back and forth to the lettering and set targets for each day. The installation was planned for 14th January, weather permitting. Slowly, and with extra care not to mark the delicate satin backgrounds, the lettering began to turn the pristine white panels into understated signs.
The largest stag illustration was hand painted in approximately four hours on the Sunday before the installation. It looked magnificent.
The following day, the smaller stag was painted on one side only of the projecting panel. This stag painting lasted as long as the larger illustration. Dan’s artwork was coming to life. My thoughts turned to how I’d package the signs for transporting to Falkland. I was looking forward to seeing them in their permanent locations.
John followed me on the thirty minute drive to Falkland with the signs packaged safely and securely in the back of my van. After a short detour (I got lost in a street about half a mile away), the familiar sight of the village squares’ pretty fountain signalled we were near.
John’s forward thinking never fails to surprise me. Starting at the back wall, he conjured a chipboard template at the same rectangular size as the smaller wall sign. The template had drilled holes exactly where the spiked plugs are positioned on the back of the sign. We held the template against the wall, levelled, and John drilled. Marvellous.
The holes were filled with cement sealant before we plunged the sign into its location.
James informed us of a downlight destined for above the front wall’s sign. We discussed the most appropriate height before repeating the drilling, cementing, and levelling process with the aid of another one of John’s templates.
This sign was a trickier install due to the bulging stonework resisting a plumb level. John and I stood for twenty minutes with pressure against two corners of the sign, helping it to remain optically plumb.
After a cup of coffee and a conversation on how to improve the next similar sign fabrication, the projecting bracket was drilled and anchored near the restaurant entrance. James chose a slightly farther away position than originally planned.
Once the sign was hung, we said our goodbyes and wished James well. James emailed me a few days later: ‘The signs are already much admired! Thanks again!’ and Dan was delighted too: ‘…they look amazing, top quality work!’
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