In the 1960′s businessman Ed Mirvish began to buy up the period warehouses on King Street West, Toronto that surrounded his Royal Alexandra Theatre. The Edwardian warehouses were all painted white and so was coined the term, “Honest Edwardianism”. That style was particular to Ed Mirvish, so was Honest Ed’s, his department store on Bloor and Bathurst. Through a barrage of loud neon signs, witty slogans on hand-painted signs, corney jokes, often at his own expense. That was his shtick, he drew people into the store through old fashioned salesmanship,
Ed’s shtick. That shtyle, that way of doing things, was particular to Ed and it was passed on to merchandising, from the neon signs outside his various restaurants and store, to the interior signs that advertised and sold his wares.
Honest Ed’s Department Store sign shop is abuzz with activity, Doug Kerr and Wayne Reuben are at the helm, doing what they do best, creating hand-painted signs for the thousands of products that go on sale at Honest Ed’s every week.

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