Personalized Address Plaque – Antique Brass Lily and Vine

The Sign

A scalloped cartouche, the edge rising and falling in soft lobes, with a lily opening at each upper corner and vine scrolls running down both sides into the lower lobes. Three lines inside: number, family name, established year.

Of all the address signs we make, this is the one that looks least like signage and most like something that came with the house.

Craftsmanship

Real copper and brass grown over the sculpted form rather than poured into a mold. A lily is the hardest flower to do in metal because the petals curl backward and away from the center, which means undercuts, and undercuts are precisely what a mold cannot release. Grown over a sculpted form the petals keep their turn and the stamens stay separate. Lilies, vines and lettering are cut at their own heights, 2 to 5 mm off the ground. The plate is 8 to 10 mm thick and solid all the way through.

Readable from the road

The ornament is pushed right out to the lobes, leaving a clear rectangle in the middle for the three lines. The number sits in raised brass over a ground left dark and reads as contrast from the path; the name and year are meant to be read at the door.

Built for outside

Sealed under a UV-protective finish once the patina is applied. Sun, rain and frost will not fade or lift it, and there is no steel in it to rust and run down a painted wall.

Personalization

The number, the family name and the year. Title case suits this design better than full capitals, and it is how the photographs are set, but either is available. Send the wording exactly as it should appear and a design preview comes back by email before anything is made.

Specifications

• Material: electroformed copper and brass over a solid sculpted core
• Finish: raised antique brass on a blackened ground
• Thickness: 0.3 to 0.4 in (8 to 10 mm), solid through
• Relief: raised detail stands 0.1 to 0.2 in (2 to 5 mm) proud of the ground, at more than one height across the design
• Shape: scalloped cartouche with sculpted lilies at the upper corners and vine scrolls to the sides
• Sizes: eleven, from 6 x 4 to 10 x 10 inches, height x width
• UV-protected and weather-treated for outdoor use
• Made to order in our own workshop

The lilies need room to be lilies. At 8 x 8 and above the petals read individually; at 6 x 4 and 7 x 5 they are simplified into a bloom shape and you lose most of what makes the design worth choosing.

Mounting

Three ways, chosen at checkout.

• Keyhole slots: two screws in the wall. Take a moment over the level, as a scalloped edge gives you no straight line to sight against.
• Peel-and-stick tape: sealed strips already applied to the back. No drilling. Needs a smooth, clean, dry surface.
• Floating stud mount: reinforced studs that stand it clear of the wall, so the scalloped edge throws a shadow that follows its own curve.

Hardware and instructions are included with all three.

Where it works

A painted porch, a rendered wall, a brick pier, a garden gate. It suits pale walls, where the scalloped outline is visible as a silhouette rather than just an edge.

Gifting

The one people buy when they want the sign to look like an heirloom rather than a purchase. Anniversaries of moving in are the usual occasion.

Care

Dust with something soft and dry, working around the lobes rather than across them. Keep polish and abrasives away from the lilies.