Way back, decades ago, Harris Signs & Graphics Ltd had its beginnings.  In 1969, it was originally known as Anthony T. Harris Signwriters and Gilders when Tony and his wife, Sue, started the business in the same year as their son, Robert, was born.  Tony was then working on his own, after gaining his apprenticeship with the then legendary Trevor Lewis.  The business has grown and grown with their son Robert starting his five year apprenticeship with them in 1985.  The business was just traditional signwriting at this stage – not a computer in sight!  Then I tried a two week work experience with the firm and in 1992 after finishing my GCSEs at school, I started my five year apprenticeship in traditional signwriting.  In 1997 we bought our first computer and plotter.  Times had to change even though Tony said we would never have one of those computer things!

As the business grew and grew again, we needed to modernise and the name change to Harris Signs & Graphics (HSG) in 1999 gave us a leap forward to make the transition.  In the same year we got our first large format 54” digital print plotter/cutter – a big change for a steadily growing company.

With a four-strong workforce – Tony, Rob and myself as Signwriters and Sue dealingwith the secretarial side – a fifth joined the HSG ‘family’, Rosemary Prosser.  She was a new face to help the company keep moving forward and giving Sue morehelp in the office with the ever-growing paperwork.  Whoever said computers would reduce the paperwork was wrong!

In 2007 HSG made the biggest decision to date.  We originally worked out of Tony & Sue’s family home and converted garage but we had out grown the space and upped sticks and moved down the road to a brand new purpose-built unit in SA1.  It was a hard decision but one that has proved to gain more business and give us more confidence in our ability to deliver a more efficient service to existing, new and future clients - the start of a new era at HSG.

Since moving to our new unit, Rob and I have been made Company Directors. Sue retired in the early part of 2010 and Tony is due to retire soon, although no official date has been set as yet.  The reigns of the business has slowly been passing over to the two of us. Rosemary is still with us providing much needed help to deal with paperwork and answering the phone.  We are still able to offer traditional signwriting, gilding, computer cut vinyl graphics and full digitally printed vinyl graphics.  All work can be designed and manufactured in-house.  We are a business growing even larger but with a friendly, small business approach.

Christian Pike

Director