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Everybody has a go-to watering hole to watch the game. And while most of us don’t want our living rooms to look like sports bars, you can bring home a touch of that pub-like nostalgia with Zeon Corporation’s neon signs.
The Louisville-based sign manufacturer (zeon.com) opened in 1980 with accounts like Kinko’s and Canon before finding its true niche: craft beer companies. Although neon sign making is a fading art form, Zeon’s repertoire also includes LED and nonilluminated signs, which incorporate sustainable materials such as recycled aluminum, Colorado beetle-kill pine, and reclaimed barn wood. “We’ve found that craft brewers are much more receptive to creativity,” owner Alan Bloom says, “and that’s reflected in their beers and company cultures.”
Since landing its first brew account—New Belgium Brewing—a decade ago, Zeon has focused on craft beer. Bloom and his team most often design illuminated signs for local breweries like Odell and bigwigs like Pabst Brewing Co., but they also reach markets traditionally ignored by neon sign makers, including auto parts, pet products, spirits, and snow sports; Burton Snowboards recently signed on as a client.
Zeon works only with corporate entities, but you can buy signs online from New Belgium (newbelgium.com) and Dogfish Head (dogfish.com) so you can get a Sunday football–worthy vibe in your own home—recommended for bachelor pads and rec rooms only.
FOLLOW THE SIGNS
Find Zeon’s creations around town (we suggest downtown Denver’s Falling Rock Taphouse). Look for the first mass-produced can-type sign (pictured here) or the Fat Tire bike (top).