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My Story in Signs

​A lifetime in the trade - from hand‑painted boards to modern vinyl and digital graphics.

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Below is a short timeline of where I’ve worked, what I’ve done, and the experiences that shaped the way I work today.

Sept 2005 - Present - Freebird Sign Services


My own business and the work I’m most proud of.  

Since 2005 I’ve been providing two key services:

  • Contract labour to other sign companies

  • Direct signage for local businesses across Banbury & Oxfordshire

I specialise in:

  • Window graphics

  • Internal wall & office graphics

  • Vehicle lettering (not full wraps)

  • Exhibition graphics

Every job is designed, produced and fitted by me - no juniors, no subcontractors, no surprises.

Memorable moment:  
Too many to count - but nothing beats seeing a customer’s reaction when their business suddenly looks more professional, more confident, and more “them”.

Apr - Sept 2005 - Melville Beck Exhibitions


Exhibition graphics at major UK venues 

Worked at Earls Court, Olympia, Excel and the NEC producing and fitting large‑format exhibition graphics.

1996–2005 - Custom Graphics


Exhibitions, vehicles, signage - UK & Europe  

Returned to Watford and picked up where I left off. More exhibitions, more travel, more experience across every type of signage you can imagine.

1995 - 1996 - One & All Signs (Falmouth, Cornwall)


Vinyl cutting, application, and boat graphics 

Moved to Cornwall for a while and ended up working on everything from shop signs to boat lettering.

Memorable moment:  
Applying vinyl to Falmouth's Lifeboat hull while it was still rocking gently in the water - a very different challenge to a van in a workshop.

1993 - 1995 - Custom Graphics


Exhibition graphics, vehicle graphics, general signage

This is where I really cut my teeth. I worked on everything from shop fascias to exhibition stands, travelling across the UK and Europe fitting graphics in some of the biggest venues.

Memorable moment:  
Installing graphics at the NEC at 2am because the client changed their entire stand layout the night before the show opened.

1987 - 1993 - Kaybee Designs (self employed)


Vehicle graphics, general signage

Producing graphics in a two bedroom flat in Northolt, Middlesex using a epidiascope projector handcutting all the graphics by hand (no computer cutters).

1987 - Photobition (London)


Lamination & mounting

A short but valuable stint learning the finishing side of the trade - the part that makes graphics last. Producing the large billboards for outside the major venues and cinemas in London.

1985 - 1987 - Custom Graphics

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The place that shaped my career

A busy, varied role where no two days were the same. One day I’d be lettering a van, the next I’d be in Frankfurt fitting exhibition graphics at 3am. It taught me to be adaptable, fast and precise. I loved the job and the guys I worked with.

1983 - 1985 - Hammersmith & West London College

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City & Guilds in Sign Work 

Formal training in traditional signwriting, acid etching, screen printing, layout, materials, and production. This was the bridge between old‑school craft and the emerging world of vinyl and modern graphics.

1981 - 1982 - Richard Harris (Freelance Sign Writer)

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Learning the trade the proper way. 

I started out sweeping floors, making tea, and watching a master signwriter at work. Before long I was helping with layouts, hand‑painting boards, and learning the foundations of good design and clean workmanship.

Memorable moment:  
Realising how much skill goes into a single brush stroke — and how much pride there is in getting it right.

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