Meet the well-known Harborough signwriter whose company has been rebranding businesses in the town for 46 years

A well-known Market Harborough signwriter has been hard at work rebranding businesses the company first worked on almost three decades ago.

Business partners Shane Cross and Kate Richens are going from strength to strength at JW Signs Ltd after taking over Jim Watts Signs at the end of 2018.

And among the many jobs they have carried out lately is at Chinese restaurant and takeaway Top Wok on the High Street in Market Harborough.

“We have been rebranding Top Wok an amazing 29 years after we first worked on it!

“It’s very refreshing to know that people who have been in business in Harborough for so long come back to us to reinvent their image after so many years,” said Shane, 41.

“I have worked in the signage/branding industry for 24 years and when the opportunity arose to buy Jim Watts both Kate and I agreed it was the right thing to do.

“Kate had worked there for 20 years previously and I’d already been there for five years.

“The company has been established for 46 years and has a fantastic reputation right across the area and beyond.

“We’ve now renamed it JW Signs Ltd and we aim to drive the business into new technologies and aim to help businesses grow their brand,” said Shane, who’s lived in Market Harborough for 31 years.

“We don’t just make signage.

“We also offer design services and can help with new businesses find their brand that will drive them forward, especially in this ever demanding internet-driven world we live in today.

“The Covid lockdowns have clearly been a stiff challenge as for all of us,” said Shane.

“But we are lucky because we can fabricate our own acrylics making screens for places.

“So we had that to fall back on when the sign industry was a bit limp.

“It’s not been easy but we are still getting regular enquiries and we have survived so there’s a lot to be said for that.”

They have just carried out an ambitious project working on new student accommodation much further south in Southampton, Exeter and Falmouth.

“It was a nice change from the standard signage projects we undertake on a daily basis,” said Kate.

And Shane added: “It was a lovely job, we really enjoyed doing it.

“We are still not sure who recommended us for that.

“But it’s a real feather in our caps because they could easily have gone to craftsmen and specialists down there rather than come all the way to us in Market Harborough.

“And that’s what we hope to do more and more, branching out far and wide, as the economy picks up and bounces back in 2021.

“We’d love to do more jobs in London.

“We could do the work cheaper than London prices – and it’s only two hours down the motorway,” insisted Shane.

“Bring it on!

“Our jobs are literally very hands on.

“Kate and I work all hours to make this work and we’re a brilliant team.

“All being well 2021 is going to be much better than last year and we are really looking forward to taking off and going to different places.”

You can find out more about JW Signs Ltd on their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/jwsigns.co.uk/