T.J. Plumbing

Not to sound cliché, but oh, well...in this day and age it is rare to find any form of signage that any amount of thought was put into. Poofy letters angled to look like they are jetting into the future and swooshes abound. Bright, obnoxious colors. So literal, there is no room for any sort of imagination.

Exception: the TJ Plumbing sign on the corner of Glenview and whatever cross street that is in Wauwatosa, just west of the village. I get so confused over there, angled streets all over the place. Every time I am waiting at this stoplight, I study this sign, wishing I had my camera. Finally I did have it and took a photo. Partly for this blog, but also because I am afraid that one day I will drive by and the sign will have been replaced by something ill-conceived. I want to preserve this rarity.

One of the sad truths behind this is that I do not call this plumbing company when I need my washtub unclogged or my drippy sink fixed. But I don't think that has anything to do with their beautifully, understated sign. I digress. I love this sign for it's non-garish colors, earthy brown hues, but it has always stood out to me. The lettering is worth really looking at. No font exists like this, someone probably hand-lettered this, there was a lot of thought put behind the way the J sort of looks toilet-like, but not really. The way the L connects to the G in the word "plumbing", the way the P stretches a little further down than the baselines of the other letters, but doesn't look odd.

And the co. inc., it's not an afterthought. These letters, which are obviously important to this company have their own line. They are smaller than the other letters, but not so small that they are overlooked.

Lack of imagery. No clip art photo of some plumber plunging a toilet, the letters stand alone. The most beautiful plumbing company sign in existance, it has to be.