Things We Love: Designers & Wrap Shops
This is part of an ongoing series highlighting things that the team here at TWA love.
We’ve heard it said that the mind is like soil: it’s only good as long as you keep adding fertilizer and foreign material. We think that’s very true in the creative space. You always need inspiration to create more. You need competition to push you out of your comfort zone. You need opportunities to collaborate to expand your horizons. Inspiration, competition, and collaboration make us a better team here at TWA.
We wanted to take a few moments today to give some shoutouts to those we’ve collaborated with and admire. Often we met these people through work we did for clients out of state. For example, we may have done the design and they did the installation, or vice versa.
Ink Monstr
The design team at Ink Monstr is bad ass! They are top notch in their work, communication, and quality. You can even take a 360 virtual tour of their space. It’s like a video game, but without any people or tasks to complete. They do all kinds of work but their wall murals are legendary.
Metro Wraps
Miami-based Metro Wraps does some amazing stuff with different types of vinyl. Don’t take our word for it: look at their Instagram! They think innovatively and deliver quality work, which means, of course, that they attract some pretty awesome clients, like Dwyane Wade, Vontae Davis, and Flo Rida, just to name a few. If you want to see their work (and get a sense of their work culture - Super Mario spotted!) check out this video.
Wrap Sesh AZ
This Phoenix-based wrap shop is owned by a couple, Slim Sheddy and Vinyl Vixen. “Slim” is Michael Shedd, who combines six years in vinyl with another ten in the auto industry. The Vinyl Vixen persona (with a separate portfolio here) is worn by Jessica Bonifacio, who was originally mentored by Michael but went on to co-found this business with him. They promise “efficiency, a flawless finish, and a whole lot of whacky.” We’ve really enjoyed working with them and they are masterful installers. Don’t take our word for it, they’ve got more than 20,000 subscribers to their YouTube channel, where they show you projects they’ve done, like this sweet work to an Audi RS5 earlier this year (with their dog providing moral support: note any shop that has a shop dog should immediately be trusted).
Justin Pate and the Wrap Institute
Speaking of masterful installers, we’d be remiss not to talk about Justin Pate, who founded The Wrap Institute, which seeks to be a one-stop resource/database for how to wrap. They have the most comprehensive video library on wrapping in the world and they are adding to it all the time. To get a sense of his zen meets professionalism, check out this free video which is one of hundreds that are in the library and which you can have access to as a paying member.
Christina McKay and Curvaceous Wrap Designs
Our Creative Director Elysia’s highlight of the year was interacting with Christina of Curvaceous Wrap Designs. She totally fangirled out. Christina had posted about the need for designers to care and account for their time, essentially reminding designers not to sell themselves short. Elysia commented and struck up a conversation and just felt welcomed and valued by her. This is not surprising, given that Christina is intentional and creative but still doesn’t take herself too seriously (Exhibit A) (and B) which is exactly how Elysia is.
It’s people and businesses like we’ve mentioned here that push us even harder every day: we’ve gotta live in the same universe as these people and we don’t want to look like slackers!
If you’re in Miami, Denver, or Phoenix, these guys have you covered. Otherwise, we’d love to work on your project!