ABOUT ROBERT SMITH STUDIOS
Robert Smith Studios is the go-to resource for vintage antique sign collectors and decorators alike, dedicated to facilitating the purchase of high-quality and authentic signs. With a wide range of vintage signs and expert guidance, we aim to meet all your collection needs.
MEET OUR TEAM
Thirty years of collecting taught us that every sign has a story worth preserving.​
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What began as curiosity about a Sherwin-Williams sign in the basement became a 30-year journey into the heart of advertising history. Robert and his wife, Liz, have spent decades not just collecting vintage signs, but uncovering the human stories behind them - the visionary entrepreneurs, master craftsmen, and bold artists who created these cultural artifacts.
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We believe every vintage sign has a soul. These pieces survived world wars, economic upheavals, and changing tastes because they represent something deeper than advertising - they're the visual DNA of entire eras. From the porcelain factories of pre-war Germany to the metal workshops of post-liberation France, each piece in our collection carries stories of resilience, creativity, and the enduring power of human enterprise.
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Our approach is simple: authentication through expertise, curation through passion. We don't just sell vintage signs - we preserve the stories that transform houses into homes and collections into legacies. Whether you're a serious collector seeking investment-grade pieces or an interior designer discovering the perfect accent for your vision, we're here to help you find not just a sign, but a story worth telling.
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Because behind every vintage sign lies a dream someone was brave enough to pursue.
LIZ SMITH
Robert's Sidekick
ROBERT
SMITH
FOUNDER
IT ALL STARTED
My journey into the world of collecting began in my early years, specifically at the age of 12, when I stumbled upon a vintage 1950s porcelain Sherwin-Williams “Cover the Earth” sign in my parents' basement. That moment ignited a lifelong passion for “picking” and the stories behind beloved treasures.
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​Growing up, I spent countless summers at my grandparents' home, where their home became a treasure trove of history and nostalgia. They fostered my excitement for discovering antiques, sharing tales of wartime heroes, legendary athletes, and spirited musicians. This foundation sparked my love for collecting memorabilia, from baseball cards to unique advertising signs, each piece carrying its own narrative yearning to be shared.
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THE PROFESSIONAL JOURNEY
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After pursuing a successful path in college basketball and earning my B.S. in Business Administration from Lees-McRae College, I ventured into the professional world as a PGA golf professional and a General Manager in various resorts. However, the call of nostalgia and the thrill of the hunt pulled me back to the Grand Strand, where my passion for picking first blossomed.​
​​Over the past two decades, I have turned this passion into a flourishing business, dedicated to curating and collecting exceptional vintage advertising signs. With over 30 years of experience in the industry, 15 of them operating my own auction company, I have honed my expertise and built lasting relationships with collectors and industry experts worldwide. My commitment to quality and authenticity has earned me a reputable standing in the sign community.
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THREE DECADES OF EXPERTISE
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Today, as a sign collection consultant, I bring not only my deep knowledge but a genuine love for the stories that each piece holds. I believe that every sign has a narrative waiting to be uncovered, and I am eager to help you discover and enrich your collection with items that resonate with history and character.
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Let’s embark on this exciting journey together! With my guidance, you can feel confident knowing that you are receiving thorough, knowledgeable, and passionate support every step of the way. Together, we can preserve the beauty of the past for future generations to cherish.
WHAT OTHERS MISS
Most people see vintage signs as decoration. Nostalgia. A bit of character for a man cave or industrial loft.
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I hear ghosts.
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The sound of sleet on porcelain enamel in an Alsatian winter. Tobacco smoke that's lived in layers of paint for seventy years. The ringing aftermath of air raids still trapped in embossed metal. These aren't objects - they're vessels. And in a world that treats everything as disposable, as content, as something to scroll past, most people have forgotten how to listen.
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My path here was never traditional. Political science taught me to hunt for primary sources, to question the official story. Years in special collections showed me what gets overlooked, discarded, forgotten - and why that's exactly what matters most. Running a gallery taught me something collectors often miss: the moment someone stops seeing an object and starts seeing their object. But more than that - how a piece needs space to breathe. How it needs to be in conversation with what surrounds it, not just mounted. How fifty signs on a wall is just noise, but one, well-placed, well-lit... becomes the room.
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A year in Germany, decades of relationships across Europe - I don't just know the language. I know the pace of life these signs hung in. The dining that happened beneath them. The human scale they were designed for. The woman in Alsace who commissioned bold advertising art in a man's world because she understood what I understand: you don't ask permission to take up space. You just take it.​
I might spend three days tracking down a Parisian bistro's original location to verify one detail. I'll reach out to Belgian archives to decode mysterious initials. Not because I'm thorough - because these pieces deserve someone who won't let their stories die.
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Robert and I met fifteen years ago. He has the eye to spot a significant piece across a crowded auction hall - the instinct that can't be taught. I have the eye to understand why it's significant. The research that reveals context. The spatial sense of how it wants to live, not just hang. He loves the hunt. I love the translation - the bridge between what was and what could be.
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We're different forces in this work. And that's exactly why it works.​​​
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THE QUIET REBELLION
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Here's what I know: In an age of algorithmic feeds and planned obsolescence, people are starving for something real. They just don't always have the language for it yet.
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They want craftsmanship that outlasts trends. History they can touch. Objects that remember. Beauty that doesn't apologize for taking up space.
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These signs are a quiet rebellion against a culture that's forgotten how to make things that matter. Against surfaces that stay surfaces. Against the idea that new is better, that story doesn't count, that soul is too expensive to preserve.
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We're not selling decoration. We're not building collections for collections' sake. We're helping you find the piece that deserves to be in your home - and then showing you how to let it live there the way it was meant to. As art. As witness. As something worth leaving behind.
LIZ
SMITH
CO-FOUNDER & CREATIVE DIRECTOR
DISCOVER MORE
Ready to start your own journey into vintage sign collecting? Whether you're building your first collection or seeking that one perfect piece, we're here to guide you every step of the way.
PRESERVING STORIES TOGETHER
Behind every piece we curate is a partnership built on shared passion and complementary expertise. Robert brings three decades of authentication mastery and collector relationships. Liz brings research depth and the digital storytelling that connects signs to the people who love them. Together, we're preserving not just artifacts, but the human dreams behind them.
Ready to start your story with us?"