ABOUT BARANO RESTAURANT

Located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn about six blocks from our design studio is the highly anticipated Barano Restaurant which opens this month. Chef Albert Di Meglio, former chef at Rubirosa, created a menu inspired by his childhood as an Italian-American in Staten Island. The restaurant’s name, Barano, is named after his family’s hometown on the island of Ischia, just off the coast of Naples, Italy. New York Magazine writes, “…the kitchen revolves around a wood-fired oven, rotisserie, and grill, which Di Meglio employs for pizzas like the L’uovo (Swiss chard, capocollo, Fontina, and duck egg) and spit-roasted meats.” Sounds delicious to us!

Photo: Jody Wissner/New York Magazine

The interior design aesthetic of the restaurant was conceptualized by Brooklyn Home Studios, with the restaurant’s exterior signage manufactured by Masterwork Plaques. The building’s exterior features two etched brass plaques, one featuring the name of the restaurant, the other the street address.

Restaurant and exterior signage is most successful when the design is simple, crisp and clean. Our studio always recommends investing in high quality materials. Although we do create plaques in aluminum, zinc and other more affordable metals, brass, bronze and stainless steel will stand the test of time.

We were thrilled to see our plaque featured on the restaurant’s main page! 

Photo from B arano Restaurant .

For more information regarding our etched brass and custom plaques, give us a call at (718) 283-4109, and we will be happy to discuss a variety of options for signage that bests suit your business.

Advice from the Plaque-Makers: Make a Sign that Lasts

Exterior building signage is necessary for just about every type of business. When it comes to designing company plaques, it can be tempting to jam-pack each sign with addresses, tag lines and contact info to give the casual passerby more than one way to reach out to your business. While employee email addresses, phone numbers and physical addresses can all be helpful, an outdoor plaque may not need all of these elements.

To prevent overcomplicating your corporate signage, focus on the company name, logo, and your overall brand identity. The outdoor plaque should clearly promote your business’s presence in the building, and it should also catch the eye of passersby, enticing prospective clients to visit or contact your organization.

We recommend sitting with your branding and marketing team—think about a company color and metal type that may best complement your logo. At the same time, decide on one method of contact that is most appropriate for prospective clients who see your company’s plaque on the street—a contact method may not be necessary if the sign is right outside your door. Once the content is decided upon, request a quote from our studio, and our customer service team can help you finalize your plaque design from there. Included below are five helpful tips during your company’s initial planning process.

#1 Avoid QR Codes

Every few months, a client will ask us to add a QR code to their initial plaque designs, but rarely do these customers end up wanting it on the final product. We have a bit of an aversion to QR codes at our studio, and there are two reasons why.  

QR codes are meant for use on printed media.

Barcodes are two-dimensional and almost always black and white. Etched and cast plaques are not completely flat. Cast plaques have a relief depth of 3/32”, so shadowing can distort the QR code and prevent its readability. This presents obvious issues. There is always the risk that the QR code won’t scan properly after the plaque has been created, and what’s the use of an expensive plaque with a QR code that doesn’t work?

Barcode Scanner Apps must be downloaded.

Secondly, if the QR code does scan successfully, smartphones do not automatically come with barcode scanners. The most effective QR codes offer customers a reward if they do scan and view the embedded link. That means unless you offer a discount or another type of incentive, will people use it? A simple website url may be more effective, and also relieves the fear that QR codes will become outdated.

#2 Use Reliable Contact Info

Similar to our first tip, it is important to choose a reliable contact method that will not change over time.  If an architectural signage project has a phone number that is no longer in service, the price to update the phone number on the plaque is just about as expensive as recreating the plaque entirely.  For this reason, make sure there are no typos or outdated forms of contact on your company signage. 

#3 Make Sure Your Logo is Up-to-Date

Vector files are our favorite type of file at Masterwork Plaques.  Vectors are most often created in Adobe Illustrator, so the file would end in “.ai” or “.eps”. If your company only has a jpeg file handy, send us the highest resolution file available. If needed, we can often redraw the logo in house.

Marketing departments will typically have your company’s vector file.  Make sure to send us the most up-to-date logo you have. A bronze plaque can last for decades, but if the content is outdated, you may have to remake the plaque regardless of the condition of the metal.

#4 Invest in High-Quality Materials

  Etched plaque for Barano Restaurant in Brooklyn, NY.

Our studio has many plaque options, but we typically recommend cast bronze and etched stainless steel over most other metal types. Bronze and stainless steel are high-quality, durable metals that hold up well as interior and exterior signage.  High-quality items usually come with a higher price tag, but if you want plaques that will last for decades, these plaques quickly pay you back over time.  

Too often, we see outdoor plastic and aluminum plaques that have been through too many hot summers or cold winters. Their painted backgrounds start to peel away, and those once pretty plastic plaques have dented and chipped. It is not uncommon for cheaply-made, exterior plaques to become unreadable after one or two years. Choosing high quality materials and the proper finish prevents dents and scratches that ruin the plaque’s appearance. Rather than recreating a plaque every two years, order a well-made plaque once, and you will save your company valuable time and money.  Your plaque is a reflection of your company, and a high quality sign sends a strong message to your customers.

#5 Mount Your Plaque Securely

One last piece of advice: Use our hidden stud mount technique for any plaque that is installed outside. This blind-mount technique conceals all attachment hardware from the face of the plaque, which makes it more difficult to remove and protects it against theft.  Bronze is an expensive material, and a plaque that is improperly mounted can be stolen and sold as scrap metal. Masterwork’s cast plaques come with specially developed attachment systems that can be inserted directly into the wall with an architectural grade epoxy.

Thanksgiving is a time of gratitude.

Here at Masterwork Plaques, we have a lot to be thankful for. This past year has been a time of exciting new growth at our studio. In the past twelve months, not only have we doubled the number of plaque and medallion customers we served in 2014, but we have also redeveloped our website and renovated our studio! 

So in the spirit of Thanksgiving, we have a few people and places to thank:

OUR CUSTOMERS

Running a small business isn’t easy.  Knowing that we have a client base that appreciates our plaque products makes it all worth it.  We know that large corporations can pump out their products a little faster and maybe a little cheaper, but it means a lot knowing that our clients appreciate the Masterwork experience, for each custom plaque is made in America and designed with care. 

LOCAL BUSINESSES

New York City can be an overwhelming place to live and work. Luckily for us, Williamsburg, Brooklyn knows how to take care of its inhabitants.  These local spots have provided us with the many items we needed during our studio renovation, delicious food, and a tranquil space to unwind after a busy day at work.

Aurora Hardware – Thank you for your endless supply of nails and spackle, and for not looking at us strangely even when we’ve come back twice in the same day.

Sweethaus Coffee Shop – Thank you for your delicious coffee and your addicting cookies and cupcakes.

BagelSmith – Your bagels are a morning staple, and your generous cream cheese-to-bagel ratio does not go unnoticed!

OUR TEAM MEMBERS

During this action-packed year, our dedicated team of full-time staff and hired contractors have worked hard to make our projects shine.  Our designers, customer service agents, patina artists, and bas-relief sculptors have each helped the Masterwork Plaque business come to life.

The Renovation of Edgewood Shopping Center, 72" x 48" Cast Bronze Plaques

Masterwork Plaques was invited to create two large-scale commemorative plaques for the Edgewood Plaza Shopping Center, located in Palo Alto, CA, which were recently installed in May 2015.  The shopping center was originally developed by the well-known real estate developer, Joseph Eichler, in the mid-1950’s.  Over the past few years, the site has gone through restoration and redevelopment by Sand Hill Property Company.  Our custom-designed bronze plaques include the original site plans created by Eichler and architect A. Quincy Jones in 1955, in addition to providing a brief history of Eichler’s well-known “California Modern” style. 

Image provided by Sand Hill Property Company and the Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.

Joseph Eichler developed over 11,000 affordable houses in California, and is considered one of the most influential builders of his day.  He was influenced by the styles of Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe, and even lived in a Frank Lloyd Wright house himself.  His goal was to “bring the outside in” with floor to ceiling windows, patios and gardens.  He incorporated these ideas into Edgewood Plaza, the only commercial property Eichler ever built. The original shopping center was considered a landmark for its suburban post-war design, and for this reason, the two custom bronze plaques were created.  

Edgewood Plaza: Cast Bronze Plaque (1 of 2)

Our studio was able to recreate several of Eichler’s original site drawings and architectural plans in bronze. Taken from a scan from historic archives, the first plaque shows two different renderings created in the mid 1950’s (the third is a photograph from 2014).  Our studio can depict historic renderings in two ways: either illustrated in flat-relief, or recreated as a photo-rendered image.  The illustrated drawing spans across the bottom half of the first plaque.  This drawing from A. Quincy Jones was originally rendered in a simple black and white style. We felt this style was important to keep alive when translated into bronze. The second image in the top left corner of the first plaque is rendered in a photographic style, because the original rendering was composed of complex shading, more like a photographic image.  It is contrasted with a photo from the 2014 renovated site to its right. On the second plaque (shown below), the original illustrated plan view from the 1955 shopping center is shown contrasted against its 2014 renovated layout, giving us another before and after look at Edgewood Plaza, then and now.

Edgewood Plaza: Cast Bronze Plaque (2 of 2)

Masterwork Plaques has worked with many commercial properties in the past on projects ranging in complexity from building management plaques, to historic commemorations and landmark projects.  For a bronze plaque project of this scope, “before and after” images both commemorate the original designs and welcome any changes to the newly renovated properties.  The custom plaques also provide an opportunity for education and historic context for the casual passerby.  For more information on historic landmark plaques and building management plaques, send us an email at masterworkplaques@gmail.com.

Central Park: East Side at 107th Street entrance just south of the Harlem Meer

Masterwork Plaques recently collaborated with the Central Park Conservancy and the NYC Parks Department to recreate a historic commemorative plaque.  Designed and installed just in time for spring of 2015, this custom bronze plaque is an exact replica of the original dedicated in 1906, which was lost sometime in the 1970’s.

2015 Replica of the original McGown's Pass plaque

McGown’s Pass (sometimes spelled “McGowan’s”) is a small part of the northeast section of Central Park and is named after the McGown family, who owned a tavern in the area from 1756 until the Revolutionary War.  The plaque commemorates the area’s advantageous position during the British occupation of New York from 1776 to 1783, in addition to its use during the War of 1812, where Fort Clinton was built to better arm and protect the city.  McGown’s Pass is a high-topographical point in the park, and today, a commemorative site (where the newly installed plaque can be found) rests at the high point of the hill. 

McGown's Pass site, Before and After; Black and white photo courtesy of the Central Park Conservancy.

Masterwork Plaques was able to recreate this custom-shaped plaque from the reference of two black and white photos and an incomplete image of the original design plans.  This was the only remaining evidence of the original plaque’s design.  Using our extensive font library, we were able to design and customize each letter to best imitate the look of the original hand-tooled type.  Masterwork Plaques also modified our lamb’s tongue decorative border to include a sloped and dimensional ogee curve and custom corner details, which were present on the original historic plaque. Custom rosettes were also replicated and hand-carved based on the specifications on the original design plan. 

  Photo of the original plaque, courtesy of the Central Park Conservancy

Most importantly, when replicating a historic bronze plaque, is to capture the natural aged, antique look of a real chemical patina.  Masterwork Plaques’ offers specialty services from highly skilled artisans who can imitate natural tarnishing, corrosion, and weathering that occurs over time.  A true chemical patina chemically changes the surface color of the bronze, which eliminates the possibility of chipping away or peeling off over time, as occurs with a layer of paint or a stain from imitation patinas.  Oftentimes plaque companies will apply a layer of paint rather than a chemical patina, which is cheaper, but will not last the test of time.

All of these elements were vital to creating an exact replica of this historic bronze plaque. Techniques from this project can be used on any plaque project, whether the goal is to replicate a historic landmark, or to simply add an antique quality to any personal or commercial plaque that may aim to look like it has been in place for decades.  Our studio specializes in these custom design techniques.  Masterwork Plaques came into being from the desire to revolutionize the bronze plaque industry so that each plaque is created with one-of-a-kind designs and materials of the finest quality.