Jo Jack from Awamangu is the founder of Gingham Girls and makes all sorts of different wooden signs from home.
She and husband Stephen have three daughters Olivia (9), Sophie (8), and Lucy (6) and have a 394ha sheep and beef farm which runs 4500 stock units.
Mrs Jack was previously on the police force for 18 years but after having her third child it became a bit difficult and she was looking for other work she could do ‘‘living in a rural area’’.
At the end of 2014 Mrs Jack started making some hessian bunting and attending a few markets and that is how Gingham Girls came about.
Both sold very well, and at the beginning of 2015 Mrs Jack decided to make a Facebook page.
Since then she has found her passion in making rustic wooden signs and said ‘‘the demand was there and it has just grown so much since’’.
She said she had always loved doing up furniture so had the skills to create wooden signs as well, and first made a height ruler and a birthday board.
In February this year she started up her own website which she said had made taking orders much easier on both sides.
Mrs Jack originally made the signs from macrocarpa that was milled from their farm but, now that her business had grown so much she had to source extra from a local mill as well.
She does pretty much everything herself with some extra help from casual staff since the business had grown bigger.
From sanding to designing the signs, creating the stencils, cutting them out and painting them.
About a year ago Mrs Jack started to hold classes where people could come along and learn how to make their own signs.
She said the classes were ‘‘really popular’’ and she held 13 classes over 17 weeks in Balclutha and most of them sold out.
‘‘It’s great for people to not only come away with a special sign but also to have learned a new skill.’’
Mrs Jack said she was lucky to be able to have her own business in a rural area and be able to work from home but, ‘‘it can be a bit of a juggling act’’.
‘‘I love being able to work from home . . .but, you have to be strict on yourself to turn off and spend time with your kids when they are home.’’
She said when it came to starting her own business it had been testing at times however she has enjoyed the challenges.
‘‘You just have to keep it fresh and try to think of new ways to do things and different ideas all the time.’’
