Name: Lincoln McMullan

Business name: The Signtists

Opening hours: Monday to Friday from 9am until 5pm

When did you open your business and why?

I OPENED my business in Ellesmere 17 years ago. I’ve been in the sign business for 35 years, and I spent time working in other places before I moved down here. I do things in a bit of a smaller way here now, but my brother has a sign business in Dublin too and we kind of work together.

My younger brother used to teach this sort of thing in a college in Dublin, so he was one of the main reasons I started doing this with him, but he moved back to Ireland and this was something I carried on.

I’ve been in the business a long while, so he helped me at the start, but I feel like I know more than he does now!

Why in this location?

The location was one of the main reasons I opened here. It is in a good position and has Oswestry in one direction, Wrexham and Shrewsbury in other directions, and it isn’t far from Telford and other places too so it’s in a good position for everyone to get to.

Tell us about your business

I MAINLY do vehicle graphics, but I do also do shop signs and some window graphics too. It’s mainly vehicle graphics I specialise in – I’m doing stuff for Edwards Dairies at the moment, and I do things for Lakeside Coaches, West Pennine Trucks etc. So there’s quite a lot of commercial custom, but we do also get people coming in and asking for a beware of the dog sign or a sign for somewhere in the house, but it is mainly commercial. But I will pretty much cater to anyone, anyone who wants a sign making I can provide it for them.

Obviously at the moment that is a bit different because the shop is shut with everything that’s going on, so people aren’t able to walk in off the street at the minute.

I’m not doing as much as I was, but it’s just a case of looking after what I can and doing some bits while this goes on.

I get quite a lot of customers coming back who I’ve dealt with for years, I have a good clientele and they’re very loyal to me, so I’m the same with them.

What is your proudest moment?

I’ve won European and world highly-recommended certificates which are both awards I am very proud of – it’s a big accolade.

I haven’t entered into those for many years. I think I won the European one in 2002 and then the world one when I was in the shop in Ellesmere in 2004.

I am very proud of them.

Any strange requests?

Yes I have had some. I recall a woman many years ago, not in this area, who came in asking for a sign to be made with a certain type of leaf printed on the front with a message for her husband to say no smoking marijuana which she wanted to hang by the fireplace in her home.

Someone also came to ask for blinds because they saw them in my window.

That’s one that stands out, there have been a few more over the years.