Signs of a pandemic are everywhere — in front yards, stores. Here’s who is behind them

Janet Galapo found herself in a situation like many others as her daughter graduated from high school recently: wanting to celebrate but lacking the opportunity to do so in person.

So Galapo and others in Kansas City are celebrating the best way they can during the pandemic — through signs. Lots of signs.

“My daughter was a senior this year, and there was no way to celebrate her accomplishment, so we had to fill the yard with yard signs and banners like everyone else,” she said.

Galapo, owner of FASTSIGNS of Kansas City, said her business now sells many of these celebratory signs popping up in front yards for occasions like graduations and birthdays, a product the company didn’t previously offer.

Card My Yard South Kansas City specializes in yard signs. And the business has seen a dramatic increase in orders during the pandemic.

Owner Kati Purmort said she went from doing one or two yard signs a night to doing six to 10.

“We usually try to start after dark so nobody sees us,” Purmort said. “But because of all of this we have to start our nights earlier. We’re working until 1 a.m. every single night.”

The demand for signs is so high that Purmort has had to turn away some customers.

“We have a standard that we go by where we want it to be big and colorful and put plenty of stars and balloons,” Purmort said. “But if we can’t produce what we like to see, then we consider ourselves sold out.”

With parties canceled, the signs are a nice way to celebrate occasions like birthdays and graduations, Purmort said.

“There was nothing else we could really do to celebrate,” Purmort said. “At least waking up in the morning and seeing a big yard sign with your name on it and everything is pretty special in itself.”

Local makers of signs for commercial and consumer use have adjusted their products during the pandemic. As stay-at-home orders loosen and more businesses open their doors, the need has increased for signs bearing directions and safety recommendations.

In addition to the yard signs, Galapo said her business is selling other products it previously didn’t, such as Plexiglas “safety shields” and floor graphics for social distancing.

“There’s been quite a high demand, especially this month in May when people have been trying to reopen,” Galapo said. “They want to keep their employees and their patrons safe and keep everyone six feet apart.”

With new products came the need to stock new materials. Some materials have been difficult to keep in stock, Galapo said, such as anti-skid laminate for floor decals and Plexiglas for safety shields.

“It’s sort of like the toilet paper crisis,” Galapo said. “It’s been crazy trying to keep materials in stock.”

FASTSIGNS is not alone in its changing demand.

image360, a graphics firm in Kansas City, Kansas, is creating floor graphics, A-frame sidewalk signs for curbside pickup, plastic protection panels and even face shields for first responders.

“These are all things that never even crossed my mind to be making, but that’s what the market was dictating,” said Charles Payne, owner of image360.

Despite certain products taking off, sign businesses are still seeing negative effects from the pandemic. image360 has seen reduced demand as a result of the pandemic affecting its regular customers, Payne said.

“When the stay-at-home orders were issued, a large segment of my overall business was basically turned off overnight,” Payne said. “In April, our year-over-year revenues were down about 94%. Things have started to recover a little bit more here over the last couple of weeks, but it’s certainly not where it once was.”

Similar to image360, Kansas City Sign Company experienced a slowdown of business initially but is picking up speed as stay-at-home orders lift.

“The first two to three weeks, the phone stopped ringing,” Lee Mendenhall, owner of Kansas City Sign Company, said. “But now that there’s a return back to work, we’re getting a range of calls.”

Mendenhall said the pandemic has made operating his business like “running on a hamster wheel.”

“It’s just taken longer to get jobs approved by customers,” Mendenhall said. “It’s taken longer to get permits from the city. It’s taken longer to get things into production as well.”

Even with stay-at-home orders loosening, Payne said he thinks the pandemic will continue to impact his business for the “foreseeable future.”

“I think the virus is just going to continue to spread and have an impact on the local economy, certainly for a long time,” Payne said. “What it looks like, I don’t know, but I think there will definitely be a shift in the products and services that I offer.”

Mendenhall is optimistic about the future.

“The good news is the sign business is going to survive,” Mendenhall said. “There’s a range of signs that we sell, and there’s always businesses needing signs. The internet can’t take the need for a safety sign away.”