Run by father and son team, Mark and Dean Henderson, Bloot designs and creates a range of feel good, unique signs made using neon gas, running through traditionally bent glass tubing.
Neon sign makers were a huge employer in the North East of England during the early years of the twentieth century, but once the Second World War ended and many of the skilled crafts men didn’t return from the front, it became a dying art.
By the time Marc left school in 1979, there was just one experienced glass bender left in charge at the local factory, a man who was desperately in need of an apprentice. Always up for a challenge, Mark seized the opportunity and took up a new career which lead him to create signs for shops, bars and nightclubs around the UK and internationally, across Europe and the US.
After a short career change while he had a young family, the came back to the North East, and by the time his son, Dean, left school in 2020, he’d also been inspired to join the family firm.
Bloot was launched in 2021 and is now one of the only companies in the UK creating genuine neon-based bent glass signs, made using traditional methods. Their contemporary signs are designed to lift the spirits, with a quirky twist on traditional signage for the modern home.
Where does the name Bloot come from? Well …it’s a nick name that Mark had as a child from a friend who’s no longer with us, so they decided to use it in his memory. A memorable name, to go with their memorable artworks – what could be better?!
