Pamela Tomlin like many people grew bored during the COVID-19 pandemic being stuck at home so she wanted to find something to do with all that idle time.
The former television producer decided to make a sign using nautical flags to represent letters, and the rest is history.
“I was out of work and bored to tears and looking for something to do, so I decided to make a nautical flag sign,” says Tomlin, who lives in the coastal town of Ipswich, Massachusetts. “I grew up on the water. I’ve always been attracted to nautical. I’ve seen similar signs and I wanted to do it.”
Nautical flags have been used for centuries as a way for mariners to quickly send messages to each other. There are 26 square nautical flags, each representing a different letter of the alphabet. The black, blue, red, yellow, and white colors are used for visibility.
Tomlin’s first sign spelled out Clam Box, which is the humorous name that she and her husband have for their house because she says it is so little. Her friend encouraged her to make more signs so she made a Facebook post and received 10 orders that evening.
“So I basically dumped TV and became ‘the sign lady.’ I just went to work in our one-car garage and out in the driveway and before I knew it there were 75 signs all over the houses where I live in Ipswich,” she says.
Her business which she named, Ipswich River Craft, was then featured on ABC television station affiliate WCVB in Boston for being made in Massachusetts. From there, the business was featured on ABC World News Tonight for being made in America.
“Then it just took off. We had 700 orders before Christmas. I put my producer hat back on and hired 30 ‘elves,’ and we got them done right before Christmas within three weeks,” she says. “Also I’ve been doing wholesale and making these smaller items called door hangers that people like to sell wholesale that usually say ‘I Love You,’ ‘Welcome,’ ‘Woof,’ ‘Meow’ – things like that.”
Her signs are featured in the Bitter End Yacht Club in the British Virgin Islands. She’s also begun working with Ocean Reef Resorts and says she’s going to be doing signs for Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire, soon.
The signs are made from medium density overlay (MDO) plywood, which has a weather-resistant resin overlay.
“Everything is wood, we cut it all and it is all hand painted,” says Tomlin. Five different sizes are available depending on the length of the word.
She also uses Benjamin Moore exterior paints, and for good reason.
“My stuff is over the top with quality. My husband produces the TV show ‘This Old House,’ so I got Tom Silva to teach me the best practices on how to make these. The paints I use are top of the line, so they are really well done.”
Tomlin has helpers that paint the flags on the blocks of wood. “We pour over each sign with a fine-tooth comb, and we ship them out all over the country.”
She’s also able to apply her television experience to promoting her business on social media.
Ipswich River Craft has shipped 5,000 signs in three years. Tomlin signs the back of each one, “so everybody feels like they’ve got a piece of artwork and that makes me feel really good.”
