THE BROTHERS MARKLE SIGN COMPANY
Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2022 9:25 am
It's impossible to tell the story of Toronto signage without talking about the contributions of brothers Jack and Sam Markle. The Markles' work can be found all over the city, on a wide variety of buildings including theatres, hospitals, shops and restaurants, schools, and places of worship. Their most notable works include the old Brown Derby Tavern (once located at 311 Yonge St.), the Manulife Centre, the Sea-Hi Famous Chinese, and the iconic Sam the Record Man neon sign. They consistently demonstrate a lifelong passion for eye-catching signs that will stop you in your tracks, combining wayfinding, technology, and art.
Jack and Sam Markle, are first and foremost artists. In a 2019 when the Sign Association of Canada (SAC) recognized Sam as an honorary chair, he gave a speech noting that most of the brothers' early competitors were marketing or finance people, whereas they both had design backgrounds. They were both raised in Winnipeg and came to Toronto after graduating from St. John's Technical High School, ready to create. Sam, the oldest, was the first to arrive in 1954:
“I started as a one-man sign painting outfit,” Sam recalls. He began working out of his car, before finding a storefront on Spadina Crescent. He called the business Creative Signs.
Four years later, Jack joined his brother in Toronto, painting ads on buildings and detailing trucks. In 1966, they purchased an electric sign business called Apex Neon despite the fact, as Jack once told the Toronto Star, “we knew nothing about electric signs.” Never the less, brightly coloured gas-filled glass tubes quickly became the brothers' medium of choice. Considered passé for years before they took on the business, the Star's Judy Steed once credited the brothers as being “responsible for the renaissance of neon in Toronto.”
In 1969, they created The Markle Brothers Ltd. (later renamed The Brothers Markle in the late '90s) and they soon received their signature assignment from music retailer Sam Sniderman: the iconic, 25-foot spinning record on Yonge Street.
Around the same time, true to their artistic passions, the brothers founded The Electric Gallery: a place to showcase works primarily using the medium of electric light, with a stable of artists like Michael Hayden and Martin Hirschberg they called "The Group of Seven Now". It was originally located in the Gooderham Building (also known as The Flatiron), then moved to Avenue Road, before, unfortunately, the brothers were forced to close the gallery in 1979. Still, the Markles continued to showcase work in this medium, including their own, which included Jack's interactive neon tic-tac-toe board. [INCLUDE PHOTO, IF THERE IS ONE]
Many Markle signs were often integral to the look of the building they were part of. In his SAC speech, Sam said they were unique in collaborating with architects and designers from the early stages of a project: “This partnership eventually worked big-time for us.”
The brothers were also ahead of the game in the field of wayfinding. They would conduct studies and create signage to help people easily navigate what can sometimes be confusing architecture and crowded, busy spaces. “We sort of invented wayfinding consulting for our clients,” says Sam. “And it wasn't even a word in the dictionary at that time. Now, it's actually a profession and there are design firms that specialize in that.”
They also never shied away from exploring and adopting new technology. In the early '80s, the brothers were developing terminals for shopping centres which would light up at the press of a button to show you where the specific type of store you were looking for was, and how to get there from the terminal. In the early 2000s, they developed VideoMark: interactive LCD panels that would help shoppers locate the exact item they were looking for, which they debuted at Sam the Record Man. Both of these technologies are, in some version, ubiquitous in malls and large retailers all over the world. The brothers had a knack for seeing which way the wind was blowing.
Sam and Jack officially retired in 2012 and The Brothers Markle sign company is currently run by Raj Joshi and Bhavik Patel. Despite their retirement, Joshi says Sam and Jack still come in regularly to help out, or just to catch up.
“We're like family,” says Joshi.
Jack and Sam Markle, are first and foremost artists. In a 2019 when the Sign Association of Canada (SAC) recognized Sam as an honorary chair, he gave a speech noting that most of the brothers' early competitors were marketing or finance people, whereas they both had design backgrounds. They were both raised in Winnipeg and came to Toronto after graduating from St. John's Technical High School, ready to create. Sam, the oldest, was the first to arrive in 1954:
“I started as a one-man sign painting outfit,” Sam recalls. He began working out of his car, before finding a storefront on Spadina Crescent. He called the business Creative Signs.
Four years later, Jack joined his brother in Toronto, painting ads on buildings and detailing trucks. In 1966, they purchased an electric sign business called Apex Neon despite the fact, as Jack once told the Toronto Star, “we knew nothing about electric signs.” Never the less, brightly coloured gas-filled glass tubes quickly became the brothers' medium of choice. Considered passé for years before they took on the business, the Star's Judy Steed once credited the brothers as being “responsible for the renaissance of neon in Toronto.”
In 1969, they created The Markle Brothers Ltd. (later renamed The Brothers Markle in the late '90s) and they soon received their signature assignment from music retailer Sam Sniderman: the iconic, 25-foot spinning record on Yonge Street.
Around the same time, true to their artistic passions, the brothers founded The Electric Gallery: a place to showcase works primarily using the medium of electric light, with a stable of artists like Michael Hayden and Martin Hirschberg they called "The Group of Seven Now". It was originally located in the Gooderham Building (also known as The Flatiron), then moved to Avenue Road, before, unfortunately, the brothers were forced to close the gallery in 1979. Still, the Markles continued to showcase work in this medium, including their own, which included Jack's interactive neon tic-tac-toe board. [INCLUDE PHOTO, IF THERE IS ONE]
Many Markle signs were often integral to the look of the building they were part of. In his SAC speech, Sam said they were unique in collaborating with architects and designers from the early stages of a project: “This partnership eventually worked big-time for us.”
The brothers were also ahead of the game in the field of wayfinding. They would conduct studies and create signage to help people easily navigate what can sometimes be confusing architecture and crowded, busy spaces. “We sort of invented wayfinding consulting for our clients,” says Sam. “And it wasn't even a word in the dictionary at that time. Now, it's actually a profession and there are design firms that specialize in that.”
They also never shied away from exploring and adopting new technology. In the early '80s, the brothers were developing terminals for shopping centres which would light up at the press of a button to show you where the specific type of store you were looking for was, and how to get there from the terminal. In the early 2000s, they developed VideoMark: interactive LCD panels that would help shoppers locate the exact item they were looking for, which they debuted at Sam the Record Man. Both of these technologies are, in some version, ubiquitous in malls and large retailers all over the world. The brothers had a knack for seeing which way the wind was blowing.
Sam and Jack officially retired in 2012 and The Brothers Markle sign company is currently run by Raj Joshi and Bhavik Patel. Despite their retirement, Joshi says Sam and Jack still come in regularly to help out, or just to catch up.
“We're like family,” says Joshi.