Are the items on Crafters Market actually handmade?

Yes. Every maker is individually vetted before listing — we verify real workshop photos, real machines, and real past work. Pieces are precision-cut and handcrafted by approved independent makers in their own shops or garages, never mass-produced and never drop-shipped.

Can I commission a custom CNC piece?

Yes — submit a custom order with your idea, photo, or artwork and we route it to the right vetted maker. You get direct messaging with the artisan, realistic lead times, and the option to request revisions before the piece ships.

Where do you ship and how is checkout secured?

Shipping is nationwide across the United States. Checkout is processed by Stripe with full PCI compliance, and every order pays the maker directly through Stripe Connect — no marketplace middleman holding funds.

How are makers vetted before they can sell?

Every applicant submits workshop photos, machine details, and samples of past work. The Crafters Market team manually reviews each application — only US-based independent makers with verifiable hand-built work are approved.

Can I download CNC and laser-cut design files?

Yes. Crafters Market hosts SVG, DXF, F3D and STL patterns from professional pattern designers. Buy once, download instantly, and use commercially according to each designer's license terms.

◆ Guide · Installation

Outdoor Mounting Guide.

A beautiful piece is only as good as the wall, post, or substrate behind it. Here's the practical guide to mounting custom metal and wood signs outdoors so they survive the weather, the wind, and 20 years of seasonal cycling without sagging, cracking, or pulling out of the substrate.

◆ Published May 30, 2026

Read your substrate first

Before you measure for hardware, identify what you're mounting to. The four common outdoor substrates each require different anchors: wood siding (cedar, redwood, fiber-cement) accepts deck screws straight into the studs behind it; brick and stone require masonry sleeves and concrete screws; stucco needs a careful pilot hole and either a hollow-wall anchor or a deep masonry anchor depending on the underlying construction; a freestanding post (wood 4x4, steel tube, or concrete) accepts through-bolts with washers and lock nuts.

If you don't know what's behind the surface, knock on it — solid sounds and a small drill test will tell you. Going into the wrong substrate with the wrong hardware is the #1 cause of outdoor-sign failure within the first year.

Hardware sizing and stand-offs

For metal pieces under about 20 pounds, two anchors are usually sufficient. Anything heavier, or anything in a high-wind area, deserves four anchors on a rectangular pattern that distributes load to the corners of the piece. Always anchor through a structural point on the sign — most metal pieces have either welded standoffs, drilled holes at the corners, or a hidden cleat system the maker can spec for you.

Stand-offs (small spacers that hold the piece off the wall by 1/2" to 2") aren't just aesthetic. They let air flow behind the piece, which prevents moisture trapping that causes rust on steel and rot on wood. They also let the piece breathe with temperature swings — a metal sign bolted flush to wood siding can buckle the siding as the metal expands in summer heat. Ask the maker to include stand-offs unless the design specifically calls for flush mounting.

Sealing and protecting the mounting point

Every hole you drill through siding or masonry is a potential water-entry point. After drilling, fill the hole with a dab of construction sealant (Loctite PL Premium, Big Stretch, or similar polyurethane caulk) BEFORE driving the anchor. The sealant flows around the anchor as it goes in and seals the hole permanently.

On metal signs, dab clear-coat or paint over the anchor head once it's installed. The bare-steel head of a stainless lag bolt looks fine on day one but rust-bleeds on the powder-coat finish over winter cycles. A drop of touch-up paint or clear-coat on top of the anchor head stops the bleed before it starts.

Wind, weight, and worst-case loading

Outdoor pieces don't just hang at their dead weight — they pull against the wall during wind gusts. A 30-pound metal sign in a 60-mph gust can apply 150+ pounds of force to its anchors momentarily. The fix is conservative anchoring (use the manufacturer's load rating divided by 4 as your design ceiling) and orienting the piece so the wind load is parallel to the wall, not perpendicular to it.

If you're hanging a piece in a coastal high-wind area, hurricane-prone zone, or above a doorway where a fall would cause injury, ask the maker about a hidden steel cleat system. Cleats distribute load across a much larger anchor footprint and prevent the piece from pulling off the wall as a single unit.

Maintenance schedule that keeps things tight

Once a year, walk every outdoor piece and check four things: are the anchors still tight (a quick quarter-turn with a wrench), is the sealant intact around the anchor heads, is the finish on the piece still continuous (no chips exposing bare metal), and is there any sag or drift in the mounting position. Anything you spot in a 5-minute annual walk is 100x easier to fix than the failure that comes from ignoring it for three years.

Heavy outdoor pieces — anything over 50 pounds — deserve a quick re-tightening every spring after winter cycles. Cold contraction can loosen anchors that were torqued correctly when warm. A quarter-turn of preload back into the system extends the life of the install by decades.

◆ FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Will my Crafters Market piece ship with the mounting hardware?+

Standard mounting hardware (anchors appropriate for the substrate you specified in the brief) ships with every custom piece. If you didn't specify a substrate, the maker will include a generic kit and an installation guide. If you need specialty hardware (hurricane-rated anchors, custom standoffs, hidden cleats), tell the maker before they finalize the build; most will source the hardware for you at cost.

Can I install a large piece myself?+

Most signs under 30 pounds and 36 inches across are a confident-homeowner DIY install with a hammer drill, a level, and a helper. Anything over 50 pounds, anything over 4 feet wide, or anything mounting on stucco or stone is worth hiring a licensed sign installer or a handyman with a power tool collection. The install cost is usually 10-25% of the sign cost and prevents a failure that could damage the piece or the wall.

What's the best mounting for a freestanding ranch entry sign?+

Welded steel posts in concrete footings, 30+ inches deep below the frost line for your zone. The sign bolts to the posts with through-bolts and lock nuts (never wood screws — those work loose in steel). The maker fabricates the sign panel + post system as a kit and you install on-site; some makers in your region will also handle the install for an additional fee. Ask in the message thread.

How do I hang a sign on stucco without cracking it?+

Pre-drill with a masonry bit one size smaller than your anchor, use a hammer drill on rotary-only mode (not hammer mode for the first 1/4 inch — that's where stucco cracks). Pack the hole with sealant before driving the anchor. Use a vibration-damping anchor if available. If the stucco is over wood lath, your anchor needs to reach the structural framing behind it; surface anchors in stucco alone will pull out under load.

Do I need to repaint or seal the wall around the sign?+

Not the wall — but DO touch up the sign finish around the anchor heads once installed (see the section above). If you ever remove the sign, you'll have anchor holes to patch with appropriate filler (wood filler for siding, mortar repair for masonry, stucco patch for stucco). Most installs that look right do so because of attention to the small details at the anchor point, not because of expensive hardware.

◆ Ready to commission?