HISTORY

Est. 1963

Our story starts in 1963 read to learn how we became to be Norfolk’s oldest sign shop

Then

It all started in 1963 with Pete Archbell when signs were hand painted and hand crafted by true artist!

Now

2018 brought many new changes to Archbell and the new owners are focused on keeping old traditions alive!

Future

We look forward to taking Archbell to the next level mixing modern technology and hand craftsmanship!

It all started in 1963 

It all started in 1963 when Pete Archbell begin Archbell Signs with a focus on hand lettering. This was a time of true craftsmen with a strong artistic ability being required to hand draw renderings for approval of artwork and then actually hand painting or hand crafted what was drawn bringing the dream to reality. In the early 70’s he had a talented young artist by the name Milton McKinney join his team, Pete quickly realized that this guy could be a vital part of growing the business and decided to offer him a partnership.

10 years later Milton was able to buy Pete and began to focus more on screen printing for larger runs of decals and signs and many other outdoor wide format advertisement applications such as the buses ran by Tidewater Regional Transportation now know as Hampton Roads Transit. After taking Archbell to being one of the largest sign shops in Hampton Roads Milton, was able to put a management team in place that allowed them to run strong until selling to his grandson and another partner in 2018. 

What’s Happening Now 

What the future holds