When Wayne Kaye started the signwriting business in 1976 it was with a box of paints and brushes.
When Wayne Kaye started the signwriting business in 1976 it was with a box of paints and brushes.
A man who has painted just about every shop window and sign in Levin - some more than once - is hanging up his paintbrush.
Wayne Kaye, who founded Kaye Signs more than 45 years ago, is retiring and has sold the signwriting business to new owners.
"I suppose you do see the changes to the town over the years, the shop frontages from decade to decade. There wouldn't be many I didn't do - some more than once - some three times over," he said.
"I've seen many businesses come and go."
Kaye had always possessed a flair for art and those talents were put to good use when he left school at 16 to work as a display artist, employed by AW Allen Ltd, Levin's largest department store at the time.
When Wayne Kaye started the signwriting business in 1976 it was with a box of paints and brushes.
He also worked for other companies in Levin and Palmerston North in similar roles until 1976, when as a 26-year-old he made the leap of faith and started up his own business Kaye Signs Ltd.
Raising a young family too at the time, it was all owner-operated, working together with wife Deb.
In those days a signwriter had a box of paints and brushes, and a keen eye. Any lettering or numbering had to be done with a steady hand, from trucks and cars, to showcards in a butcher's shop.
The trade began using computers in the 1970s, and by the late 1980s cutting tables were being used and images were able to be transposed and printed.
These days almost every sign is computer generated, such has been the advances of technology within the trade.
Kaye said the secret to longevity is to move with the times and not to be afraid of change.
As is human nature, there was bound to be a spelling mistake sooner or later. He was lucky that when that mistake did come along, it was a sign on the side of a truck owned by his brother-in-law.
"But nobody noticed it for months. I hadn't noticed it," he said.
One of the largest jobs was the Crichton's ITM Building on Hokio Beach Rd when it was first built.
Wayne and Deb Kaye hand over the keys of the signwriting business to new owner Gary and Donna Aitchison.
He handed the keys over to the new owners this week, who will continue to serve the local community and will keep the same name, just with a slight change.
New owners Gary and Donna Aitchison were locals too and would carry on the name of the business, albeit with a slight alteration - K Signs - after their son Kyrian who is keen to help out after school.
The Aitchisons were locals and were excited by the challenge of a new venture.
Levin RSA president Wayne Kaye.
Kaye said he would be kept busy as the current president of the Levin RSA, and he planned to spend more time at Levin Golf Course.
