He crafted the Panther Coffee neon sign — and his work showed up in a Bruce Willis film

I was born in 1953 in St. Louis, Missouri, the “Show Me” state. I grew up in St. Louis primarily, though I also lived in D.C. and Iowa.

I decided I had enough of winter and moved to Texas for 10 years. I visited Florida many times and I liked it, especially the water. So, I moved to Key Largo in 1989 to be on the water.

When I got out of school, I wanted to build and create things rather than do office work. I’m compulsive about high-end, meticulous work, which is a good trait for wood working, remodeling, building furniture, cabinets and mill work — all of which I did.

Then I met Cindy the Neon Lady and got a flamingo from her. She had a shop where she did mill work and contracting, and I had space in my wood shop for her neon business. When she set up shop, I watched her work and grew fascinated with neon.

But making neon is hard and it takes a lot of time to perfect. There’s a lot of frustration involved, lots of bad glass, lots of bending that breaks. I was a licensed pilot and had been flying planes for 10 to 15 years, and it’s easier to get a pilot’s license than it is to learn how to be a good tube bender.

The wholesale business was going up and down so we set up shop in Overtown, down on the Miami River. It was a cool shop and we were a little in love. But in 1998 she moved back to Texas to be with her family in Texas.

When I moved from Miami to the Florida Keys, the economy was really bad. I started making Florida Keys-related fish and neon stuff. I did all of the local seafood festivals and shows down here. Neon is a little pricey, and the economy was bad, but it was a little bit of cash coming in and my creativity had an outlet.

Fundamentally, the craft of neon hasn’t changed. I’m doing the exact same style and types of bends that they’ve been doing for 100 years.

The only real advancement has been with the transformers and power supply side of things. The neon tube manufactured today is essentially the same tube they used 100 years ago. George Claude designed it and 100 years later, it’s still the standard. If you watch me do it, it’s the same as watching someone 80 years ago do it.

It’s a really cool medium and people love it, with its magical feel.

Some people say that neon is wicked evil and they will find any way to outlaw neon. They think it’s cheap and sleazy, and it’s true that there’s cheap neon work that’s tacky and terrible.

But really well-made neon is incomparable and can’t be beat for splash. Some of my local pieces include the Eternity Now sign and the Panther Coffee sign in Wynwood, the original one.

I’ve had commercial stuff in different TV shows. A Bruce Willis movie, “Mercury Rising,” had one of my neon pieces, and another was in the movie, “Something About Mary.”

So yeah, I’ve been around. For most of my wholesale work, I did thousands and thousands of neon lights that are scattered across the planet. I’ve shipped stuff all over the world. I’m sure a lot it will still be around when I’m not. Neon is forever, so they say.

Miami’s brilliance inspires neon artists.

Before coming to South Florida, I was in Texas and loved the water down there, too. When I first came and saw the crystal clear waters of South Florida, I knew I wanted to be a boat bum in the Florida Keys.

I like the outdoors here, and playing with boats. I feel lucky to be doing this in the Florida Keys.

This story was transcribed from an interview in 2016 between Steve Moser, a neon artist in Key Largo, and HistoryMiami Museum as part of a research project exploring the question “What Makes Miami, Miami?” The Florida Folklife Program, a component of the Florida Department of State’s Division of Historical Resources, directed the project.