Rick & Toni Rosenbaum

About Ancient City Designs

We're Rick & Toni, a husband-and-wife team handcrafting custom wood signs, décor, and personalized gifts out of our workshop in St. Augustine, Florida — the nation's oldest city.

How We Got Started

Ancient City Designs began in 2021, during the early days of COVID, when we started handmaking cutting boards, shelves, drink holders, and small custom gifts for friends and family. What started as a way to stay busy and creative during a strange time organically grew into a full fledged family-run business. We're both completely self-taught, and honestly, that's part of the fun — we're still learning and growing right alongside our business every day.

Today, Ancient City Designs is truly a family affair. Beyond Rick and Toni, our immediate family pitches in wherever they can — from hand-painting products to helping run our large vendor events across multiple states. If you've bought something from us at a market or festival, there's a good chance more than one of us had a hand in making it.

How We Make Every Piece

Every item starts with high-quality maple plywood. We laser cut each design ourselves using our Thunder Nova laser with a 55" bed, which lets us take on larger, more intricate projects than most small sign shops can handle. From there, every single piece is hand-painted — nothing is mass-produced or outsourced. What leaves our workshop was designed, cut, and finished by our family, start to finish.

What to Expect When You Order

Because everything is made to order, here's how the process works:
1) Tell us your vision — sizing, colors, wording, whatever you have in mind
2) We send you a digital mockup for your review and approval before we ever start cutting
3) We hand-make your piece in our St. Augustine workshop — typical turnaround is about 3 weeks
4) It ships free anywhere in the United States, or you can arrange local pickup if you're nearby

Since every piece is custom and personalized, we're not able to accept returns or exchanges — but we make up for that by keeping communication open throughout the whole design process, so there are no surprises when your piece arrives.

Where to Find Us

We're based in St. Augustine, Florida, and offer local pickup in the World Golf, St. Johns, Mandarin, and South Jacksonville areas. We also travel to large vendor events across multiple states throughout the year — follow us on Facebook or Instagram to see where we'll be next. And no matter where you are in the country, we ship — free — right to your door.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a custom order take? Our typical turnaround is about 3 weeks from the time you approve your mockup, though this can vary during busy seasons.

Can I request a custom size or color? Yes — nearly everything we make can be customized in size, color, and wording. Just let us know what you have in mind when you order.

What material do you use? We use high-quality maple plywood for our signs and décor, cut on our Thunder laser and finished entirely by hand with paint.

Do you offer local pickup? Yes, if you're in the St. Augustine, World Golf, or St. Johns areas, just mention it at checkout to arrange pickup instead of shipping.

Do you ship outside the U.S.? Currently we ship free within the United States. Reach out to us directly if you're located elsewhere and we can discuss options.

Can I return or exchange my order? Because every item is made custom to your order, we're unable to accept returns or exchanges. We send a mockup for your approval before production to make sure it's exactly what you want.

Thank you for supporting a small, family-run business. Every order helps keep our family creating together in St. Augustine.

Thank you for supporting our family business!