A THIRTEEN-FOOT CANOE, BEARS, SQUIRRELS AND A FEAR OF SNAPPING TOWELS.

The Gearheads went deep into the woods of the 2018 SEMA Show, and wandered into Camp Wannapaintem, PPG‘s latest show-stopping display. We were fortunate to fall under the guidance of camp counselors Cristina Fronzaglia Murray and Jeremy Seanor (of Lucky Strike Designs). We sat for a while and discussed paint technology, creativity, marketing, and the importance of passion Most important of all was the lesson that paint is fun. It’s not merely a tool or just  coating, but a vehicle in and of itself, capable of launching careers and forging lifelong friendships. Even after a certain podcaster suggests a prison-themed trade show booth.

THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

* Talking SEMA Show booth themes

– Gathering items to decorate the booth

* The “Homeless Chic” John Jackson

* Where inspiration lives

* Jeremy paints a canoe

* Our own Brad’s connection to a past themed booth

* A terribly inappropriate booth theme idea made presentable

* Brian chooses a favorite among his sons

* How to turn a group of adults into a bunch of three year olds (HINT: it involves whistles)

* Paint is fun

* Experiencing color in different ways

* Waterborne and Envirobase paint technology versus solvent-based

– Adapting the new tech to creative paint

– Progressing with paint technology in both collision and custom work

* The changing times:

– Hot-plating enamels and crushing pigment from leaves

– Moving cure times from cigarettes between coats to social posts between coats

* The longevity of Deltron

– Hosting a fourteen year old paint job in the booth illustrates quality like nothing else

* Booth design as a team-building exercise

* The value of not having to be engaged in the “SEMA crunch”

* Brian offers the then-thousand dollar marketing idea

* History of the PPG theme booths

* A custom painter reunion of sorts every year in the booth

* “The greatest paint in the world, used by the greatest painters”

– The value and appreciation of humility

* The “prison” theme booth

– Alex offers the idea of carving a shiv from a paint stir stick

* More great booth theme ideas:

– “Paint Church”

– “Rascal in a China Shop”

– “Barefoot on Legos”

CAREER ADVICE FOR THE MOTIVATED LISTENER

* On the importance of being yourself and making mistakes

– Career growth through understanding passions

* Teaching the technical aspect, and the inability to teach passion

* Four-year education versus hands-on trades

* The value of a combination of traditional school degrees and trade school/knowledge

* The misinterpretation of trades being just “dirty work”

* Recognizing the minds and hands that aren’t meant to sit in a classroom, but rather need to be out doing things

* The epitome of “self-made”