Signs of love

As the coronavirus lingers across the area, many families remain separated. Some are separated because people cannot visit their loved ones in the nursing home. This separation can lead to a feeling of isolation and despair. In the midst of this darkness, one local business owner has found a way to bring signs of love to the nursing home residents through actual signs.
“The most special job I did would be when I donated a sign to Prairie Manor Nursing Home in Pine Prairie,” said Ashley Leger Deville of Sign Gypsies-Ville Platte. “I have some of my parents’ friends who are in there and I have family and lifetime friends who work there. I used to be working in the medical marketing field for Hospice, so my heart is with geriatrics.”
She continued, “The residents have families who can’t go see them. These residents look forward to that, and to have that taken away is devastating. So, I made a sign to say they are loved and are thought about every second of the day. We don’t want them to think they are forgotten because that’s the worst feeling in the world.”
What ensued created a lasting memory for Deville. “To see the residents who were lined up at the window just in awe, I could read their lips and see their facial expressions,” she explained. “It was like I just dropped off a million bucks.”
Deville first got involved with Sign Gypsies about three years ago at the time of her oldest daughter’s first birthday party.
“We lived in Pineville at the time,” she said, “and one of our neighbors across the street was having a 40th birthday party and had some signs. I thought that was so cool, and I wanted to get that for Jolie’s party. I called Sign Gypsies-Cenla to order a sign. My family, who went up for the party, thought it was the coolest thing.”
“It wasn’t until we moved back here when I decided to get involved with it,” Deville continued. “The time was coming up again for my child’s birthday, and I wanted something besides a typical birthday party. So, I decided to do Sign Gypsies over here.”
What Deville did was start a franchise of the company which began in north Louisiana. As she said, “Sign Gypsies developed a system to where affiliates can establish their own business. You borrow the name of the company, and they supply everything.”
At first, however, Deville was hesitant to go ahead with her business. “I never in a million years thought I would be doing this,” she stated. “But, I’m so glad it pretty much fell into my lap. I almost didn’t go forward with it because I had a full-time job at the time and a young child at the time.”
“I was pregnant with my second child when I started this,” she continued. “I was out in yards big and pregnant loving life, and I did it up to 37 weeks. People probably think I was crazy.”
Deville’s business then grew teeth quickly into something she was not expecting. As she said, “At first, I thought I was going to do this on the weekends because most events and occasions are on the weekends. But, within six months, I saw this would be something bigger than what I could ever imagine.”
She continued, “I really do enjoy it. Now, I understand the old saying of love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life. When I’m out there, setting up a greeting, and getting feedback from the customer, that is worth it. It’s amazing to know that I did that and had fun while doing it.”
Adding to Deville’s pleasure is the fact that the business has become a family affair.
“My four-year-old daughter comes with me all the time to carry signs,” Deville said. “She’s my little assistant gypsie.”
Deville at times also involves her husband, Brad, with the business.
“I drag him along here-and-there,” she quipped. “He looked at me one day when we went to pick up some signs for a little girl’s birthday. We had three or four signs, and, one the last one, he looked at me and said, ‘I love you, but you’re totally crazy. You are out of your mind. How do you enjoy this?’”
Deville enjoys it because of the members of the community who become like family.
“I meet so many people and get to be a part of so many milestones and accomplishments,” she said. “Sometimes they are good times, and sometimes they are sad. But, at the end of the day, regardless of how the customers feel at the beginning, I’m always going to get a positive reaction from this because they love it so much.”
The reward for Deville is the gratification of knowing she made lasting impressions and memories in customers’ lives.
“Sometimes it’s not the most joyous times like at the nursing home,” she said, “but I know I’m bringing joy.”
She concluded, “I didn’t start this to get rich. I started it because of what I believe and what I wanted. It turned out to be something so beyond what I wanted and more. I wanted it be something happy. Everyone embraced it. I want to cry just talking about it because it’s that amazing.”