If you’ve got Abby Clancy, Peter Crouch, Little Mix and a whole host of famous faces among your customers, you must be doing something right.
Neon Creations Ltd make fabulously funky signs and pieces of art using neon lights at their impressive studio in Bolton.
And the most thrilling part for London-born owner Tony Spink, is that because his hobby has turned into his dream career, he loves going to work every day.
Customers enjoy approaching the company as they know they’ll get a unique piece of art with 40 colours for neon lights available. Using phospherous powder, neon gas and coloured glass the team makes some wonderful artistic signs and artworks to any specification.
You’ll see their neon signs up at Almost Famous restaurants in Manchester and even on the Coronation Street cobbles in Weatherfield.
And with that kind of exposure it’s not hard to see why their work has become so popular.
Following the covid pandemic Brits have become more interested in making their homes strikingly individual. Artisan businesses that create bespoke pieces of furniture and artwork are in high demand as they can give rooms a unique twist for a reasonable cost.
The hype all started as a youngster when Tony spotted an advert in London for a ‘neon glass bender’ and was so intrigued that he applied. He had wanted to work for a company that made signs as he loves the process of seeing a finished product.
After learning all the tricks of the trade for several years, even offering to work extra hours in his lunch breaks to gather every bit of skill he could, he finally decided to set up his own neon lights company in Manchester.
Since he co-founded Neon Creations in 2005, he has developed his passion into a viable business which has grown from strength to strength – and he’s always the last to leave the workshop each night, unless Millwall FC are on the telly.
His wife Catherine even quit her marketing job to help Tony set the artisan skill aside from the LED lighting being offered by some online companies.
Tony (pictured) said: “People talk about getting neon lights for their restaurant or their bar or their home, and order these LED ones from China. It’s just not the same thing. Cheap plastic LED lights don’t last as long or offer the same 360 degrees illumination, and of course, they’re not filled with neon gas.
“There is no machinery that makes these lights. The first neon lights were created in 1912 and they’re still made the same way today. It’s an absolute skill that takes years to master as everything is done by hand.
“We’ve got a really good reputation here. I really am a stickler for quality not quantity.”
Most of Tony’s custom made neon signs are supplied either ready to hang or fully encased in an acrylic box/panel, all you have to do is plug it in and admire! But the team also offers help with installing larger products.
Custom made bar signs start at £350+VAT but Tony’s unique artwork using lights (pictured) start at £2,400+VAT.
For more information, or to try your hand on a glass bending workshop, visit:Neon Signs | Custom Made Neon Signs | Neon Creations.
You can see some of Tony’s work at a Neon Art Exhibition – Glass & Light: A neon journey since 1912 – until October 29 (closed Sundays and Mondays) at Castle Park Arts Centre in Frodsham, Cheshire.
