If you had told me 20 years ago that I’d be fabricating custom hardware for some of the rarest porcelain signs in the world. I would’ve laughed. But that’s exactly where I’ve landed and the path here was anything but straight. 

I started young, turning wrenches and welding at a motorcycle shop in my teens. I had my first job at a motorcycle shop building custom gas tanks and stretched frames for choppers. It was hands-on, creative, and the perfect playground for someone wired to build. But back then, I was told working with your hands couldn’t be a real career. So I went the traditional route. I went to college, entered corporate America. It didn’t take long to realize I was built for something different. 

At 25, with the support of my wife, we opened our own custom motorcycle shop. It was a dream I thought I’d have to wait decades for, but we made it real in our 20s.  I missed working with my hands and could sit behind a desk any longer. So I built one-of-a-kind bikes, made a name for ourselves, and ran a successful business. But even that had a limit. We didn’t have a backer to expand into a franchise,  so we decided to sell. That’s when we got scooped up by a motorcycle dealer group in south Florida and decided to move and start over. 

For a while I lived what most would call a “normal” life for the next few years. I went to work and went home and quickly became bored without an outlet. So I started restoring an old building on our property, just as a side project to keep my hands busy. Around the same time, I stumbled across my first sign, an old Gulf Dog Ear. Then came a Sinclair, and of course they needed to go up in the newly finished building.

My grandfather was a huge influence in introducing me to muscle cars . He introduced me to swap meets and car shows. I had always loved reading magazines like Hot Rod and Car Kulture as a kid. Just like that, I fell down the rabbit hole. What started as a hobby became a full-blown obsession. I realized I wasn’t alone, there’s a whole world of collectors who love the history and the nostalgia, as much as I do. But I also noticed something missing: the hardware.

See, most signs are found without the original hangers or rings. The hardware gets lost, scrapped, or was never preserved in the first place. For every 100 signs found, there might be one piece of original hanging hardware left. And for collectors like me, completionists who want the sign and the display, it’s frustrating. So I did what I’ve always done: I built the thing I couldn’t find. At first, it was just for myself. But then other collectors started asking: “Can you build me one?” And that’s how Stevens & Co was born. 

Today, we travel to the biggest shows across the country. Both to deliver custom pieces and to connect with other collectors too.Some of the collections i’ve been able to see in person were just as impressive as any museum and all in a hidden basement or workshop that you would never know existed.  I’m lucky enough to have built hundreds of custom pieces, making it possible for collectors to actually enjoy and display their signs.

Some signs are pristine, others with fantastic patina. Some are double-sided but only have one good face. Some collectors have  low ceilings, or space limitations. That’s where creativity kicks in. One of the best parts of my job is to bring peace to life in a way that fits their space and tells a story. 

People ask me all the time: “What’s your favorite build?”

My answer is always the same…the next one.

Each project is a new challenge, a new opportunity to turn raw steel into something that completes the vision. This is a niche world. But it’s one I’m proud to be part of. From the pile of doom in the corner of every collector’s shop, to the rare sign that finally deserves to be seen. What I do is about giving people the ability to display history, with style. 

And for me? I’m just grateful I get to build something meaningful every day.