Meet Nikki Lynch | Handcrafted Sign Maker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nikki Lynch and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nikki, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I personally think everyone who is ambitious enough to start their own business, should. You can make a business into what you want it to be if you have the right mindset. Have the confidence in knowing where you want your business to go and how you want it to get there. Of course there are hurtles you find yourself climbing over here and there but they shouldn’t be the reason for failure.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
How did I get here? Let’s see, I thought the craft looked cool so I opened a scroll saw and began my business. I’m completely self taught with some guidance from other makers, there has been a lot of trial and error. After I made my first sign the orders started coming and never stopped. I come from a family full of art and talent, I’m actually a 4th generation sign maker in my family. I didn’t know this until after I started my journey. My art is perfectly imperfect, it’s completely handcrafted. Each piece is uniquely hand cut with my variety of power tools. I spend hours cutting the small details on my saw and even more hours sanding and shaping giving a piece dimension and detail, it’s what makes the art come to life. Each piece I make is unique to itself whether it’s a custom or a business logo, you’ll never see the exact sign twice. Working with power tools isn’t for the faint of heart, it’s actually extremely dangerous. I think this is what sets me apart from others, I have to be sharp while working as are my tools, and I mean they are extremely sharp, pun fully intended. Getting to this point hasn’t been easy. When I say there’s been a lot of blood, sweat and tears I mean literally a lot of blood, sweat and tears. Again, my tools are sharp! Did these challenges stop me? No, of course there were times of discouragement but that won’t stop me. I pick myself up, learn from my mistakes (or don’t) and keep pushing forward. I have deadlines and no time to stop, I have to keep going. I’m constantly being challenged and learning new ways to my art. My style is always evolving and it’s astonishing to see where I started to where I am now. I’m always so proud to see my growth over each year. All I can say is I can’t wait to see where I’ll be with my art and business a few years from now!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Being a Fort Collins native, I live for the outdoors. There is so much to do in our town, it makes it hard to leave. We spend a lot of time downtown wandering around in the shops and letting our kids run around and play. Being gluten free we love the gluten free options around town. A few of my favorite restaurants are Cooper Smith’s, La Buena Vida, Young’s Vietnamese and Suehiro Japanese. Sometimes you’ll catch us playing games at Sweet Water brewery eating some tasty food while drinking a CBD beverage or a kombucha. In the summer I live for the lake or river. You’ll be able to find me paddle boarding up at Horsetooth at least once a week enjoying the peace. I love to hike, fish, or explore the outdoors of our beautiful mountains.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to shoutout to all of the other makers out there. The maker community is big yet everyone comes together to support each other’s art. I just want to thank all of the makers who’ve helped me over the years with frustrations, hurtles and learning new tricks.

Website: https://www.thecozygrain.com/

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