![Tyvek HomeWrap by the foot for camping, ultralight backpacking, tarping, crafts - [3 feet] x [1 foot]](https://i.etsystatic.com/7687366/r/il/b86f4f/3122787325/il_340x270.3122787325_cqth.jpg)
![Campsite Sign [aluminum]](https://i.etsystatic.com/7687366/r/il/a020b7/1966284997/il_340x270.1966284997_2zya.jpg)
I began Trailsigns to dovetail my enjoyment of handcrafting signs with my love of the outdoors.
(This is an excerpt from an article published on an outstanding hiking blog, Trailtosummit.com - read full interview here: http://trailtosummit.com/a-closer-look-trailsigns/)
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What made you decide to start a business making replica trail signs [after your AT thruhike]?
Phillip: I had worked in the sign business for 10 years prior to thruhiking. I really like the craft of creating something that is both aesthetically pleasing and functional; engineering signs to withstand the brutal winters of New England is a fun challenge. My friend John, who originally got me interested in serious backpacking, commissioned a sign from me as a Christmas present to his dad, a copy of the Zealand Hut sign. It turned out well, and I opened an Etsy store to do more. I got a lot of orders from all over the country, and found that I really enjoyed making them.
I feel like there’s a real connection to signs on the trail. Seeing that shelter sign after hiking for miles in the cold rain is just about the most beautiful sight you can imagine. Or that sign at the summit, and you know your hard climb is over (for a while). Signs are milestones, landmarks, an indication you’re moving forward or moving into a new part of your journey. There’s that sinking feeling when you think it’s the summit sign and it’s just a sign that says “alpine zone, stay on the trail”! Signs mark crossroads, they show the paths we take and the ones we skip, the views that are too far away. The termini are marked by signs; we take pictures next to them to document our position on the trail. They are exceptionally important. “Welcome to Damascus” was a big one for me, along with the sign welcoming me to New Hampshire, and the one at the border of Tennessee and Virginia, when we knew our unending trek through the longest state was over. So making these reproductions is fulfilling for me, I think, because signs have such an emotional connection to our journey, they bring back a little of those intense feelings from our time on the trail.
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Where did you learn to carve wood?
Phillip: I’ve worked with wood and a lot of other building materials for 15 years, working as a carpenter, painter, and signmaker. Since vinyl cutters and CNC routers are reasonably affordable these days, which is great, the art of hand-carving and hand-painting is all but lost. I took an incised letter-carving workshop at the North Bennet Street School a couple of years ago, because I wanted to know how to do it. For those who don’t know, NBSS is an amazing institution in the North End, specializing in crafts like violin making, piano repair, cabinet making, wood carving – truly old-school. I am by no means an expert carver, I have many more years of practice before I could claim that, but I enjoy it immensely, and getting lost carving wood is great; it’s meditative and calming… a bit like hiking. I also enjoy the craft of reproduction itself, looking at a piece and deciding how to make a convincing copy requires a knowledge of techniques, processes, and materials. I also make signs with more modern automated methods, but hand-carving is a special – and time-consuming – thing.
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What has been your favorite project so far?
Phillip: I love making the Katahdin signs; I’ve made several for people all over the country, mostly former thru hikers. I got an order for a couple who thruhiked together a few years ago and are now expecting a baby boy. His middle name will be Katahdin, and they ordered a sign to hang in his nursery. Knowing that the piece I made will be there as he grows up, and hopefully he will always keep, was a pretty awesome concept, and I was very happy making that one.
