SWARTSELL: Wartman is the director of Neonworks, a shop based in Cincinnati. He's been bending glass and doing just about everything else related to neon signs for decades. It runs in the family.

Rocket Neon is the only independent neon sign shop left in the state of Idaho. Once a common practice, the now rare art form has shifted since the invention of LEDs. "They replace a lot of what we ...