Meet Daniel Dobelmann of True Colors Neon in Southwest

Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Dobelmann.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Daniel. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I moved to Houston in the late 80’s and took a job at a neon shop where the owner would let me practice bending glass after work. I worked at a few different neon shops over the next few years. The last shop I worked closed down, so I decided to start my own. With $500 I had saved I was able to set up some equipment in a garage. I would make art work and sell it to lighting stores around Houston. In about 4 months I had saved enough money to rent a warehouse to set up shop. I ended up making wholesale neon for the sign industry and so started True Colors Neon in 1991!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
After 25 years in business there have been a lot of ups & downs in the industry. Also with the onset of LED lighting in the sign industry, the wholesale aspect of the business is almost completely gone. This had my family and I worried that we may go the way of the dinosaurs. During the last several years we have shifted more to retail, catering to hand-made crafted signs for the public. We have finally come full circle and we are now making custom signs and art like when I first started the business.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about True Colors Neon – what should we know?
We still make signs, but we have a special niche in the sign industry that keeps us from having to compete with everyone else. We have the ability to work individually with the customer to take their ideas and design the perfect neon sign for their home or business. It’s not like ordering one of the imported signs form the web, we actually have a place where you can come in and watch glass being bent by craftsmen. You pick the colors you like from a stock of at least 150 to choose from, pick your own background color, and shape it built to suit your specific needs; most of all you can take pride in knowing your neon sign is one of a kind.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My first year in business, a friend named Tom Fling who ran a neon supply shop in Dallas paid me a visit. He was highly educated in the scientific aspect of making high quality neon bulbs. He believed in young, hardworking people starting their own enterprise and extended a line of credit to help me get started. This was when the banks would not even talk to me. With that generosity we were able to land much bigger clients, and able to extend warranties that other shops would not touch.

Contact Info:

• Address: 9242 Monsey Dr. Houston, TX 77063
• Website: truecolorsneon.com
• Phone: 7137831942
• Email: tneon@comcast.net
• Instagram: truecolorsneon713
• Facebook: facebook.com/TrueColorsNeonHTX

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