The Ideal Gift

I recently took a call from a female customer with a very interesting question. She said that her husband is notoriously difficult to shop for because all the material possessions he values are in his “man cave” and her gifts “basically never” end up in his man room. How then, can she shop for him when all of her gifts are denied access to his man cave? Is there some type of sign Atlas Signs and Plaques sells that is manly enough for his man cave? Yes, in fact, there is—but not in the manner you would expect. I told her that the best route isn’t trying to get a gift or sign inside the hallowed man cave, but to outfit the exterior of it—with a personalized man cave sign.

In Other Words: Andre's Territory

The “Man cave” goes by many names: man room, den, bro-land, man pad, etc. Make no mistake: despite those lighthearted epithets a man’s room is sacred ground. Why? Because a man room, in its essence, is a way to retreat from women and feminine sensibility. It’s a place where a man can be free from married-life responsibilities and focus on his interests and hobbies. It’s a space where he can harken back to his days as a bachelor, have a beer, belch freely, and watch the game with the guys. Believe me when I say all these things are vital to a man’s sense of inner balance.

Legendary Bros. Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes Sharing a Thought in their Man Room

That is not to say, however, that he wants to get away from his wife specifically. It means that he uses his man cave as a retreat from the world of responsibility and expectations. It is for this reason that the man cave is often viewed as a portal to a man’s alter ego. Outside of his man room he is Mr. Charles Robinson, editor-in-chief and dedicated family man. Inside the man room with the guys he becomes Chuck “Short-Change” Robinski, defender of all things masculine and notorious chugger of beer.

Psychologist Sam Martin weighs in on man’s instinctive drive for a “Man Cave”.  “Men have had an identity problem since the women’s movement. They have tried to figure out who they’re supposed to be. For a while women wanted them to be more sensitive, so they were more sensitive. Then women wanted them to be more manly. One of the things I discovered is when men have their own manspace, what they put inside of it is really an expression of who they are. Manspace is about establishing an identity for a man. Our premise is that women have control of the look and the feel of the house and that left guys wanting more. Anybody who has a specific interest or hobby or work or collection is going to want a space to indulge that”. Chicago Tribune, 2007.

What He Really Wants is One of These

What is the perfect gift that a wife can give her husband? What is a gift that is guaranteed long term usage? What is the closest that most wives will come to penetrating the man room? It’s the personalized man cave sign.

What he really wants this holiday season is your furthered support of his man space. The man cave plaque delivers that in spades. Customize your own today!

For more manly gifts check out this etsy.com store, specializing in beer-oriented lamps.

Light the Way, Guinness

Seriously...Don't Knock on This Door.

Today I ran into something very peculiar–the word Proselytize. It means to actively persuade someone into converting to a religion. Prior to today, I must confess, I didn’t know the definition of Proselytize and was admittedly offended because of it (its an English major thing). That being said, where I saw the word also struck me as strange. It wasn’t in a religious pamphlet, it wasn’t on TV, in the news, or online. It was on a sign…a privacy sign.

Jehova's Witnesses Beware

The original version of the sign reads, “No solicitors, no newspapers, no anything, no kidding”. The version that I saw today says “No solicitors, no proselytizing, no anything, no kidding”. This is yet another example of Atlas Signs and Plaques’ ability to customize every sign that we offer. Don’t like the phrasing we used on a sign? You can write your own. Don’t like a sign’s size? Send us an email…we’ll blow it up for you. Don’t like the graphics? You can choose your own. All your custom needs are satisfied at Atlas Signs and Plaques.

“Proselytize” impressed me so much that I decided to look up more arcane, strange looking words. What I found was the New York Times’ top 10 list of most searched for word definitions. Try using a couple of these words on a custom sign of your own!

A Good Choice of Words

10. Obduracy – Not easily moved by feelings; hardhearted.

9. Solipsistic – To deny the existence of others. (One of the handiest words around).

8. Apostates – Someone who forsakes their religion.

7. Opprobrium – Harsh criticism or censure.

6. Baldenfreude – Novelty version of shadenfreude; Finding pleasure in others’ misfortune.

5. Austerity – Stern, severe. (AKA: Severus Snape).

4. Tinnitus – A disease related to loss of hearing and the sensation of ringing in the ears.

3. Sui Generis (Latin) – of his, her, or their own kind.

2. Profligate – Utterly and shamelessly immoral.

1. Inchoate – Not yet completed.

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Today is Veterans Day. To anyone who has ever served America, I extend my deepest thanks.

This Veterans Day lands on 11/11/11, a number of particular symbolic importance.

November 11^th is the day fighting ceased on the western front, effectively ending World War I combat. The armistice, signed at 5:00 AM on Nov 11^th, 1918, was set to go into effect on “The eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month.” 11/11/11

It is for this reason that many people worldwide observe a 2-minute moment of silence at 11 AM on November 11th. These two minutes symbolize the 20 million casualties of WWI.

President Woodrow Wilson established Armistice Day on November 11^th, 1919 to commemorate all the soldiers who fought in the war. In 1938 the date became recognized as a legal holiday, dedicated to the cause of world peace and remembrance of WWI soldiers. In 1954 the day was officially renamed Veterans day and expanded to the remembrance of all veterans.

Of the 68,000,000 WWI veterans, only 1 is alive today. Her name is Florence Green and she joined the Women’s Royal Air Force in 1918 at the age of 17. She resides Norfolk, England.

Peace is a strange thing because it is only through violence that peace is maintained. In an ideal world there is no conflict, no war, no fighting. Our world is not ideal. Our world requires soldiers with guns to protect the sovereignty of our nation. To the servicemen and women who provide that protection, I salute you.

Political season is rapidly approaching. With less than a year until elections, your programming, advertisements, and general conversation will gradually lean closer and closer towards the political realm. For the next 12 months the left wing and right wing will clash, seeking to highlight their differences. But they are all united in at least one way—marketing. Every single candidate has a workhorse marketing backbone behind it.

Take the slogan “Yes, we can” for example. It carried what was a slightly above average campaign past Hillary Clinton, John McCain and into the Whitehouse by converting millions of undecided votes into passionate Obama voters. The three words “Yes, we can” are partly responsible for turning a dark horse candidate into the most voted for president in the history of the United States of America.

The Two Round Signs Flanking The President Were Made by Atlas Signs and Plaques

That slogan has particular application for Atlas Signs and Plaques. Every week I answer dozens of calls from customers asking things like “Can I use this custom image on a sign?” or “Can I use a different font for this sign?” or “I like this sign, but can I get it in a larger size?” Do you know what I say to them every time? “Yes, we can.”

The Product of a Custom Order

Atlas Signs and Plaques can customize any and every signage need that you have. This includes custom graphics (which you can also send us via email), custom letters and numbers (each tapping into our vast library of fonts) and sign shapes (which varies from business style to extravagant).

The ability to freely customize gives Atlas Signs and Plaques a leg up on cast-metal signs. You see, forgeries rely on stick-in-the-mud designs, templates, fonts and sizing. This usually translates into a good-looking, if uninspired, sign. But by choosing Atlas Signs and Plaques you are choosing to express your own unique tastes instead of reflecting what a forgery thinks you like.

Dare to express yourself. Dare to stand out. Dare to build a sign that is as uniquely you as, well, you. With Atlas Signs and Plaques: Yes, you can!

Follow this link to send us you custom sign idea.

Follow this link to view our font library.

 Follow this link for our shapes.

And remember, everything is customizable.

A Foundry Would Have a Very Difficult Time Making a Sign Like This

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When I was a kid my parents took me to church every Sunday; and every Sunday I fidgeted impatiently in the pews, waiting for the service to end so I could go home and watch football. But since church is also a social gathering the end of service wasn’t the end of my waiting. My parents socialized…and then socialized more. In the meantime I longed for football, and would emphatically tug my father’s coat sleeve saying, “Can we go now? PLEASE?” I knew what I wanted and I wanted it immediately.

13 years later, nothing has changed.

We live in an impatient society that flocks toward instant gratification. Services like iTunes, Netflix, and e-books all eliminate waiting from their service model. They give people what they want when they want it, creating harmony amongst consumers.

But when people have to wait that harmony becomes discordant faster than the murkiest Black Sabbath riff. Look at holiday shopping for example.

For ten months out of the year shoppers can go to a store, shop, and buy without waiting in lines. But once November rolls around retail spaces become congested and people start losing their minds. Why? Because they’re forced to wait for something they’ve grown accustomed to getting immediately. This creates stress and frustration.

Atlas Signs and Plaques knows that waiting two and a half weeks for your sign to arrive is frustrating. We work hard to ship your purchase as quickly as possible and it shows: our signs arrive up to 60% sooner than any other sign-maker and we offer up to the minute tracking options.

 But that’s not enough.

To help ease your wait, we will include a free ornament in every shipment on purchases of $125 or more from now until the end of the year. You can find the gallery of ornaments and details here.

No one likes waiting…especially for something they already bought. But if you have to wait, isn’t it nice getting something free out of it? Visit our website, www.customasap.com, buy a sign, and feel the warm, free glow of being rewarded for your patience.

To learn more about exclusive offers follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and subscribe to our new email newsletter today.

If you have any questions, feel free to offer them in the comment box below.