Profile: John Elliott
Valla, Nambucca Heads, New South Wales, Australia
By signcraft
Posted on Saturday, August 7th, 2021
Shop name:
Prickle Patch SignsShop size:
1500 sq. ft.Age: 71
Graphics equipment:
Roland VS540 printer/cutter
Emtak2R laminator
Roland GS24 plotter
The brush box that I made in school at age 14.
My rest stick. (mahlstick)
Most importantly, my hands
John Elliott grew up in Sydney, Australia’s largest city. At 15, he decided he’d had enough of school and asked his father, a signwriter, if he would take him on as an apprentice. His father did, and that’s how both John and his brother, Lynden, learned the trade. John says he “virtually fell into the craft.” SignCraft gave him a call recently to learn more about his 50-plus years in the business:
When I first started in the business, my father was doing a lot of corporate work for Kodak, Coca-Cola and Streets ice cream. The logos had to be painted very precisely because the companies were very particular about that. I learned to signwrite very quickly and accurately because of that.
