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NEW OLD SIGNS
by Freddy Brehant

Freddy Brehart
at Early New England Homes custom shop.

I have always been interested in old signs and antique tools since I was a young man. My grandfather and my father have shared many skills with me that have been pasted on for generations. My father would always tell me that if someone else could do something, I could also do it. I’ve been blessed to have a family that has not lost track of the past and how it should be preserved for future generations. In high school I would take on many odd jobs, one of them was painting signs for local stores and clubs. One year my father gave me an Eric Sloane book and as I read it I began to feel a connection to the past that I had never felt before. I had always loved antique signs and tools but Eric Sloane showed how it was possible to connect to the past through studying and using the tools that were used hundreds of years ago.


I’ve been fortunate enough to have a mentor by the name of Christopher Gurshin who has a great knowledge of antique tavern signs and is a well known old New England folk art painter who lives in Glastonbury CT. As I have visited with him many times at his gallery in Glastonbury, he has always shared his love and knowledge of the past and I have learned much from him.

Country Carpenters, the company that I work for, has been a great encourager for me as well, they truly share the love of the past and the importance of carrying on the past to future generations.