Noel’s Website - https://noelbweber.com/
Would you say that pencil sketches are your primary medium?
Well that's what I'm doing mostly now. But what I used to do is design things by pencil, and then we would convert those to either glass work or three dimensional signage. But all our work starts with a pencil sketch.
What got you into working with letters?
When I was in high school and growing up in the Chicago area, you know, you either went to college or you became a tradesman. And so, most of my friends are tradesmen today, if they're not retired, but you know, they went into carpentry, bricklayers, tile, you know, who knows what. But it was about getting into a trade, getting into something that you could make a living at. I was always artistic, and I felt that if there was a way that I could be artistic and be independent and make a living, that's what I wanted to do. I went to art school in Chicago after I got out of the service. With the VA bill, I was able to go to art school for two or three years. It was an art school focused on lettering, design and layout. So I learned letter structure, I learned layout and composition, very early in my career, and my love of letters was probably formed in those two or three years.
What motivates you to come out and work on these designs?
I love to draw. I love to draw letters. Letters are my anatomy, and words are my landscape. I just love putting letters together. I love seeing letters dance together, you know, and it's always really important to me that if letters are together, that you can read them. It's not just drawing things that are so abstract that you can't read. Because I'm in the sign industry, it has to read, it has to work as a sign. But you know, just putting letters together and putting ornamentation around them, that's the art of it to me.
Where do you get your inspiration for your designs?
Well, most of my designs are period. I like to think that they're timeless, but most of them are kind of vintage type. So I refer to a lot of the historic books that were printed in the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s and that's what has influenced me the most. So it's just old design and sign books. And, you know, I'm a constant study of type.
How else do you share your skills?
We've taught workshops over the years. I started teaching gold leaf on glass workshops in the 80’s and we continue to do those. And then also we have a group we call the Letterheads, which was a really strong foundation for learning and teaching.
What has it been like to make your living as an artist?
Well, being an artist, being a tradesman, being a designer, and then being able to draw something and knowing while I'm drawing it, that I can make it, there's nothing better than that. Seeing something start from a pencil sketch, and then see it grow into something 3d. It's magical.
What's your favorite design that you've made so far?
The next one.
What opportunities have you been afforded by Boise you might not have in a larger area?
Well, when we first moved to Boise, there were so many mom and pop stores downtown, and we were able to work with a lot of individual store owners. We had so much freedom of design and the clients trusted us to do the work that fit in with their storefronts. When we design things, we like to design it to make it look like it's always been there. It was really important to us, especially with dimensional signage, glass signage. When we're doing sign work, we want it not to have an impact, but just to embrace you as you're walking by so that when you see our signage, you want to go into that store because you're influenced by the graphics on the window or the graphics on the sign. And it's a first impression.
What is it like to take a walk through Boise and see so many things you've touched?
It's a walking portfolio to be able to see things. We've had a lot of successes, and we've learned from our failures. There are products that hold up and some that don't, but, you know, we've learned from all of that. To be able to walk through and still see some of these things, materials that were chosen correctly and are still looking good, it's great, that's a great feeling.
How important a role has your wife played in your art?
My wife has been a support from the day we got together you know. She's always had a love for me and it goes right back to her, but the support has been that she's let me do what I wanted to do. She’s always been appreciative of what I do, and she raised our kids. I could not have done this without her. Without her support, this wouldn't happen. Because she's been such a wonderful, wonderful mate and wonderful, wonderful part of the process. Yeah, there's probably a lot more to that, but I’d probably start crying.
What is it like being able to work with your son?
To be able to draw something and then watch my son take that sketch and turn it into something three dimensional, there's no better feeling than that, you know? To watch him build is great, and then to watch him interpret the sketch and put his own little nuances into it and then just continue to elevate it into something that is even more beautiful than I thought it was going to be.
Did you ever suspect that your kids would follow in artistic pursuits when they were growing up?
They always worked with us from an early age because it was a family business. But I didn't think that they would follow as closely as they have. But you know, they're really individuals and they have their own style of doing things. But it really is a joy to have them pick up on what we have started and helped establish. And they're just great to work with.
How has your studio practice evolved as Boise has grown?
Well, you know, we started here. I started working out of this garage in 1979. And our business kept growing because we were doing a lot of stores and storefronts, and we started accumulating equipment to help produce some of those things. We ended up having to move into a bigger space so we moved down at 6th and Myrtle and then started hiring employees. The business grew to where at one point we had 15 employees and it evolved into a lot more management and, you know, I was spending probably three days a week designing things so that people could build them. Then computers came in and that kind of was a game changer. We got into using computers because it was our introduction to technology. But today, I still start everything with a pencil.
How much of your design is done on a computer?
Whenever I design I always start with a pencil, but at some point it gets into the computer. It's either scanned in and vectorized or it goes into the computer because we have a CNC router, and machinery that helps produce dimensional things. But still, the computer is a really really good tool for us and it has eliminated a lot of the mundane work that we used to have to do by hand.
When you're sketching for fun do you still focus on letters?
I am a lettering artist so my focus is lettering and in other elements that will embrace the lettering. So you know scrolls, or shapes, or panels, or things like that. Yeah, but I am basically a lettering artist.
Can you tell me about the process for making your book?
About five years ago, I got a Frank Lloyd Wright book from my daughter, and it was on all his pencil sketches. And in the book, there was a little note that said, Dad, you know, you really do nice pencil sketches you should think about doing a book. And that was the basic influence for us to start thinking about even producing a book. And then we did a retrospective at Ming studios and I had a bunch of pencil sketches hanging on the wall and she pulled me aside, she said, see dad, see what I'm talking about? So I think that was a big influence. She was a big influence on me. And then my son-in-law helped put the book together and enabled us to at least start a couple of basic roughs and it just grew from there.
What kind of content do you have in your book?
There's a little history of who we are, what we are, and then pencil sketches. A lot of these sketches are in that book. We also talk about the design process and you know, how our sketches start from a single rough layout into a finished sketch.
How has the reception been from people that have read your book?
We did our first printing a little over a year ago, and it's going into the second printing now. We've sold close to 2,000 books so far in the States and also in Europe. It’s been an international success.
What is your process like then when you sit down to design?
I usually start with a really really rough sketch and then I'll look at that rough sketch and sometimes I've already got the design in my head, you know, I get a lot of the basic stuff put inside my head and see how I want the letters to start forming together. Then I'll start drawing and that's when the real art of the lettering, and the spacing, and of course, I always make sure it's spelled right, and then I'll do overlays. Overlays and overlays and overlays, and usually a typical sketch will take four to six hours. That's probably at least four overlays working on a light table. And you know, when I'm drawing like this, I just lose time. I don't look at anything that I draw as a waste of time, I just look at it as an exercise.
Why would you say it's important to have art in life?
I look at what I do as... it gives me joy and I really, really appreciate the fact that I can still do this at my age. I still feel like I'm learning and growing, you know, I feel like the art itself is timeless. I like looking at these drawings after I'm done with them and going oh that's really nice, or you know, I can improve on this, or make some changes on that to make It really, really nice.
Do you think you'll ever stop doing this in a commercial capacity?
No, I don't think so. I like drawing and designing things that will get made and will get reproduced. I'd be happy designing birdhouses or, you know, anything as long as I’ve got a pencil in my hand and I’m designing. I'm a builder, I'm a maker, you know, I love putting designs together that will end up in a project that can be shared or looked at or whatever.
Is there anything you want to talk about I haven't asked you?
I would encourage anybody that feels that they want to have a life in art that they should find their niche and then go for it. And then, if you really want to do this and you really love doing it, do it. And you know, just dedicate yourself to it. And if you can't do it full time, do it part time, but do it because it really brings joy to your life. I earned my living working with my hands. We built a business with our creativity. And I still have a wife and kids that love me. Does it get any better than that?