How One Somerset Couple Is Using Humor to Grow Their Business

A Somerset couple is making a lot of people on the SouthCoast smile with their sassy signs.

If you happen to stumble onto AnnieMara's Facebook page, you will see lots of artwork and one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces made by Annie and Frank Prescott. Frank, who manages the marketing for AnnieMara, has gotten some attention on social media for one thing in particular that's been a staple of the business for 10 years: sidewalk signs.

You can't help but smile at them.

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Annie was an English teacher at Durfee High School in Fall River. Now retired, she spent most of her time creating art pieces while Frank does the day-to-day running of AnnieMara's. He also finds the time to come up with witty phrases and show off his and his wife's personalities.

"Don't be mad at lazy people," reads one. "They didn't do anything."

"Warning," reads another, a screw driver taped below. "This is not a drill."

One more:

"Apparently the cashier meant the debit card when she said strip down facing me."

Frank says he and Annie change the sign daily and sometimes more than once a day. That's a lot of creativity.

"I came up with the idea when we opened a boutique in Somerset," Frank said. "We bought our first sign when a store in Swansea was closing to move south. I put the first sign out there but it was boring so I decided to put some humor into it and it just took off."

As far as where he gets the ideas for these signs, Franks says, "I get the ideas from several sources but there are only seven lines and eleven letters per line"

Frank credits the signs as the reason the Facebook page has over 8,000 followers.

Here are some highlights.