From boredom to business

By Megan Smalley

Although there are some overarching trends related to coastal-themed decor, some decor preferences vary depending on the region.


In New England, one former television producer has taken the popularity of nautical signs and turned it into a business.


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 the time. The former television producer decided to make a sign using nautical flags to represent letters.


“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.


Tomlin’s first sign spelled out Clam Box. 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.


Tomlin’s business, which she named, Ipswich River Craft, was featured on ABC television station affiliate WCVB in Boston for being made in Massachusetts.


Read more about Tomlin and her company in the online version of the story at
www.seasideretailer.com.