End of an Era - Signs By Andrea

Posted 6th November, 2021 in by Andrea

It is with mixed emotions that beginning November 1st, 2021, I am no longer accepting wood sign orders. It's finally time (and I'm ready) to close up the shop and move on to a new chapter in my work life. I'm looking forward to more time for rest, less personal and physical stress, and having just one job to mentally focus on each week. 

I'm doing my darndest to simplify and minimize to try and keep my body and mind healthy. The stress of the past 5 or so years has taken a toll and I just don't have the capacity I once did. I'm heading into 2022 with a "less is more" mindset...
 
As of today, all the signs are shipped. 
 
 
I'm very thankful for what Signs By Andrea has been and meant to me and my family over the past 12 years. It's allowed me to work from home with a flexible schedule for nearly our kids' entire childhood, and was far more than a "little side hustle" most of that time. I never expected it to grow like it did, but am honored that well over 10,000 signs that I've made are displayed in homes all across the country (with a few special signs sprinkled across the world).  
 
 
I put one of these stickers on every box that went out.  And I think I got my own "sign" that this is the right time and right decision. 
 
Just after we'd made the announcement that I was "retiring" from painting, I got a call from my storage unit that it had flooded and there was water damage in it.  I was allowed to move anything that *wasn't wood* over to a new unit--any wood pieces had to be removed.  Welp.  The whole reason I HAD that storage unit was to store my wood.  (Yeah...that wood from a fence that I had painstakingly pulled apart and have been dealing with an elbow injury since.)
 
So...sign clearly recieved.  I took what I wanted to keep out of the storage unit, closed up my account, and left the wood for them to throw away.  That was a little painful. I'm not gonna lie.  But I guess I'm thankful that *I* didn't have to move it all or figure out how to get rid of it.  
 

So, I finished up my last round of orders with the wood I already had prepped and cut in the garage, and thankfully had plenty to complete them all. 

I did have to turn ordering off a few days early before my sale was supposed to end though.  I had too many orders to be able to complete before we left for our Las Vegas trip...and when we returned, we had scheduled to get new flooring and the exterior of the house painted.  So my office and painting porch were both going to need to be completely dismantled for several weeks.

So, I spent about three weeks here at the end pressing through and painting 5 days a week (a huge increase from the 2.5 days I'd been doing more regularly).  By the time I was done...I was ready to be done.  

These are a few of the last orders I painted...no fancy photos, just snapped before shipping.   As always...the custom designs were my favorites. I *will* miss making those.

It's been a good long run.  I'm very grateful for the life this business has given me, and the opportunities it has created for our family.  Thank YOU for supporting me all these years by buying my signs as gifts for family and friends.  It has meant the world.

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