Business
BY KAROLINE PFEIL
Nancy Stokes Hearn is the founder and CEO of Stokes Sign Company.
Co-owner Aaron Adams works on a lettering project.
Stokes Sign Company sta gathered for a group photo.
PHOTOS COURTESY STOKES SIGN COMPANY
Stokes Sign Company celebrates 30 years in Lakeway
Stokes Sign Company is celebrating 30 years of serving Lakeway residents and businesses, provid- ing made-to-order signage for small businesses, churches, city departments, and schools. Meet the team Opened in 1994, with a second location opened in Westlake in 1999, the business was founded by artist Nancy Stokes Hearn, a former technical illustrator who designed instructional manuals for McDonnell Douglas. Throughout her early career, Hearn slowly pieced together what her true passion was. Coming from a family-owned small business and being the grandchild of an artist, all of the pieces of the puzzle were put together for Hearn when she began making signs and selling them. “I was kind of born to be a sign maker. I love making signs. I still get excited coming to work every day,” Hearn said. Keeping the passion for art alive through the generations, Stokes employs many young artists and recent graduates, and Hearn says that the company celebrates their sta ’s creativity. “The core of our business is the art of it,” Hearn said. Stokes’ policy is to provide a “second option” to clients for each project. In doing so, the company is able to satisfy client requests rst and foremost while also giving sta an opportunity to provide their artistic input and ideas.
What they o er Stokes has worked with countless clients in Lakeway and surrounding areas. Examples of past projects include wraps for food trucks like Lefty’s Pizza, way nding signs for Rough Hollow, and channel lettering for Westlake Dermatology. What makes Stokes unique, more than anything, is their sta , Hearn and co-owner Aaron Adams said, as well as the wide variety of work that they are capable of producing in-house. Their shop is equipped to produce posters, reception area signs, vehicle wraps, window graphics and banners, among many other products. Hearn said that the company continues to invest in new technology, including state-of-the-art large format printers, laser engravers, and digital cutters. “Signs that used to take us a week now can be made in a day,” Hearn said. “We print on larger materials and cut down to any shape or size allowing us to give our clients competitively priced signs, quickly.” Why it matters Both Hearn and co-owner Adams said they celebrate the relationship between their business and the community it serves. “That’s what I like about the sign business, too. You actually are helping the community at the same time as you are growing your own business,” Hearn said.
A Stokes sta member works on custom signage.
620
PERPETUATION DR.
N
N
1909 S. RM 620, Lakeway www.stokessigncompany.com
EDGEGROVE DR.
MONTEBELLO RD.
N
2814 Bee Caves Road, Austin www.stokessigncompany.com
36
COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
Powered by FlippingBook