My Perfect Neon is a small, independent business specialising in designing and making custom made neon signs. We collaborated with them on the first collection of TfL neon signs. To celebrate, we spoke to their founder and owner Emma all about it! ✨👇
About My Perfect Neon
I have always been interested in design, colour and finding new and vibrant ways to revamp interior spaces. As an army wife of over 21 years, I became adept at taking a bland military house, and transforming dull, uniform interiors into cosy, unique homes. 🏡
Getting lighting right is, I believe, crucial in creating atmosphere in your home. I have always loved the glow emitted by neon lighting. It makes you feel happy, comfortable and it lifts your mood. Fast forward to 2021, I moved back to Leamington Spa where I had grown up to care for my mother.
I made a neon sign for our 25th wedding anniversary of our favourite phrase. Naturally, we took photos and posted them on social media. The picture sparked a lot of interest, and I was inundated with requests to make others a personalised neon sign. Hence, My Perfect Neon was born. 😍
Today, it continues to go from strength to strength. I have worked with big brands such as ITV, WOW TV, and even been featured in OK Magazine. I have even made neon signs for celebrities. Designing and making bespoke neon signs that capture a person’s story is what I love the most. It is so gratifying knowing that I have been part of making something truly unique and special for someone. It’s this element of My Perfect Neon’s business that fulfils and excites me the most. 💡
What made you want to work with Transport for London?
Transport for London is one of the world’s most iconic brands, so I jumped at the chance. 🤩
TfL has so many incredible assets, and I knew that all of them could be taken to another level of beauty with the addition of neon. My mind was whirring with design ideas, and I think I drove everyone mad because all I could talk about was my latest ideas. The Tube Map in neon; the roundels in neon; a neon sign that captured the most famous saying ever: “Mind the Gap”!
I loved the fact that TfL had never worked with a company like mine before and that I was getting the chance to work with a huge brand to bring a unique and exciting new range of TfL licensed products to the marketplace. The fact that the contract I have with TfL is exclusive and these products I have made can’t be made by anyone else in the world is also very exciting.
What’s your favourite piece in the collection?
The pieces I have made are all beautiful, but I think my favourite is the London Zoo heritage poster with the penguins. 🐧
I vinyl printed the poster onto acrylic and then picked out the shapes of the penguins in 3D neon. I am sucker for penguins anyway, but my husband grew up living at Flat Number 1, London Zoo. His Dad was Curator of Mammals, so the sign has an extra poignancy for me because of that.
TfL has so many icons, which is your favourite?
It’s a close call between the Mind the Gap roundel and the Tube map. 👀
Mind the Gap is such a famous phrase and is synonymous with the London Underground and Transport for London. You can put that sign anywhere in your house and it will grab people’s attention.
The Tube map is an incredible piece of graphic design, known worldwide, so being able to recreate it in neon is particularly special.
What surprised you most about creating the collection?
How many assets Transport for London has! 🙌
I knew about the roundels and the Tube map because I see them every day, but the extent of the heritage poster collection astounded me. Every single poster is superb, and I just wish I could add neon to every single one of them.
What’s different about My Perfect Neon?
My Perfect Neon is special because it offers the whole personalised and quality service. From design, to production, to hanging your sign up on your wall and beyond. 💕
👌 The quality
I don’t use cheap materials. My British made neon signs are made using 10 mm thick acrylic, integrated LED flexi-neon and I hand polish rather than machine polish the acrylic.
👌 They are not mass-produced
Each one is made by hand from scratch. When you buy a neon sign from me, you are not only buying from a small, independent business, you are buying British.
👌 I can think outside the box when it comes to neon
A neon sign doesn’t have to be a sign with a generic, run of the mill word on it. You can have your picture on it. Your sign can have a QR code on it which, if scanned using a smartphone, plays your favourite song. Your neon sign can be backlit so the neon shines through words or an image. I can match a loved one’s handwriting and take a neon sign to a whole new level of significance. I can put your phrase on the sign, be creative about layout, size, colour and so on. There are so many possibilities.
👌 We are independent
You deal with a real human being when you ask My Perfect Neon to make a neon sign for you. You are not just clicking on a product online, adding to basket and hoping you get what you think you are going to get with no guarantee that the sign will work, last or look good. I am present throughout the entire process. I offer expert advice, answer any questions, and help the customer choose the right font, colour and layout, so they get a sign that aligns perfectly with their vision and requirements.
Quick-fire round…
👉 What’s your favourite Tube line?
Piccadilly line, because all the major tourist attractions and buildings for which London is famous for are reached on this line.
👉 Do you prefer London daytime or London nighttime?
Daytime, because I can visit all the places I love in London, not least the shops.
👉 What’s your favourite station?
Covent Garden, because it’s always buzzing. I love the street theatre, and the atmosphere in Covent Garden is always fun.
Get your own TfL neon sign ⬇️
💡 Purchase your very own TfL neon sign from the My Perfect Neon website
📸 Make sure to share your photos with us in the comments and tag us on social media.
👏 Find out more about our commercial business and what it can offer.