Norwich — Part of the Main Street mystery of who painted the new sign for Encore Justified antiques shop is solved, although the financial benefactor who backed the project will remain anonymous.

At least, “so far,” said Rachel Thayer, owner of Rachie T’s, a sign and T-shirt business on North Thames Street.

Thayer fessed up Monday that she is the artist behind the mystery sign that hangs outside Encore Justified.

Thayer and Jill Fritzsche, owner of Encore Justified, still haven’t met. The sign appeared one morning above the store in early April, replacing an old rotted sign that had advertised a previous business at the Main Street storefront. Fritzsche has been on the lookout ever since for clues about who could have given her this elegant, artistic marquee.

“Everyone has been taking credit for it,” Fritzsche said. “My pediatrician took credit for it. It’s been great fun. It really has created a sense of well-being about Norwich.”

From the start, Fritzsche speculated that a fellow downtown business owner brought her the new sign, basing that thought on the strong welcome she has received since she opened the shop a year ago.

Thayer said she received an email with a hand-drawn sketch of a possible sign — she thinks one of Fritzsche’s employees at the store made the sketch — that’s similar to Thayer’s final design. It depicted a man in a top hat with a thick mustache pointing up with both hands toward the name of the store at the top of the sign.

“The woman that owns this store is amazing, and she is in dire need of a sign,” the email said. “Can you do it?” Thayer jumped at the project.

“They pretty much gave me free rein,” Thayer said. “That’s the type of project I love.”

She carved away the rotted sections of the old sign, filled them with wood epoxy and sanded it down.

Thayer’s final product shows a more abstract illustration of a man wearing a tuxedo and top hat, one arm raised to the lettering.

"It was probably my favorite sign I have made," Thayer said Monday. "From what I hear, Jill deserves this, and so much more.”

Thayer still declined to identify the financial benefactor who footed the $500 materials bill for the project. She estimated she put 30 hours of work into the project and did not include that in the bill.

At Rachie T’s, Thayer makes signs and does large-format printing and screen-printed T-shirts. She has owned the business for five years, since she graduated from the University of Hartford in 2010 with a degree in business management. She wanted to become a fashion designer, but she wanted to stay in the Norwich area. For graduation, her parents gave her a screen-printing machine, and she put it to use.

“I’m so glad to have found out,” Fritzsche said of the sign maker. “So maybe now I can throw some business her way. The sign itself is advertisement enough for the quality of the business she does. I may never know who actually supported this. I’m eternally grateful about it.”

c.bessette@theday.com

Twitter: @Bessettetheday