Erika Leaf

I grew up in Chicago and then went to school at Brown University in Providence RI, where I did an independent major entitled “Social Change: Toward a New Concept of Human Fulfillment”! At that point in my life, I thought the capitalist business world was leading us in exactly the wrong direction, and never would have even dreamed that I would one day be an entrepreneur/business owner myself! But now I see that I can actually put many of my social change values into place in our workplace, such as continually improving our attempts to be environmental sustainable and setting up humane employee policies and a ‘corporate culture’ that is healthy and supportive of personal growth. Having an all-custom business keeps things interesting, and it is so fun to see cool looking signs and graphics go out the door every day. Both Chris and I really enjoy the relationships we get to have with our employees, clients, vendors, fellow business owners, etc. And I love being able to help out local non-profits by lettering their vehicles or making signs for them at a discount.

Chris and I met in 1981 through a mutual friend, moved to Eugene in 1986-7 and got married in 1990. We have 3 very cool kids, (Becca who is a freshman at South, and Jessica (10) and Benjamin (5) who go to the Eugene Waldorf School), a garden (that some years we have time for), a dog and a cat. I love kayaking, writing, reading, holding hands with my kids, international travel, growing flowers and going out to eat with friends.

Chris and I started Signs of the Times together back in 1993. I have done a lot of administrative work, setting up our internal systems so they hum, and generally wearing the wide range of hats that a typical entrepreneur does. I took time off from working around the birth of our second daughter and the adoption of our son. I have a novel in progress (but currently on long term hold) that is about the transition to sustainability and eventually I may refocus on my writing and try to finish it. Chris and I love working together and it has been super exciting to have the opportunity to transform our business from a well run, small sign company into a state of the art, regional leader in digital graphics, all in one huge wild leap!