identiGROW

identiGROW nameplates, by Blue Ridge Impressions

identiGROW makes custom nameplates for shed builders, furniture makers and manufacturers. It's run by Blue Ridge Impressions, Inc. in Port Republic, Virginia, and its motto is "Identify your product. Grow your business!" A nameplate on every building puts your company name in front of the neighbors, the next buyer and anyone who walks past it for years. Browse the catalog on the identiGROW website.

How it started

Blue Ridge Impressions began as a rubber art stamp company. Then their pastor asked for nameplates for his shed business. The current catalog tells it this way: "About 30 years ago our pastor asked if we could make nameplates for his shed business," and the cover marks 30 years of serving the shed industry. identiGROW is the brand the company built for its nameplate work, serving the storage shed, furniture and manufacturing industries.

In the company's words, it's a marvelous thing to sell an advertising product that pays for itself. It's a family operation. Founder and CEO Jonathan Lee is a husband, father and minister who helps serve a small Mennonite church near Stanardsville, Virginia. His son Wendell Lee is the nameplate specialist, handling design, accounting and customer care, and flies part-time as a corporate pilot.

What a nameplate does for a builder

identiGROW lays out five reasons to tag a building:

• Identity. Just as every vehicle carries the automaker's name and emblem, a nameplate keeps your name on the product after it leaves the lot.
• Information. A plate can carry the product's serial number. When a customer calls back for service or wants a matching building, you ask for the number and pull up the specs, which saves your office time and the customer's.
• Authenticity. A plate is a stamp showing the building really came from you, which matters most to builders known for quality.
• Advertising. People buy what their friends use and trust. identiGROW calls a nameplate a very low-cost, long-term advertisement that keeps your name in front of the owner and everyone who sees the building.
• Ownership. If a builder needs to repossess a building from a rent-to-own customer who is behind on payments, the plate shows who made it.

The plates go well beyond sheds. identiGROW lists indoor and outdoor furniture, clocks, decks, pole barns and chicken coops among the products it tags, and the plates come in aluminum or plastic. The company also takes on specific requests, from small runs for builders just starting out to heat-resistant plastic for sheds in the desert.

The product line

The 2026-2027 catalog covers a wide range of plate styles:

• DuraBlack .020 aluminum. identiGROW's most durable plate and, per the catalog, a standard for government ID plates. The catalog gives a life expectancy of 15 to 30 years, and notes that current testing suggests a minimum of 12 to 15.
• Coated black .040 aluminum. Life expectancy well above ten years.
• Vent plates. 7" x 16", in .060 matte black coated aluminum, plus 3D plastic vents.
• Full color aluminum with UV coating, and sublimated ovals with a 5-year no-fade manufacturer's guarantee.
• Die-struck aluminum (.050) with an automotive-grade clear coat, in silver or gold, and screen-printed aluminum (.025).
• Laser-engraved custom plastic in quantities as low as 25, and 3D custom and stock plastic.
• Bike plates, tacker signs, and key fobs in soft plastic, 3D, crystal, die-struck metal and solid cherry or maple.

Options include sequential numbering, holes, rounded corners, flat or foam adhesive, and UV coating. Catalog items ship free to the lower 48 states, except large metal vents.

How ordering works

The catalog lays out five steps: fill out the order form; send your information by phone, fax or email; choose a design; sign and return the estimate with a partial payment; then apply the plates. You're billed for the actual quantity produced, within about 10% of the estimate. identiGROW recommends ordering a one- to two-year supply for the best price. For artwork, it prefers .ai or .svg files and bitmaps at 300 dpi or better, and it has stock graphics if you need them.

identiGROW on the Shed Geek Podcast

Jonathan and Wendell Lee joined Shannon for "IdentiGROW - Custom Nameplates," Season 2, Episode 14, published June 22, 2022. Jonathan talks about going from the rubber stamp business to nameplates for the shed industry, along with being a family man, a pastor and the proud owner of a 1949 Buick. Wendell talks about growing up doing designs, sales and everything else a small business needs, and about flying. Listen to the identiGROW episode. identiGROW has also sponsored the show since 2022. More interviews are on the Shed Geek Podcast page.

Branding the building is one piece. LuxGuard's rubber flooring is another upgrade buyers notice.

More ways to get your name out

A nameplate works in the neighbor's backyard. For the search results, Shed Geek's marketing services cover ad accounts, local search and lead funnels for shed businesses, and Shed Geek consulting is there for strategy. Suppliers can see how to advertise with Shed Geek. To see finished, ready-to-deliver buildings, browse prebuilt sheds by size.

Product and company details come from identigrow.com and identiGROW's 2026-2027 catalog. Episode details come from the Shed Geek Podcast show notes. Confirm current options and pricing with identiGROW.