This Must Be A Sign!
Celebrating the wit of small business owners in NY while they survive this pandemic 😷
When we moved to our neighborhood, I fell in love with all the little shops, cafes, bars... There was always something new to discover, that is until the pandemic hit the world. I saw the owners struggle to keep their life's work afloat. Some adapted and managed to keep their regular customers, some had to downsize but still survived, but some sadly had to close their doors for good.
I kept going on my regular neighborhood walks but I didn't dare go in the shops, afraid of making my kid an orphan. My kid was home all the time with a packed Zoom schedule of his own, I had to clean, and cook constantly, and all that meant that I was not able to go after jobs I would love. I needed a project of my own to calm down the anxiety that came with not having a job and of course the possibility of getting Covid whenever I went out.
This Must Be A Sign! was that project. As I went around taking pictures of the store signs, and painting them, I started to get a sense of connection to my neighborhood again. I don't design the signs. I simply paint what I see on my walks in an attempt to document a moment in time, to support the local businesses but most of all to calm my anxiety down. I found laughter and hope in their messages. I hope you do too.
This is an ongoing project on Instagram, and I will keep posting them in batches of 10.
So keep an eye out and follow @thismustbeasign on Instagram for more :)
So keep an eye out and follow @thismustbeasign on Instagram for more :)
