How I Got Into Signwriting (And Why It Feels Like Home)

When I’m out painting, whether it’s a market demo or a fresh storefront, I always end up having the best chats. People stop to share stories about the building’s history, memories of their grandad’s mahl stick, or their favourite old shop signs. But the question I get asked more than anything?

“So, how did you get into sign painting?”

Honestly, it’s felt like a slow and steady path that’s led me right here and I can’t imagine being anywhere else. I’ve said this out loud to lots of pals recently, but I’ll say it again: every job I’ve done, every college or uni class I sat through, has somehow pointed me towards this work. Whether it was how to draw a perfect square (pattern cutting at college, I still use my pattern master) or project management (fashion design at uni, I miss that DeMontfort Library) or witnessing and working for a strong female ran business (many thanks to Bev at The Wardrobe in Leicester). And now, for the first time, I feel like I’m doing what I was always meant to do.

As a kid, I was obsessed with drawing letters. I’d make them 3D, make them swirl off into the distance, turn every bubble heading into a masterpiece. Every school project had to have the fanciest title page. I just didn’t know that there was an actual job where you could play with letters like that all day.

I stumbled into self-employment through the wedding industry, designing stationery and writing modern calligraphy place names. That felt like the closest I’d get to making a living from letters, until I fell headfirst into the world of sign painting. And that was it. Instant love.

Even in those early days, I knew I’d found something special, but I don’t think I realised just how fun and freeing it could be. Sure, there are rules and things to get right (especially when it comes to traditional techniques), but now… now I get to paint beautiful things for brilliant people and I’m having the time of my life doing it.