Turning Trash Into Treasures
Hi there! I’m Liz Vaniel, owner of SignsByLiz and, I started making signs over a decade ago when I would see chunks of scrap wood sitting outside of my husbands workshop. He used to make custom furniture for quite a few people living in our area. I would think what a waste. There’s got to be something I can do with that. So, I started going over and taking the nicest pieces and just started piling it up for a while until I thought of something. One day I was out shopping and saw a cute little gamebord in a shop that was very expensive and I thought, “I can do that!” so, I went home found a piece of wood from my pile that looked about right and I made one of my own! The rest as they say… is history. Before I knew it I wasn’t using scraps anymore, I had to purchase my own lumber! I still make game boards once in awhile but, now my focus is on signs. I love to make signs with quotes and sayings. I do a lot of signs of faith and inspiration. I have some fun ones. Anything that strikes my fancy. My mind is never at rest. I even wake up with designs already completed in my head! I now even design and create my own stencils for my signs. Business has really picked up since I started doing that. And, I wholesale my signs to gift and country specialty shops throughout the United States and Canada. Last year I started experimenting with Pallets. I’m very pleased and, I guess I can say a little bit proud to be able to take something that would have otherwise gone to waste or in some cases ended up in a land fill and turn it into something that’s not only completely different but, something worthy of gracing the walls of peoples homes. I launched my up- cycled/recycled pallet sign line last spring and most of that line has become my number one sellers! I have two grown daughters that have my signs hanging all through their homes. Even my four granddaughters have my signs in their bedrooms. Friends, family, I think just about everyone I know has at least one of my signs hanging in their homes. I’m also fortunate that I’m able to do my work from home. It allows me to have a little more time for another endeavor that’s close to my heart. My husband and I are Foster Parents for “The Boxer Transfer Network.” And, YES! We are foster fails! Meaning, we ended up adopting one of our fosters and now he’s our furever boy! I’m very lucky to have found something that I Love to do. Even more lucky that I’ve been able to build up a following of customers that have kept my work flow busy, many have become repeat customers many times over and a lot of them I now consider friends. I’ve been Blessed.