Building my own election signs — Ivan Otto for Whistler Council

Election signs can get expensive pretty quickly, especially when you want something larger and more visible.

So instead of ordering everything professionally made, I decided to build some of my signs myself.

Ivan Otto in a red toque cutting lumber with a circular saw on sawhorses in a gravel lot, piles of plywood and a utility vehicle behind him — Leftover wood, a Makita, and a plan. The lot near Callaghan Olympic Park.

The wood I used actually has its own Whistler story. It was leftover waste wood from the filming of a show near Callaghan Olympic Park. Instead of ending up as waste, it got a second life as election signs.

And no, the Makita circular saw in the photos wasn’t borrowed. 😄

About a week ago, I found a whole Makita tool set on Marketplace and bought it for our new home. Why Makita?

That is probably a story for another day.

Let’s just say that years ago, when I was back in Slovakia helping my parents renovate their apartment, Makita tools were there too. Apparently some things follow you across the world. 🇸🇰➡️🇨🇦

So there I was in Whistler: leftover wood, my new Makita tools, a few printed campaign signs, and an idea.

Step one was a pair of sawhorses to cut on. In Slovakia we call that thing a koza — a goat. In Canada, apparently, it’s a horse. Same four legs, different country. 🐐🐴

Two wooden sawhorses on a patio, stacked with cut lengths of lumber — The goats. Sorry — the horses.

Left: Ivan crouching, screwing a sign face onto a wooden A-frame at night. Right: two finished A-frame signs reading Ivan Otto for Whistler Council — Cut, screw, stand it up, see if it wobbles. The first two took most of an evening.

A few cuts later, the signs were taking shape.

Left: a red light on Highway 99 with road signs for Squamish, Vancouver and Pemberton. Right: Ivan Otto in a headlamp pointing at his election sign on the roadside at night — Highway 99, at the lights: Squamish and Vancouver one way, Pemberton the other. The frame underneath is film-set offcuts and screws.

And then came the quality-control department. Real goats this time. 🐐🐐

I’m not entirely sure the goats approved of my carpentry, but they definitely seemed interested in the project.

It may not be the most conventional way to make election signs, but I like it.

Reuse something that would otherwise be waste. Build it yourself. Save some money. And have a little fun along the way.