By Lara Tupper • Photographs by Linda Campos
Ten years ago, Jess Marsh moved to her husband’s 10th-generation family farm in Franklin County’s Sunderland. Called Warner Farm, it was founded in 1718, and Marsh managed the CSA program and farmers market stand. “There were no real signs or logo. My father-in-law spray painted a sign: CORN, with an arrow. I was horrified. I knew I could do better.” They gave her “a crusty old paintbrush” and some house paint and she went to work.
Marsh, who would go on to launch Hired Hand Signs, has always been “obsessive about making things look good.” Though she studied art history and photography, it wasn’t until she fell into sign painting that she found her medium.
Sign painting is a craft and trade, she realized. She taught herself by reading extensively and discovering artisans online. She was working in social media and communications when COVID hit, and was forced to work from home. “It was a nonsensical time to make the leap, with all the shuttered storefronts.” But she quit her job and began to paint full time. One of her first storefronts involved an intricate gold leaf design, done with almost no experience with the material (it looked beautiful, and she now offers hand-hammered gold leaf from the last manufacturer based in the U.S.).
“I’ve joked that the key to my success is naïveté. But it’s equally tempered by perfectionism. I care that my clients are really happy. People often tell me, ‘Oh, I love your style.’ But I can adapt my style to whatever my client needs to shine,” said Marsh.
She drives a 1969 Ford F100 called Fern; her work range is anywhere Fern can go. Marsh especially loves the drive to the Berkshires; some of her favorite projects have been in Great Barrington. For Hart, a textile and craft shop on Railroad Street, she designed a three-dimensional button (two feet in diameter), complete with needle and thread. She designed a popping bottle in the window for Dare Bottleshop and Provisions (now located in Lenox) and she’s excited about an upcoming project for Rubiner’s Cheesemongers on Main Street.
She has added her touch to storefronts in Hudson, New York, and in Northampton, where she provided new signage for Iron Horse Music Hall, referencing original show posters from the 1970s.
Marsh had to leave Fern behind to film two episodes of the Magnolia Network show Motel Rescue, for which she designed motel signage—one on Sanibel Island, Florida, and the other in Saluda, North Carolina. The host of the show, Lindsey Kurowski, is originally from the Berkshires and felt Marsh would be a great fit. “I love classic motels and midcentury design,” said Marsh.
Closer to home, she often works with new business owners. “The feedback loop is endlessly positive,” she said. “They’re pouring their resources and creativity into their stores.” When designing from scratch, she starts with a site visit to consider the local architecture, traffic and pedestrian patterns, and which lettering will be legible. This holistic approach honors a business’ place in the greater community.
Most of the signage you see today is mass produced and not made to last, and Marsh thinks of this while painting. “My signs are meant to be heirlooms. You can see the human touch.”
hiredhandsigns.com
On the Farm
Each fall, Marsh turns her care and attention to Warner Farm’s corn maze, which she’s designed since 2015. “Mike’s Maze” (an homage to her father-in-law, Mike Wissemann) has been a tradition at Warner since 2000. Marsh’s design predecessor, Will Sillin, came up with the idea. He trained her how to translate designs from a piece of paper to an eight-acre corn field.
Her first design was “Alice in Sunderland” (re: Wonderland), which went viral on Reddit and was featured in National Geographic Magazine. She caught the attention of Yahoo News (“Best Corn Maze in the U.S.”) and Wired Magazine (“Most Elaborate Corn Maze in America”). In 2017, she created a “postcard from Earth” maze to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Voyager space mission. NASA then invited her to the National Air and Space Museum.
Marsh enlists her husband, David Wissemann, to build themed games and amusements. They felt “Join the Circus” was apt for 2024, an election year. Plus, she loves carnival artwork.
mikesmaze.com
Fridays–Sundays through November 3
