COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — Since the mid-1980s, Boyd Struble has been crafting neon signs, shapes, and images in a field of artistry that you can't find in as many places as you once could; it's been a life dedicated to the pursuit of a mystifying glow.
Operating out of his aptly named workshop, Boyd's Neon, Boyd has constructed mountains of neon signage, "Hundreds for sure," he commented, "probably thousands, I mean, [over] forty years."
His commissions and repairs have illuminated all sorts of places; he's made signs for hotels, restaurants, tattoo parlors, private collectors, and more (much more).
He's even worked on and constructed signs for Neon Alley in Pueblo; he operates one of the rare neon workshops in southern Colorado.
His journey through the world of neon started in Denver in the 1980s before he eventually headed to Colorado Springs in the 1990s. "Then, in 2001, [I] started my own shop."
Boyd says the days in his workshop are predominantly filled with bending glass, so much so that he admits there was a point in time when he would often bend glass in his sleep.
"At the end you put on electrodes," said Boyd, "take it over to the bombarder, heat it up, pull all the impurities out, get it down to a vacuum, [and] then back-fill it with either neon or argon."
The job has gone through changes over the years; it used to be that Boyd's days were filled with creating neon for "pan channel letters," which are the illuminated letters that you would see on the front of any assortment of stores; however, when LED lights began to dominate the market (in the 2000s), that all changed.
"Every letter you see out there that's lit up used to have neon, now pretty much all of them have LED's."
Boyd says that about 90 percent of that type of business shifted to LED lights; for a few years, this shift left him wondering if he would have to shut down.
"And then it's slowly come back," Boyd said, "there's a lot of collectors that keep me going and custom signs, like I do custom window signs."
While the shift has meant a decrease in overall business, it's also meant an increase in the amount of interesting jobs that Boyd is pursuing; according to Boyd, his work is split pretty evenly between repairs and unique, custom jobs, "Yeah, those are the ones you get excited about."
Throughout all the shifts and turns, Boyd says it's been a good life, "I still like it, I'm still here," he chuckled.
Boyd says that for at least the next four years, he plans to continue operating as normal out of his current location, but past that point, things may change again.
To find out more about Boyd's Neon, click here.
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