Joby Carter’s first open day at his workshop in Street attracted over 200 visitors with a mix of local Somerset residents and others driving from across the UK to attend. Many said they followed Joby on social media and were interested to see traditional signwriting skills first hand.
All about Joby Carters workshop open day
On Saturday 8 March 2025, traditional signwriter Joby Carter opened the doors to his signwriting workshop in Street to the public for the very first time. The open day was designed to showcase the traditional skill of signwriting to a wider audience and Joby was delighted to see so many attend throughout the day.
There were two free demonstrations at the event:
- 10.30 Joby Carter: Creating straight lines using an English coach lining brush
- 11.30: Joby Carter: Blending colours for special effects on backgrounds or lettering
Throughout the day visitors could see Joby and his signwriting friends in action painting lettering in different styles.
Joby’s signwriting supply shop which sells specialist enamel paint, brushes, Joby’s books and other signwriting materials was also open. Visitors enjoyed browsing the signwriting gift section which included fine art prints of Joby’s lettering designs, fridge magnets, jigsaws and the hand painted alphabet letters from Joby’s book All the Fonts of the Fair which have 40% off. These all make ideal gifts for Mother’s Day for anyone who loves traditional skills and heritage crafts.
Pictured above: hand painted letters from All the Fonts of the Fair
Pictured below: Joby’s fine art prints including the limited edition LOVE and standard edition Supermum. These are 12×12 prints which fit in a standard frame.
Joby says:
I was super excited to invite everyone to the first of many open days at my new workshop here in Somerset. The aim of the day was to spread the love of traditional signwriting and keep up the interest in the craft. It was wonderful to see so many new faces – thank you to everyone that attended.
Supersized signwriting tools over 30 feet long
To help raise awareness of traditional signwriting techniques, Joby decided to create supersized signwriting tools to display outside the workshop. There’s a 9-foot by 6-foot palette with giant paint dipper pots big enough to bathe a toddler, a mahl stick (used to lean on when signwriting so you don’t smudge your work) which is over 30 feet long and a paintbrush which is 8 feet long. These will be displayed alongside a 24-foot sign which Joby has been working on for several weeks which features hand painted letters 2 feet high. Joby has been sharing videos of the making of the sign and supersized signwriting tools on social media which have gained a lot of interest. The sign was on display at ground level during the open day as Joby is still working on the lettering.
Pictured above: the supersized mahl stick before the wood effect was painted on the shaft
Pictured below: The mahl stick with wood effect and traditional lettering painted on
Pictured below: The supersize palette in the workshop. This was customised to give it a ‘used’ feel by adding wood effect and various paint effects.
Pictured below: Local carpenter John Tucker Creative Carpentry helped Joby create the supersized 30 foot mahl stick which features a full size space hopper as the tip!
Joby Carter says:
This supersized signwriting tools idea is something that tickles me – most people won’t have a clue what these tools are as people think I either use a computer or a giant stencil to create lettering. They’re always amazed to learn I create lettering by hand. Using a palette and mahl is the traditional way to signwrite and that’s been eroded over time. I’m all about preserving these traditional methods and if I can do it in a fun way like this (I’ve used a giant space hopper as the end of the mahl!) then why not. You can take the man out of the funfair but you can’t take the funfair out of the man!
Visit the next Joby Carter open day
The next free open day will be on Saturday 3 May 2025
- Admission: Free entry for all. Well behaved dogs are welcome on a lead. Address: Unit 18 Rockhaven Business Centre, Gravenchon Way, Street, BA16 0HW
- Parking: There is free parking in the neighbouring areas but please park sensibly and courteously.
Travel: - 13 miles from Castle Cary Train station
- 28 miles from Bristol Temple Meads Train station
- 25 miles from Bristol Airport
- 5min walk from Bus Stop at Sainsburys Street
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