I first picked up a signwriting brush and mahl stick in 2013, but it wasn't until I had children and was looking for a career change that I decided to turn pro. Since then, I’ve benefited from tuition from master signwriters, self-directed research and weeks, months, years of gruelling practice in my little workshop in my garden. The process and tradition of the craft of signwriting is central to my work: all my letter forms are hand drawn and I do not use tape or stencils. I love the tension between the character of hand painted forms and the precision of highly practised craft. A lot of my work features directionally burnished gold: a technique in which gold leaf is burnished to create depth and fool the eye. It changes with the light and position of the viewer and creates movement and warmth. The signs I paint celebrate and commemorate life's most beautiful moments.