The Aussies
Bushie
Hi, I'm Jon Butterworth of Jon Signs in
Toowoomba, a small city of 90,000, about an hour's drive due west of Brisbane.
Born of English parents at the end of WWII in
India, I was raised in New Zealand, therefore a Kiwi! After leaving College I spend ten
years in Advertising as a copywriter/visualiser and graphic artist.
Tired of that rat race, I took off to see the world. Spent nearly a year in Southern
California with friends before motoring up the west coast to BC, Canada. I lived in
Abbotsford, BC the summer of 1975 and then returned to NZ to go into business with my
youngest brother. He is also a graphic artist, and we started a Sign Shop, teaching
ourselves the trade.
I moved here to Toowoomba in 86 and started my own
shop. I re-married in ' 91 and Sue not only became my loving wife, but also my business
partner when we purchased our first computer a year later. We haven't looked back since.
I put Sue's daughter, Vicki, through a full apprentiship and she graduated top of
Queensland. Must be doing something right! She is now on an extended working holiday in
Europe, and we have another young lady apprentice who is proving just as good.
We work from home. Sue and I purchased this 1/2 acre
property a year ago about 10 minutes from town. 40 x 40 Workshop. Huge back lawn with
access from the road behind ... great for trucks. Converted two rooms of the house into a
studio/vinyl production area. We run a URW Signus Sign System ... German ... very fast,
very accurate ... expensive. A recent upgrade put our original 486
crammed with goodies in one corner running the network. Sue has the
pentium and a brand new Graphtec plotter while I got a new pentium, digital camera, zip
drive and modem ... which is why I'm here!
I was introduced to The Letterhead Website and Chat at the Letterheads in the Sun in Brisbane recently, and was instantly hooked!
We cover all aspects of signwriting (except neon) and specialise in banners, vehicle and aircraft graphics, and window splashes. Most of my work is repeats and referrals. Hobbies include gardening, bush walking, aviation, sailing and scuba diving. We try to get away at least once a year for a week on the Great Barrier Reef ... charter a 35ft yacht just by ourselves ... and don't take the phone.
Another hobby rapidly developing is the 'net. It has been a source of information and inspiration and we look forward to making many more friends world wide.