FRU-ART COMPANY

Fru-Art Company was established in 1955 by Roy and Ray Fruit. The twin brothers started the company in a Dekalb barn. Roy and Ray recall the barn having more boards off the building than on, and they had to nail up samples of their work in order to keep out the cold winds. Their rent for the barn was a large sum of $15 per month. Roy and Ray recall their first fling at the sign business with an elf-like twinkle in their eyes. They both studied art at the Atlanta School of Art (now, Georgia State University) when a furniture company called the school to employ students to paint flowers on the back of dining room chairs. At 20 cents per flower, the two were becoming so skilled at the intricate work that they decided to try and do the job by the silk screen process. A method by which paint is pressured through pure silk, speeding up the work tremendously and giving the signs or pictures more uniformity. They were so successful that they started turning out colorful flowers so fast at 20..

Primary location: Lawrenceville United States