a signwriter
I think it would be reasonable to say that in the past there were certain old school professions that you’d always associate with men. These days that simply not the case and Sheila is an example of that. This is her story and how she turned that male stereotype image we have of someone on its head.
From an early age, Sheila recalls that she was always drawing things. She told me that she would of loved to have had a camera as a child but couldn’t afford one, so instead she drew things that she wanted to remember. Art was an option for her at school but she soon realised that she was never going to make a living as an artist, so she chose graphic design as a career.
”I never intended to be a signwriter, I got into it by a bit of a fluke”
Originally Sheila spent her younger years here in Cornwall but her family moved away. The draw to return here was strong, so she moved back to Cornwall and enrolled at Falmouth School of Art. Shortly after that, she continued her studies followed by a degree in Graphic design. She then graduated and decided to stay here in Cornwall, a wise choice, whilst everyone else she knew went off to London, fools!!. However, jobs here can be difficult to find and as a result of that, she struggled to find a job in design that she was looking for.
Her thoughts then switched towards other options. A youth training scheme became available for her and she started working for a local sign maker who put her through a ‘day release’ college course. The course that was most relevant was a City and Guilds in Sign work. Sheila was actually one of the last two people in Cornwall to study the City and Guilds course.
After the course finished, she went into teacher training for a year, then ended up getting a graphic design job after all. She stayed in that line of work for many years but felt that she wanted to do something for herself rather than spending her life working for someone else. So, nine years ago, she decided to go it alone and started up her sign writing business. Sheila told me ”I never intended to be a sign writer, I got into it by a bit of a fluke if I’m honest”. She had no idea if it would work and whether anyone would be interested in hand painted signage, but luckily it turned out there was a market for it and in fact there has been quite a major resurgence in the art of it all. Sheila sign writes on a number of different surfaces from shop windows, to boats, petrols pumps to classic coaches to name just a few. Sheila told me ”I enjoy my work (mostly!) and the variety keeps me interested. I am often found working up a ladder in the middle of the street and I meet a lot of people”.
When I first met Sheila, she was indeed up a ladder with her Mahl Stick in her hand. That’s the stick a sign writer uses to steady their hand when writing. It’s got a little ball on the end of it. I was my usual self that day firing off questions relating to what she was doing and how she did it. Apologies Sheila for wittering on so much whilst you were concentrating. Whilst watching Sheila, it was clear to see that what she does for a living requires a keen eye and a very steady hand indeed. With the addition of course of a creative and artistic flare too’.
Thank you for letting me into your world Sheila….. RD
