Sign maker carving out fans with custom handmade work
By Doug Meehan
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FALMOUTH, Massachusetts (WCVB) — You hear it all the time: To be truly happy, follow your passion. The problem is, what if you have not discovered your passion yet?
That was once the situation for a sign maker on Cape Cod. But in the case of Dan Farrington, owner of Farrington Woodcarving, passion found him.
“I was really kind of just looking for my thing. I just wanted something that kind of gave me purpose,” Farrington said.
As it turns out, crafting high-end, hand-carved signage was Farrington’s purpose.
Inside his workshop in East Falmouth, Farrington is carving out quite the reputation on Cape Cod for high-end, hand-carved signs, but that is not all.
In addition to signs for businesses and homes, Farrington designs and creates awe-inspiring decorative eagles and historically accurate mahogany quarter boards.
“It started on ships and now it’s decorations for houses. And people take a lot of pride in their quarter boards,” he said.
Farrington’s start into the signage world was rather serendipitous. Ten years ago, at the insistence of his father, he visited a workshop in Sandwich that he had passed by for years without giving any thought or notice.
“One day my dad said, ‘There is a woodcarver five minutes down the road. Why don’t you go and stop in?'” Farrington said.
That woodcarver happened to be none other than Paul White. Since 1965, White’s work had become synonymous with his patriotic, 23-carat gold-leafed, hand-carved eagles. The encounter set Farrington’s imagination soaring.
“I walked in the door, and I was just blown away by what I saw. I kind of made a decision right there: I’m doing this forever,” Farrington said.
After several years working for his mentor, the Cape Cod native soon set sail on his own. Today, business has never been better, and the passion for his craft that he loves to share with others has never been stronger.
“You got to love pushing a chisel through wood. Honestly, it puts a smile on my face. I’m here all day with a wooden bench just carving. I absolutely love doing it. I’m just so happy that I get to do this every day for work,” Farrington said.
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