LOWELLVILLE -- John Schialdone and Michael Staaf had no trouble finding their career path. You might

LOWELLVILLE -- John Schialdone and Michael Staaf had no trouble finding their career path. You might say it was marked with 10-foot letters.
Both men started off working at large area sign companies before starting their own sign businesses. They went it alone for about seven years before joining forces to open Metro Sign & amp; Design.
"We had pretty similar shops, really," Staaf said. "It worked out really well. We can trust each other, and that's really important. And we have different perspectives to offer, too. When I'm stuck on something, he can throw another idea my way, and it's what I was looking for, but I couldn't see it."
Schialdone, who took art classes at Youngstown State University, does a lot of the hand-painting and carving at the business. Staaf, a self-proclaimed "computer nerd" handles much of the computer layouts.
Metro Sign manufactures and installs all types of signs, including banners and electrical, neon, sandblasted, carved, painted, digital and screen-printed designs. It also provides special services such as painting gymnasium floors and walls.
They said customers often come in with logos or ideas for signs, but many customers count on the men to come up with something.
"We'll bounce things back and forth and sketch out some ideas and work out some stuff on the computer. Some of our customers will just give us the information and just trust us to do a nice sign for them," Staaf said.
Big projects
Schialdone said his wife, Christine, and Staaf's wife, Jennifer, also help with the creative process, giving their opinions on sign ideas.
Some of Metro Sign's bigger clients include Boak and Sons, Astro Shapes and Clemente Ambulance. Last summer, they made a large aluminum and urethane sign for Cene Park, a baseball complex in Struthers. The sign features a huge fiberglass baseball and a 3-foot diameter baseball bat. Schialdone and Staaf also paint the advertising on the walls at Cene Park.
Schialdone said there is a lot of competition in the area, but Metro Sign is finding its niche in specialty signs, and it attracts customers looking for something unique and high quality.
"It's part of the job -- service," Schialdone said. "That's what it's all about. If you help somebody out and go that extra mile, a lot of people appreciate that."