Greetings fellow signwriters.
Cam River Signs is located in one of the southern-most parts of the world,
Tasmania, a large island south of mainland Australia. We are situated on the
north coast of Tasmania near the city of Burnie. We have a twenty-five acre
property which is bordered by the Cam River and covered mostly by bushland, tall
eucalypts and low bushes.
Our home and workshop are next to each other, it was a decision we made some years ago that while our relatively isolated area might be a disadvantage, the advantages in working near my family were more important. It is a decision I've not regretted.
My wife Leslie and I have five children and we teach them at home using a
Christian-based curriculum called A.C.E. While Leslie and the children are
Tasmanian, I was born in Portsmouth, England in 1952. My family migrated to
Australia in 1964 and Australia became my home. 
When I left school at the age of 15, I trained to become an engraver, a work I enjoyed for many years until coming to Tasmania and finding the opportunities in that trade were few, so I took up a brush and taught myself to paint signs.
In 1984 computers came to Australia, I mean the Gerber in particular. We brought the first one to Tasmania which gave us the edge (not the Gerber Edge) for over a year before others bought them too. I decided that this was the way of the future and began to learn all I could about PC's, later adding one to the Gerber and discovering a whole new world. That's when life became more complicated.
Ours remains a small business, I have one full-time employee, we run a
486/100 and use SignLab 4.95 which I think is the greatest sign software. I use
a 586 notebook for accounts, faxing, email and surfing. We still use the
faithful Gerber 4a! It's been going 12 years now without even a 'hiccup', not
many machines will do that! 
Much of our work comes from tourism and mining. The mining companies seem to
have an unending need for safety signs, while restaurants, motels and hotels
provide an avenue for more creative signwork. There's not a lot of inspiration
here, so I rely on SignCraft magazine to provide that, although there's some
good work being done in the two other major centres, Launceston and Hobart. 
When not sitting in front of a computer, we Iike to go scuba diving. My wife dives too! There are some great spots around this beautiful island to explore. Through the Internet, I've met other signwriters who also dive. I guess it's as far away from doing signs as you can get, but we really enjoy the change.
So with making signs all day, teaching our children, diving the oceans,
surfing the net and worshipping the Creator, life here is full and good, even in
these troubled times, and while it lasts, I shall enjoy it. When I get around to
it, I'll be chatting with some of you. We now have a cheaper account which will
make Chat more affordable. Feel free to email
us! I love to hear from all you folks and promise to reply. take a few
minutes to visit our website at http://www.camriversigns.com.au