Oldest neon sign maker

The oldest active neon sign maker is Dean Blazek (USA, b. 11 February 1934) who started glassbending and creating neon advertising signs in October 1952 and is still making signs and refurbishing old ones, as well as teaching and mentoring others in the ways of the craft, as of 19 December 2024, aged 90 years 312 days.

Blazek began his career at Everbrite Signs of North Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which at the time was one of the largest sign makers in the USA. He ran the Northern Wisconsin Neon Workshop in Antigo, Wisconsin, from 1979 to 1998, during which time he trained more than 500 students including many from North America but also some who had travelled from as far afield as Japan, Thailand and New Zealand. Blazek is credited with being one of a handful of people to keep the art of neon sign making alive at a time when they had fallen out of fashion, and many of the studios that produce them (and with them the knowledge and skills of the creators) were slipping away.

He currently works part-time at his own family business DB Collectibles in Antigo, where he has passed on his passion for neon signs to several relatives including his son Michael (who now owns his own neon business in Australia) and granddaughter, Clare.

Dean Blazek and his family have authored a series of books (Neon ABC, volumes -3) to help instruct those new to “tube bending” on how to create neon lettering, and Neon: The Next Generation (1995), a general overview of how to set up and succeed with a neon-sign business.