If your name isn’t shown here, Signs by Jim will likely make one special for you. (Photo courtesy Signs by Jim)

One day, Jim Guerriero was watching TV while his wife, Shanna, was working on one of her crafts, and he wondered if maybe he should take up a hobby.

You might say it was a sign.

And so he bought himself a wood-burning kit. It’s not something he’d ever done before, but he figured he’d give it a shot.

A few years later, Jim is supplementing his salary as a janitor with Dracut Public Schools by creating works of art for others under the business name Signs by Jim.

Signs by Jim is Dracut Economic Development’s Business of the Month for July 2025.

“I started doing woodworking six or seven years ago, just for fun more than anything,” Jim said. “My wife loves to do crafts, so she’d be doing a paint-by-numbers and I’d be sitting on the couch watching TV. So I decided to get into a craft. I bought a wood-burning kit and started practicing with it, making signs, and I got pretty good at it.

Signs by Jim isn’t just signs. Now he’s crafting birdhouses (or bird condos).

“Word started to spread, and I was making things for family and friends.”

Profitable sign

Friends would tell him he could make his hobby a pretty profitable side hustle if he started charging folks for the handmade products.

“I saw on Facebook Marketplace that people were selling the pieces they made, and I decided to try it for the heck of it,” Jim said. “Then I started to make some for the craft fair at Greenmont School, and it was phenomenal, and I thought, ‘This could take off.’”

Now, Signs by Jim makes much more than signs, although those are still big sellers.

Jim also designs flags, planters, table-and-chair sets, birdhouses, cornhole boards – you name it.

In fact, if you do name it, Jim will give it a shot.

“I’ll try anything a customer asks for. I think I’ve said no to one customer. They wanted a cornhole board with a Pink Floyd logo on it. It was too much for me then. I might be able to do it now. But whatever people want, I’ll say yes.”

He has made cornhole sets ($225, or $250 including the bags) depicting sports teams, not just the Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins, but also the Packers and 49ers – as well as Cinderella and Alice in Wonderland, among other customer requests.

“I did two ‘Top Gun’ cornhole boards for a couple who were getting married,” Jim said. “They were really into the movie. They referred to each other as Maverick and Goose.”

American flags are a big seller, and Jim will make them just about any size people want. He has made flags as big as 6 feet wide, and as small as a foot.

A holiday special. (Photo courtesy Signs by Jim)

Signs by Jim’s Facebook page describes the business as a husband-and-wife team, and he says Shanna is his “support system” and comes up with a lot of the ideas that Jim carves into reality.

“She loves Pinterest and crafty stuff,” Jim said.

No machines

Jim prides himself on the fact that while some in his field use machines, his products are all made by hand and with pride.

“A lot of people do woodworking, but a lot of them use machines, CNC, laser images. I don’t do any of that. I have no interest in it. I do it by hand. It takes a lot longer, but I don’t want to just push a button. It sounds corny, but I put a little bit of love into it.”

Jim and Shanna (and sons Tyler and Corey) live in a condo on Donahue Road, and he doesn’t have a lot of room to work in, so he makes most of his products to order.

“There’s just not a lot of room for inventory,” he said. “If people knew what I’m working with, they wouldn’t believe it. But I get it done.”

Jim and Shanna sell the products at local craft fairs and markets, and Signs by Jim has had a booth at Dracut Old Home Day the last few years.

And with his ever-expanding line of products, one wonders if the name Signs by Jim isn’t underselling his business a bit. After all, he makes a lot more than signs these days.

“Eventually, I’ll probably change the name, but I haven’t come up with a good one.”

Signs by Jim (for now) can be reached by phone at 978-606-9304 or by email at Jim1423@comcast.net.

Signs by Jim owner Jim Guerriero holds one of his handmade American flags, one of the more popular items he creates. (Photo courtesy Signs by Jim”