Whoever said a groom has only two jobs \u2013 to turn up and to plan the honeymoon \u2013 has never met Victorian groom (and entrepreneur) Adam Furness, who has turned his own engagement into a thriving, and rather funky, wedding business.<\/p>\n
Adam, a talented creative who has long understood and appreciated the value of something hand crafted, was inspired to start A Sign Of Love<\/a> while planning his own nuptials with fiancee Jessie Hamilton.<\/p>\n The business, which specialises in hand-made nik naks and wedding d\u00e9cor, is thriving, especially among brides holding rustic, boho or DIY-style weddings, and Adam says he couldn\u2019t imagine a better outlet.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were planning our wedding, still are planning our wedding, and we were trying to get rustic-style signage and stuff like that and found it hard to come by,\u201d says the groom, whose eclectic and creative art background includes, among other things, oil painting classes, abstract art courses and wedding photography.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we just couldn\u2019t find what we wanted, no matter how hard we looked. So, I thought, \u2018You know what? I have an arty background, I\u2019ll give it a try myself\u2019 and A Sign Of Love<\/a> basically just took off from there.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam\u2019s first DIY project was his own ring boxes.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the first one, I actually bought the box from Lincraft,\u201d he recalls. \u201cIt was on the clearance shelf for $2, and I hand carved the lid and set up the inside how I wanted it, but once we put the rings in, it kind of looked too big and bulky; the rings got lost.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, we left it at that, and then, once I actually got a bit of free time, I decided to make a box that presented the rings better and I made another box. Things sort of took off from there.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam started making a few rustic-looking, hand painted signs \u2013 being pretty handy already \u2013 and Jessie whipped up a Facebook page for A Sign Of Love<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThen, one day, we were flipping through a bridal magazine and there was a big article on rustic-style weddings and how they\u2019d gone crazy for them in America and how businesses like mine were taking off and my eyes lit up.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the first time, I was sure I was on the right track ,and that there was hope for my little business yet.\u201d<\/p>\n Then there were his other yearnings.<\/p>\n \u201cFor as long as I can remember, I always wanted to do signwriting,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cYou used to see the old guys when you\u2019d go to the shops doing the shopfront windows and stuff like that and I thought \u2018I like that \u2013 that\u2019s their own hand work and it\u2019s there on display for people to see\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n It seemed serendipity was pointing him in one direction. And Adam gladly followed.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s something I\u2019ve always wanted to do,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve always been looking for that thing to get out of the everyday grind. And here it is.\u201d<\/p>\n As his early days focused on the ring boxes, as well as the signs and the coat hangers, good word of mouth proved invaluable.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had one bride, our first customer in fact, who showed her sister-in-law our products on Facebook. After seeing our products, the sister-in-law went home and set up a Facebook account just so she could like our page and contact us to place an order.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s the sort of interest you can\u2019t buy, and it helped inspire further growth.<\/p>\n Adam\u2019s offerings have now extend to everything from timber invitations (above) and table numbers to an old six-panel window frame \u2013 on a stand \u2013 with a removable sheet of acrylic Perspex or blackboard to write on.<\/p>\n He also creates \u2018thank you\u2019 signs for the bride and groom to hold in photos and, to ensure his customers get exactly what they want, he even purchased a pricey laser cutter and engraver, which allows him more flexibility in the personalisation he can offer customers.<\/p>\n \u201cA Sign Of Love<\/a> can completely customise absolutely anything to suit a couple\u2019s needs so you really can have everything exactly how you want it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n It\u2019s an approach that has won plenty of fans, at expos and beyond.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve spoken to a few brides, and they will say something like \u2018Oh, those hangars are nice. I kind of like the white ones but I\u2019d prefer a different colour or something a bit more shabby\u2019. And we can say \u2018You\u2019re going to settle for a white one when it\u2019s not exactly what you want? Well we\u2019ll make you a shabby one.\u2019<\/p>\n It\u2019s all about coming up with that certain something different and doing it in bespoke fashion, like their alternative guest books, which they can create in pretty much any form, including fingerprint trees.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of people download them, whereas we have two designs, and I hand drew both of those and then scanned them into the computer. They\u2019re on Photoshop now so we can change the colour, the sizes, we can add two little lovebirds on branches, put a heart carving on the tree trunk with initials in it. We can do anything, really.<\/p>\n \u201cOne bride-to-be asked for one with butterflies flying around the top because butterflies mean a lot to her and we were able to create exactly what she wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n With a focus that\u2019s as much on the practical as the pretty, Adam now hires out generic signs, such as \u2018Happily ever after begins here\u2019 because, as he puts it, \u201cWhat is anyone going to do with it after the wedding?\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cThis way, the can still have the sign at their wedding \u2013 but they don\u2019t have to hang on to it forever.\u201d<\/p>\n