One bender, decades of hand-bent glass
Boyd Struble has been bending neon by hand since the mid-1980s. His Colorado Springs workshop has built and repaired neon signs for hotels, restaurants, tattoo studios and private collectors since 2001, and the burners are still lit.
From Denver burners to a Colorado Springs shop
Boyd started bending neon in Denver in the 1980s, learning a trade that is still done the old way: heating glass over a flame and shaping it, by hand, into letters and lines of light. In the 1990s he moved to Colorado Springs, and in 2001 he opened his own workshop, Boyd's NEON.
Ask him how many signs he has made and he'll tell you "hundreds for sure… probably thousands." Today about half of the shop's work is repairs on existing neon and the other half is unique custom jobs, from logo signs to window pieces.
Through all of it, the approach has stayed the same: quality work at reasonable rates. As the shop has long put it, "We appreciate your business, and work hard to earn your trust and respect."
Explore custom neon signsA career measured in bends
Four chapters, one constant: real glass, real gas and a steady pair of hands.
Learning in Denver
Boyd picks up the craft in Denver, learning to heat and bend glass tubing by hand over a flame.
Moving south
He relocates to Colorado Springs and keeps bending glass for local signs and businesses.
Boyd's NEON opens
Boyd opens his own Colorado Springs workshop, taking on custom neon and repairs under his own name.
Repairs & one-offs
Half repairs, half custom work for collectors and businesses, plus signs for Neon Alley in Pueblo.
LED took the letters. Neon kept the soul.
For years, a big share of the shop's work was neon pan channel letters for storefronts. In the 2000s, LED took roughly 90 percent of that market. Boyd stayed with glass.
What kept the lights on were the people who still want the real thing: collectors, restaurants, hotels, tattoo parlors and anyone who needs a classic sign brought back to life. Today Boyd's NEON is one of the rare neon workshops left in southern Colorado, and he has built and worked on signs for Neon Alley in Pueblo.
- Soft, 360-degree glow that only gas-filled glass can give.
- Repairable for decades. Glass can be re-bent, re-pumped and refilled.
- Made locally in Colorado Springs, not shipped from a catalog.
How Boyd turns glass into light
Every tube that leaves the shop goes through the same five steps, the way neon has been made for generations.
- Step 01
Bend
Glass tubing is heated over a flame and bent by hand, one curve at a time, to match a full-size pattern.
- Step 02
Electrodes
An electrode is sealed onto each end of the finished tube so it can carry current.
- Step 03
Bombard
The tube is heated in a bombarder to drive out impurities, the key to a clean, long-lasting glow.
- Step 04
Vacuum
Each tube is pumped down to a deep vacuum so nothing is left inside but empty glass.
- Step 05
Backfill
The tube is filled with neon for warm red-orange, or argon for blues, greens, pinks and whites.
Simple values, built to last
A small shop lives on its word. These are the promises behind every sign that comes off Boyd's bench.
Quality at reasonable rates
Hand-bent glass and careful processing, priced fairly. Fair pricing is a topic customers bring up in Google reviews.
One-year guarantee
Every repair and every new sign comes with a one-year guarantee on the work. Ask about the details when you get your quote.
Trust and respect
We appreciate your business and work hard to earn your trust, whether you bring in one tube or a whole storefront.
Straight answers
Quotes by phone or email, straight from the workshop where your glass is bent. Describe the job and get a clear answer.
Featured on KOAA News5: "Engineering Light"
KOAA News5 featured Boyd in its News5 Originals series, looking at how he still bends neon by hand and why, after all these years, he keeps at it.
I still like it, I'm still here.
Have a sign in mind, or one that's gone dark?
Call the shop Monday to Friday, 7:00am to 4:30pm, or send the details online. You'll get a straight quote from the shop.
See what the shop can do for you
About the shop
Boyd Struble, the owner, bends the glass himself. He has been bending neon since the mid-1980s and has run Boyd's NEON in Colorado Springs since 2001.
Hotels, restaurants, tattoo parlors, private collectors and Colorado sign companies that need wholesale glass. Boyd has also built and worked on signs for Neon Alley in Pueblo.
Real glass neon. Every tube is bent by hand, processed in a bombarder, pumped to a vacuum and filled with neon or argon gas, the same way neon has always been made.
The shop is at 5735 Industrial Place, Unit C, Colorado Springs, CO 80916, open Monday to Friday from 7:00am to 4:30pm. Call 719-391-0466 before you come so the shop can make time for you.
Got an idea that deserves to glow?
Send a sketch, a logo or just a few words. We'll bend it in real glass, fill it with real gas and stand behind it for a full year.