2020 Philadelphia 76rs Fish

Here it is, the O-fish-al 2020 Philadelphia Basketball Fish Sign!! This beauty is double-sided with a hanging number plate. I used Valspar Duramax exterior paint on treated MDO plywood and three coats of Minwax Pro Series Spar Urethane, so it should last a long time. For the design, I used a combination of Sixers logos, the first is the 1963 original, and the second from the “Philly Unite” Campaign in 2012.

The original logo from 1964 was inspired by the Declaration of Independence which was signed in Philadelphia in 1776. The logo also incorporated 13 blue stars above “7”, forming a circle, which stood for the first American Colonies.

The logo with the snake originated from a 1754 political cartoon published by Ben Franklin in his Pennsylvania Gazette newspaper. The cartoon was titled "Join, Or Die," and each segment of the snake was labeled with the initials of an American colony or region. Franklin was pushing for the unification of the colonies, and the slogan was later modified to "Unite, Or Die" by some. "The 'Phila Unite'  campaign pulls together multiple themes from the American Revolution . The Sixers reworked their throwback bell logo, which is an homage to the Liberty Bell and the 1976 bicentennial celebration, to add the segmented snake.

https://www.pennlive.com/sports/2018/05/why_do_the_philadelphia_76ers.html
https://1000logos.net/philadelphia-76ers-logo/
https://www.nba.com/sixers/76ers-unveil-phila-unite-playoff-campaign-rooted-citys-history

Tarpon Sign

For this sign the client didn’t want the official Fishtown Shad fish, he wanted a fish that I had never heard of, a tarpon. Keep an eye out and you might catch a glimpse of this beauty.

This fish is found in the Atlantic Ocean and is considered one of the great saltwater game fishes, if lucky, you just might catch a glimpse of it in Fishtown. I bet this Tarpon put up a good fight!

Enjoy this Tarpon Recipe:

You probably don’t want to eat tarpon. This advice is based on sheer practicality. Tarpon is smelly, has far too many bones to be practical, and doesn’t taste particularly better than any other fish. The best way to enjoy it is to poach the crap out of it and then make fish cakes with plenty of spices and aromatics so you don’t really taste the tarpon.

Even then, you’re probably better off just going to the store and picking up some salmon filets. They’ll taste better and are much, much easier to prepare.

Tarpon Fish Cakes Recipe

Ingredients:

about 2 quarts chicken broth or stock

3-4 lbs of cleaned and skinned tarpon fillets

1 onion, finely chopped

1 bell pepper, finely chopped

about 3 pounds of mashed potatoes

4 eggs

2 tablespoons of fancy mustard (deli or dijon)

1 1/2 tablespoons of garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or cumin

salt and pepper to taste

some oil for frying

Fighting Fish!

Finished these two beauties for Phil Migliarese at Balance Studios HQ - Fishtown They look great and definitely add some Fishtown flair.

Swingin' Mahi

Before starting this Mahi sign, I really needed to learn a little more about them. Living in the center of a big city, I don’t see many of these fish around unless of course there’s chopstix in my hands. The first thing I noticed about them is that they all seem really pissed off and ready for a fight. I wanted the number plate to highlight just how powerful and fast these fish are. Did you know that a Mahi can swim up to like 60 m/h? Neither did I.

This was a fun fish to work on because it really brightened up my studio and gave me the chance to learn a little about this magnificent fish.

This beautiful Mahi will be the best catch of the day. Sure it’s cliche, but I had to.

The wood template I hand cut from pine. Every sign, and basically every side, is it’s own unique painting. Each side is just a little different.

This was one of my first ideas about combining the hanging number plate with that big powerful fin. Additionally there was a concern that the fin all alone would be especially susceptible to being broken.

Now THAT’S a good looking fish! The photo is a blurry but the smile on his face says it all.

Here’s a view looking out at the water.

Coffee House Too

I really love spare parts robots, especially when they're at one of my favorite coffee shops. I'm also very proud to hang this  rainbow sign, it's not just attractive but it helps make visible, the increasing diversity in Fishtown.

Plus Derek, Josh and crew are always cool as shit!

Check them out @ https://www.coffeehouseco.com/

🤖 🎅 delivering #Fishtown 🌈 #Trout.

it's a cold snowy morning here in Fishtown.

Seeing it for the first time in warm sunlight 

Making A Sign

One of the first steps is cutting a fish out from a piece of wood. For this sign, we were using 3/4” solid Pine. Wood widths can vary depending on the project. If you have a specific piece of wood in mind for a sign we can usually use it.

Here are some hooks I had to customize for a particularly odd fitting.

Here’s one of the earlier whimsical fish signs in progress. This is a mockup to see what the signs would look like with the house number hanging from the bottom instead of being right on the fish.

Here’s a mockup for measurements, placements and sign sizes.

Designing & Finishing A Sign

Drawing transferred to wood board ready for cutting.

Living in Fishtown, looking around one cant help but see all the colors around. I want to have signs that stand out and say Hi!

This is the sketch for a custom Koi Sign. It will hang as to resemble a traditional Japanese Koinobori windsock. Landscapes across Japan are decorated with koinobori from April to early May, in honor of children for a good future and in the hope that they will grow up healthy and strong.

When trying to decide on which type of fish to hang outside this classic rowhome, I didn’t need to look further than their front sidewalk.

Here is a freshly cut wooden fish getting ready for a coat of paint. Look at the holes and you’ll notice the syleized bumpouts.

Now it’s beginning to look like something.

The finished product after three or four coats of polyurethane.

Here are two stylized signs. They’re both approximately 24” long and 10” high.