In this month’s community highlight we chatted with Ann Woo from Love is a Sign. As an Inner West signwriter, she might not be familiar to most of you, but you certainly know at least one piece of her work - she designed and executed our own SCOUT mural on the outside wall of the studio! Her work and story are truly inspiring, so keep reading…

Photo credit - Jo Wallace (Creator @Humansofnewtown)

Hi Ann, can you share a little bit of your background and what brought you to your passion for murals and signwriting?

Up ‘til five years ago, my professional background was largely working in the corporate world. I’ve spent many years working for a large telco in a variety of roles from sales and marketing to franchising. What brought me to signwriting was a day course I took in 2016. It made me think of my childhood and spending hours designing and colouring the title pages of my exercise books. I loved drawing the letters and the way they worked with each other, adding embellishments like shadows.

I then discovered TAFE had a two-year certificate course that devoted a term teaching traditional signwriting techniques, as well as other fundamentals. So, I enrolled and turned up to TAFE every Thursday for two years. I loved it, and meeting students with the same passion for traditional signwriting techniques was such a boost. I was the oldest in a class of around 10 students, and at times was the only woman. It made me feel young to be a 40-something mum with my backpack in a classroom mostly made up of ‘kids’ aged in their late teens and early 20s. The signwriting teachers were amazing and so generous in sharing their 40+ years of knowledge in the craft. I picked up many tips and tricks.

Can you tell us more about the story of ‘Love is a Sign’ ?

The name for my signwriting business, ‘Love is a Sign’, came from the title of a brilliant song by the Australian band, the Go Betweens. My mission is to design simple, effective hand-painted signs, with love of course. When I first started out, I volunteered my time to creating free signage for friends’ businesses and for events at the school my kids attended. I also donated my time to assist other signwriters. All to gain experience and confidence. Five years later, business is really healthy. I’m working with an ever-expanding list of small businesses, high-profile companies, local councils, and not-for-profit organisations – as well as a bunch of talented Sydney mural artists.

What does your typical week (or a specific weekday) look like?

The early part of the week typically involves meetings – either online or in person – along with site visits, designing, quoting, administration, and preparation for painting jobs that I might have scheduled for later in the week. A painting day involves being on site early with lots of coffees, sunscreen, and podcasts. I love the feeling of finishing a job – seeing it right there in front of me, a tangible achievement – and seeing how much the client appreciates it. There’s no comparison to my corporate days of constant emails and delayed outcomes.

What do you most love about your job?

Besides completing a job for a client and seeing their happy face, I continue to love meeting and working with other signwriters, artists, and muralists. Those are the jobs where I’ve learned the most. I love seeing how different people – united by the same love and passion for the craft – approach different jobs. It’s always fascinating and inspiring.

How do you find new inspiration for creating new signs?

I find inspiration everywhere, whether that be on an early morning walk referencing colours on the horizon, to passing through a regional town and seeing an old ‘ghost sign’ – what we in the trade call one of those faded old hand-painted signs on the side of a building from decades ago. I’m currently reading ‘Faith, Hope and Carnage’ by Nick Cave and Sean O’Hagan, where Cave references a comment made by his late mother about his father: ‘I loved that man down to his boots’. Ever since reading that I’ve been thinking about how to lay those words out on a sign and the wavering serifs I would use.

What past project (or two) are you most proud of?

I’m sure it won’t surprise you for me to say I’m proud of all my projects. Apart from my work, I’m also proud of the relationships I build with my clients. The biggest compliment is to be re-hired by a client and recommended. But if I had to pick one, I recently worked on a mural of the Australian singer and performer Olivia Newton-John that really left me walking on air. Like most Australian kids who grew up in the 80s, Olivia was a major figure in my childhood. She represented a lot of what is good about Australia and the image we project in the world. I wanted to do something special when she passed – to visibly represent, in a public way, what she meant to me, and probably a lot of other similarly-aged Australians. I teamed up with Sydney muralist Sharon Billinge to create an ONJ mural in Erskineville in Sydney’s inner west. I’m proud of what we created on a number of levels, from organising the wall we could use through a previous client, to smashing it out in a few days of hard work, through to the finished result. I particularly enjoyed the conversations we had with passing members of the public while we worked on the mural. So many people stopped to share their memories of Olivia. It was really touching. Six months on, I’m still getting messages about how much people love the mural.

What qualities are required for creating hand-painted signs?

Firstly, you need to love it. It’s tough work. It’s hard on your body: you’re going to be standing on a ladder for hours, exposed to the elements, working with paint and fumes. You also need a lot of patience. A hand-painted sign can sometimes have a lot of elements that take significant time to bring together.

What goal do you hope to achieve in 2023? Or any exciting projects coming up?

My goal in 2023 is to spend more time learning new techniques. I’ve signed up for an online glass gilding course with a traditional ornamental artist from the UK. I’ve done a little bit at TAFE but it was just the tip of the iceberg. I’m planning to allocate a night per week in my studio to do the course and practice. That is the thing about signwriting: you’re always learning.

I’ve also got a bunch of projects scheduled for during the year. One is working on a job for Greenpeace, which is quite exciting. I am also designing and painting my first Chinese Lunar Year window next week, which given I’m a Chinese-Australian, is really rewarding.

When you’re not working, what are you up to / how do you like to spend your free time?

Well, I’m about to launch into a full house renovation, so that will keep me busy. I love early morning swims, and spending time with my family and friends. Love dining out and cooking – anything involving food.

Finally, where can we find you if we’ve got a sign request?

You can find us on our website or on our Instagram @loveisa_sign

SCOUT COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHT - Meet Ann Woo!