{"id":511091,"date":"2026-07-05T16:14:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T16:14:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/511091\/"},"modified":"2026-07-05T16:14:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T16:14:30","slug":"zen-and-the-art-of-sign-painting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/511091\/","title":{"rendered":"Zen and the art of sign painting"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to artist Ben Stevenson, a short stretch of independent shops on Abbeydale Road is the closest thing to a gallery show he\u2019s ever likely to get. If you make your way past the sensory assault of the JBM Mart store \u2014 perhaps popping in for some American candy or a vape on your way \u2014 and all the way down to the golden taxi perched on the roof of Mr Compensator, you\u2019ll probably be able to sense where his influence begins. While the bespoke signs he paints are always unique for each business that hires him, once you know what you\u2019re looking for, it becomes easier to recognise his expert touch.\u00a0<\/p>\n

You can find Stevenson\u2019s work behind the bar at Dead Donkey, on the enormous mirror in Best Boy Bagels and on the storefronts for Gravel Pit and the Italian cafe YAMM. Or, if you\u2019d rather admire him closer to home, his signs appear in other corners of the city \u2014 from Porter Brook Deli in Sharrow Vale and Blue Collar Tattoos on Glossop Road, to Vulgar Vintage Mini Mart on Division Street and The Victoria in Neepsend. How many signs of yours are there in Sheffield, I wonder aloud at one point. \u201cI lost count a long time ago,\u201d he says, with a laugh.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re chatting in his studio, a tight two-roomed affair tucked away among the tangle of student accommodation and old warehouses just off London Road. Dressed for the weather in shorts and a T-shirt, the most noticeable thing about him is his tattoos, which cover every inch of his arms and legs. He even has one on the top of his head, of the Buddhist deity Fudo Myoo, which is slowly fading as his hair lengthens to match his beard. A pair of stylish clear-rimmed glasses complete his unique look.<\/p>\n

\"\"Ben Stevenson’s studio on Denby Street. Photo: Dan Hayes\/The Tribune.<\/p>\n

The place looks pretty much as you\u2019d expect. Countless prints, paintings and examples of his work cover the walls. A Jackson Pollock here, a painting of Bart Simpson there. Tibetan prayer flags hang from the ceiling, while in the other room sit two beautiful A-boards he recently made for the Sardinian restaurant Domo; one for their place in Kelham Island and another for their new outlet in Leeds.<\/p>\n

Becoming a traditional signwriter was not part of Stevenson\u2019s original plan, although he\u2019s happy to have ended up here. Some readers may remember his previous venture, the NIIICE shop in The Forum on Division Street, back when he believed his future lay in clothing design. When the shop shuttered in 2019, he knew he wanted to carry on making art, but wasn\u2019t sure how to ensure it paid his bills. \u201cI was really struggling with illustration commissions because everyone was doing them,\u201d he says. \u201cBut no one was doing this.\u201d<\/p>\n

His first signage gig was for the former Division Street restaurant Lucky Fox, followed by Terrace Goods and Cheap Dates in Orchard Square. But his big break came when he got on a course run by legendary signwriter Joby Carter. I confess I\u2019d never heard of Carter but Stevenson informs me that, in the signwriting world, he is the man. \u201cWhen I came back from that course I thought: \u2018Right, I\u2019m a signwriter now\u2019,\u201d he says. Something that particularly appealed to him was how the vocation straddled the line between art and trade. \u201cIt\u2019s artistic but not pretentious,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a really accessible art form.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"A PMA sign at Porter Brook Deli. Photo: PMA Signs.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also an art form that seems to be in high demand these days. Despite the popularity of Stevenson\u2019s business, PMA Signs, there is still enough work going around for several other local artists to make a living this way. Every morning, when I arrive at The Tribune office in Leah\u2019s Yard, I pass under the handiwork of local signwriter Chum<\/a>. And, if Abbeydale Road can be considered Stevenson\u2019s solo exhibition, then Sharrow Vale Road is akin to a group show \u2014 a \u201ccommunal tag team of Sheffield sign writers\u201d, as Stevenson puts it \u2014 including work by himself, Mia Warner<\/a> and Molly Jones<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When I ask Stevenson what he thinks has prompted this signwriting renaissance, he seems to find it fairly obvious. In his view, the distinction between a hand-painted sign that you can \u201cfeel and smell\u201d and the \u201cmeaninglessness\u201d of a more generic storefront speaks for itself. \u201cIt\u2019s seen as authentic, he says. \u201cIt kind of shows they [the business] care.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Dead Donkey, one of many independents on Abbeydale Road to feature his work, bar supervisor Christy Stanley tells me they never even considered an alternative to bespoke, hand-painted artwork. Their main sign was painted by staff member Jack Bendall (a graphic designer) but Stevenson\u2019s work appears on chalkboards behind the bar. \u201cWe\u2019re an independent bar so we always wanted to use independent artists,\u201d he says. \u201cIt’s something we\u2019re really passionate about.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Two A-boards PMA have made for Domo. Photo: Dan Hayes\/The Tribune.<\/p>\n

All of Stevenson’s clients share this kind of attention to detail, he says, adding that his work is the result of a collaborative process with each businesses that hires him. \u201cIt\u2019s rare I get a job where someone just wants their logo on a big board with an outline,\u201d he says. \u201cNormally it’s: here are some ideas, you throw some ideas at me and the work ends up having roots and a bit of a story.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A case in point is his work for Gravel Pit, the duo of plant\/art\/music\/curios shops based on Abbeydale Road and, more recently, in Leah\u2019s Yard. Owner Danny Mager’s original brief was for something \u201cfun and cool\u201d to match the shop\u2019s esoteric offering and, over the course of several years, he and Stevenson have ended up creating a unique typographic style together, which has developed and evolved as the shop has.<\/p>\n

While now considered an artisan skill, back in the 19th century Sheffield would have boasted scores of signwriters like Stevenson, with the trade exploding in tandem with the rise of literacy among the general public. As England began to become a \u201cnation of shopkeepers,\u201d flooded with independent retailers of various stripes, businesses found they needed a way to stand out and attract passers-by. A hand-painted sign was an obvious solution. Stevenson tells me he particularly enjoys a sign on Neill Road advertising the Victorian slate merchants and tilers Staniforth & Lee, which a local resident lovingly restored<\/a> two years ago. \u201cIt\u2019s a marvel,\u201d he says. \u201cLike, you think: \u2018How did they do that?\u2019\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"A sign PMA made for Marco Milana at Leah’s Yard. Photo: PMA Signs.<\/p>\n

But while sign painting might once again be a growing industry, it\u2019s still not the most lucrative. Individual commissions can pay well, Stevenson says, but buying high-quality tools and materials means that the layouts he needs to make can often eat into his profits. (He declines to reveal how much an average sign costs.) As with his experience at NIIICE, where he loved designing the clothes but found running a shop more difficult, he admits the business side of things is something he struggles with. \u201cI\u2019m an artist not a businessman, as I\u2019m finding out every month,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Does he ever think about taking an easier way out, like some other local artists who lean heavily into simplistic Sheffield tropes and the \u201cfetishisation\u201d of northern identity (mentioning no names<\/a>), I wonder. He jokes that one day he might abandon his principles and just churn out stuff for money but that, at least for now, keeping his integrity is important for him. \u201cSome people say \u2018Just paint an EY UP\u2019 or \u2018If you did \u2018Mardy Bum\u2019 in circus font, you\u2019d sell a load at Christmas\u2019,\u201d he says. \u201cBut as someone who was born and raised here, I find it really icky.\u201d<\/p>\n

I’m not too surprised the lure of bigger profits hasn’t moved him so far. As the prayer flags suggest, he has what he calls an interest in Buddhism. (While we chat, a cute Pomeranian lies at his feet, named Bodhi after the Sanskrit word for enlightenment). \u201cI would describe myself as a closeted Buddhist,\u201d he laughs. As such, he\u2019s just trying to find a \u201chappy medium\u201d between doing what he enjoys and making enough money to live.<\/p>\n

\"\"An A-board outside Mow’s Coffee on Arundel Street. Photo: PMA Signs.<\/p>\n

In a way, it makes sense that someone flirting with Buddhism would end up a signwriter; there\u2019s something about the trade that seems uniquely meditative. While perusing Stevenson\u2019s portfolio along Abbeydale Road, I pop into the cafe Tea with Percie, which has a handcrafted sign that turns out to have been created by the owner\u2019s husband, Henk Littlewood.<\/p>\n

Henk tells me he used to know a sign painter who would practise individual letters \u201cfor weeks\u201d until he was confident he had mastered them. \u201cWhat I liked was the sheer amount of time required to get to the point where he could say he could do Ds,” he adds. \u201cWhat you end up with is something that retains that human element and yet it\u2019s crisp and lovely.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information about Ben Stevenson and PMA Signs, click here<\/a>. You will be able to see lots of his work at the Abbeydale Road Beer Festival<\/a>, which will take place across 20 venues from Thursday, 30 July to Sunday, 2 August.<\/p>\n

\"CTA<\/a><\/p>\n

Hi, Dan here. One of the best things about my job is getting to meet really interesting and talented people. Amid all the stories about dodgy landlords and disgraced politicians, talking to people like Ben Stevenson of PMA Signs is an absolute joy. When I set up The Tribune in 2021, I didn\u2019t just want to highlight all the bad things happening in Sheffield, I also wanted to celebrate all the good stuff that takes place here too. Doing regular good news editions was one of our five pledges to Sheffield that we will be fulfilling over the next year. If you think news should be more than just the bad stuff, become a member of The Tribune today.<\/p>\n


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