Bend It Like Blazek – by Rob Griffith

Michael Blazek has been a major influence in the Australian sign and display industry. He’s been a leader in his field, helped to advance the sign and display trade, campaign for its future, and continue a legacy that started on the other side of the world. So, when he recently announced that it was time to close shop, it took many by surprise. So, what does it mean for traditional neon signage in Australia, and for a guy with neon in his blood.   

Michael was originally from the area of Wisconsin, US. Think of cold winters, old forests, big lakes, heavy industry, and rugged coastline. It was here that his father had his neon business, and through him that he would begin to learn to shape and bend the delicate glass tubing.

“My father’s Northern Wisconsin Neon Workshop is where I got my start,” said Michael Blazek. “When I first started there was nothing in the process that I liked. To be honest, I found it difficult. I thought I would be a natural because my father did it. It is difficult and can only be mastered by repetition and practice.”

Maybe it was the impatience of youth, or just simple frustration, but Michael was not enjoying learning the basics. Bending the glass tubing requires patience. Luckily for Michael, it was something his father had a lot of.

“Every day, I asked my dad if I could quit the course, and every day his answer was the same, ‘Just give it one more day’”, says Michael. “Finally, after three weeks I started to show enough progress that I stopped asking to quit.”

“Once I learned to be competent, the bending became like tai chi with fire,” says Michael. “I now enjoy the bending process immensely. It is a meditative concentration when a glass bender is moving the glass through the flame to heat it evenly. The first bend is relatively easy when the tube is straight. Every bend after that is mind boggling.”

Michael worked for a while before deciding to spread his wings and travel. It would be a lifechanging adventure that would take him to the other side of the world, to friends in New Zealand.

After a while of travelling New Zealand, Michael was faced with a dilemma a lot of traveller’s face … cash flow. “My money was running out in New Zealand, and I didn’t want to go home,” says Michael.  “I hitchhiked to Auckland and interviewed for a job as glass bender at Claude Neon Lights in Panmure. To my absolute surprise, they called me the next day and offered me a job. I started my apprenticeship under Chris Lukey, who had worked there for over ten years.”

“Chris convinced me to move to Sydney, where he had worked previously, and helped me learn the skills and techniques I would need as the bending torches were slightly different. I interviewed at Adams Neon in Sydney as a practice and then went to Heath Neon in Surrey Hills to interview and was hired. This was mid-1982 and I worked until March 1983 before I was laid off.”

After working in Sydney, Michael would eventually return home and start his own business.

“I started Western Neon in Seattle and ran the business from 1984-1990,” says Michael. “The biggest hurdle in starting my own business was having to fix all the problems myself. If there was a technical issue or a financial issue, I was responsible. At Western Neon I had a loose partnership with a very good salesman, so I did not have to bring in neon work myself. This was a huge advantage. We did a lot of trade neon and I got involved with the Seattle glass art scene and this brought in my own work. As the business became successful, I gained the confidence in myself and my product to be able to sell more signs myself. The sign businesses in the 80’s in America were all about neon signs, so it was lucrative from the start.”

“In 1989 I travelled to Brisbane to visit a friend, Duncan Read, who my father had trained as a glass bender. He was working at Gadsden Signs in Stafford and asked if I wanted to go into business together. I moved over permanently in June 1990.”

If was perfect timing. The demand for Illuminated signage was considerable, and the look and impact of neon signage complimented a number of major market sectors such as Beer and Motoring (not that the two should be combined).

“Neon has a certain fascination for people,” says Michael. “It has a long history and is embedded in our memories whether from films, commercials or ‘after dark’ scenes in large cities, or a lone red ‘MOTEL’ sign gleaming off in the distance. It is synonymous with the burgeoning 50’s in America, so nostalgia is a big part. It partners well with the beer industry, the motor industry and with Mid-Century Modern architecture. But I think its rich glow that penetrates the darkness, and all weather is what ultimately captures and holds the viewer’s eye.”

Michael was enjoying everything about the work he was doing, it was very rewarding.

“I especially enjoyed the ‘ah-ha’ moment when everyone turned to see as the sign was plugged in and turned on for the first time,” says Michael.  “The customer satisfaction was usually quite mesmerising, as well as the actual process of bending of the glass itself. I still enjoy troubleshooting signs that aren’t working and installing signs. It is something I became very good at and doesn’t seem like hard work because it is so enjoyable. In recent years the industry has collaborated more than it had ever done in the past. Instead of competitors, we became companions in a shrinking trade.”

While the general signage industry changed considerably, neon sign making remained relatively the same.

“When I started, our patterns were drawn on asbestos cloth,” says Michael. “Luckily that changed. Very little changed in the neon industry over my career. The electrode came with a little glass tube on the end where we used to have to blow a hole in the tube and attach our own small tube. This allowed the air inside the tube to be evacuated, then was sealed off to trap the gas inside. We had access to polycarbonate tube supports where they had only ever been glass and metal. New colours of glass came out in the late 90’s: Seacrest, Lavender, Rich Orange, Horizon Blue.”

Michael – just like his dad – also had the same desire to help build the industry, pass on his knowledge, and see the industry attract more young people to it – “the sign industry in general needs more younger people, which is evident to all of us’, he says. This motivation would see him lend his support to the Queensland Sign Association, which would eventually become part of the Australian Sign and Graphics Association (ASGA).

“I volunteered to be Vice President of the Queensland Sign Association, thinking I wouldn’t have to do much,” says Michael. “But I wanted to pay tribute to the industry leaders before me that had made positive change for the industry. The President resigned soon after and I was elected President by the other board members. I travelled to an organising meeting to nationalise the sign associations and met David Hay and John Hadfield. They inspired me to become more involved, and we became the ASGA. As board member for Queensland, I became the National Treasurer and then President when David Hay stepped aside. This led to my long and enjoyable friendship with Michael Punch, and through him, all the people at VC that have helped us on the journey.”

The work that Michael, David Hay, Michael Punch, John Hadfield, and others at the ASGA have done over the years, is nothing short of herculean. The have worked tirelessly to promote the industry, guide, and reform the education and training curriculum for the sign industry, attract and inspire apprentices, educate members, and help their members and the broader industry enjoy a greater voice with State and Federal Governments. They have also been very proactive to bring the industry together through events.

For Michael, another realisation in recent times was the decline in demand for neon lighting as low-cost, low-quality flexible LED lighting flooded the market. Michael could see that neon lighting would eventually occupy a space where it was called for by clients wanting that specific look and aura that neon delivers, but not a mainstream option.

Which brings us to now, and the decision by Michael and business partner Duncan to move on and seek new horizons.  Michael has plans to continue to teach, passing on the knowledge he has acquired. It’s probably the last thing he thought he’d be doing when he first started to learn how to bend glass and construct neon signs. The Australian sign and display industry certainly owes his dad a debt of gratitude for encouraging Michael to stick with it.

“I wish to visit my virtual friends in the neon industry and tour their nightscapes to enjoy what neon is still there,” says Michael. “I would like to mentor young people in the neon industry and would take up opportunities to work alongside younger benders, or teach the craft in Australia, New Zealand or America.”

Whatever Michael chooses to do, we know he’ll light up the road ahead for others to follow.