The displays spring up overnight and bloom for a day. With bright letters and personalized graphics, they spotlight milestones and achievements — birthdays, anniversaries, retirements, weddings and graduations — for 24 hours, then vanish. The yard greetings have prompted smiles, tears and honks from passing motorists.
“We have hundreds of pieces and colors to pick from so every single greeting we do is unique,” said Sara Moore, owner of Sign Gypsies Twin Ports and the creative mind behind the signs.
The displays began popping up in the Twin Ports area Nov. 30, when Moore opened her South Range business with a birthday display for a friend. Through wind, snow and rain, the signs have appeared.
ADVERTISEMENT
Moore said the element of surprise is the most exciting part of the job. She enjoys seeing a client’s reaction during the big reveal in the morning. It’s a super-sized way to celebrate.
“I think it brings people unexpected joy when people honk when they drive by your house. Like, strangers know your event is going on,” Moore said.
Sign Gypsies is a franchise based in Texas. Moore had a friend who started a Sign Gypsies franchise in Edina, Minnesota. When she learned there were none in the Twin Ports, she decided to open her own. Sign Gypsies Twin Ports sets up displays within an approximately 30-mile radius of Superior, including all of Douglas County and as far north as Two Harbors, Minnesota.
The South Range business owner has seen demand ramp up from about 20 displays a month to 10 a week. Sign Gypsies Twin Ports hit a milestone of its own recently when it erected its 100th yard greeting.
This week, their handiwork included 24-hour displays at Northwestern Elementary School, Maranatha Academy, the Douglas County Courthouse and in front of a 90-year-old Superior resident's house on East Eighth Street.
Moore employs two workers and a third is starting soon. She’s already taking bookings into June and July, and graduation weekends are filling fast.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I think the word’s getting out,” Moore said.
