A Future as Bright as Neon

For Jake Rosenfield, the third time was indeed the charm. After two jobs in manufacturing, Rosenfield decided to take on a flashy new career…in neon.

“Neon has always been an interest of mine,” says Rosenfield. So when he heard about a neon school in Baltimore, Md., Rosenfield signed up and, six months after completing the program, started Atlantic Neon Company, LLC in Somersworth. A decade later, he is still going strong. 

Rosenfield has created neon signs for a variety of businesses around the world, including tattoo parlors, car dealerships, movie theatres, and restaurants from Portland, Maine to San Francisco to Germany. Rosenfield’s signs have also won awards.

Rosenfield’s work varies in scale. In 2011, he provided the glass tubing and neon for a 28-foot-by-19-foot American flag on the top of a mountain in Colrain, Mass. that can be seen from eight miles away. The neon flag was commissioned by Ken Shearer to pay tribute to the victims of 9/11 on the 10^th anniversary of the tragedy. Rosenfield bent and assembled more than 300 feet of glass for the project. “It was a lot of work, but I felt like I was contributing to a good cause,” says Rosenfield. “It was great to see it lit. It is overwhelming to see a neon American flag on the side of a mountain. It is truly amazing.”

Rosenfield says there is more to neon than the glow that meets the eye. There are various stages, starting with a design on a computer. That is transferred to a full-size plotter machine that goes over a piece of substrate. He then starts to heat up 4-foot to 5-foot long glass tubes of various colors, depending on the design. The high-quality glass comes from Italy and New Jersey. He starts at one end of the tube and moves to the next while the previous is cooling. After bending, Rosenfield puts the electrodes at either end of the glass and puts the neon gas in the glass tubes. Once this is completed, the neon-filled glass is coated with phosphor on the inside, creating the glow, and it is mounted.

Though Rosenfield has also created a successful business from neon, one obstacle he faces more and more is comparative value. “People put a comparative value on everything. They say, ‘Why should I pay $800 on a custom sign when I can buy a generic one for $300 or $400 on the internet?’” he says. In response, he highlights his craftsmanship and the breadth of his work.  “I market my brand by making my website speak for itself.” It seems to speaking volumes as 90 percent of his business now comes through his website and his business has increased 50 percent within the past year.

He says he receives at least one request a day and completes about five to six signs per month. “I want to be known for high-quality glass bending. It could carry me forward in the future. There are going to be fewer and fewer benders doing this,” he says. “People are going to pay a premium to get quality work.”

For more information, visit www.atlanticneon.com.