A Painter's Story - Don Brabham
 To
a certain extent I believe the art and craftsmanship of
painting has been lost, when I first started painting at the
age of 10 years old...yes at 10 years old I was helping my
Dad who owned his own painting business, I remember him
creating his own colors in the back of the van. In those
days the contractors mixed most of their colors to achieve
the desired color the customer wanted. Of course then the
choice of colors was limited to about 15...today you can get
a color that matches a stripe on your cats back if that's
what you want.
When I first started helping my Dad in the summers, I was
paid .50 an hour...hey not a fortune but you could get 10
tootsie rolls for .50 then. Anyway I started out as did all
young painting apprentices, in the closets, sanding the
walls and trim. After about 2 years of this my Dad
determined that I had learned enough about sanding that he
would let me caulk and putty the woodwork in the closet.
Then after another year he actually trusted me with a brush
in the closet!!
This is how I learned the trade, my closet work was
critiqued for over 2 years by my Dad and his employees,
until at the tender age of 13 I was allowed out of the
closet (so to speak), and actually allowed to start sanding,
caulking, puttying in the bathrooms. On and on it went one
small step at a time until at age 18 my Dad bought me my own
brushes for Christmas, and declared me a craftsman.
This is a totally true story of how I was taught the craft
of painting, I doubt very seriously that anyone today goes
through this painstaking process. But this process did
produce a A1+ painter.
But in the late 60s and early 70s painters actually took
a lot of pride in the craft...today painting is considered
something that can be done by anyone that can hold a brush.
The craft is for the most part gone. Many shortcuts are
taken to increase a slim profit margin. This is due to the
influx of contractors in the last 12 years. In the early to
mid 70s there may have be 6 painting contractors in town,
today there are at least 30 that I'm aware of. When there
are this many contractors focused in one area then
"under-bidding" takes place in which one contractor will
give you a price that he can make a profit and give the
customer a good job, then someone else comes along and cuts
that price, and then again someone comes along and cuts THAT
PRICE. Then what you get is a low quality paint job because
the "under-bidding" has not allowed for a profit.
This is a practice that I saw time and time again. It gives
the good contractors a bad name. I am a small start up
company.. I will always strive to keep my overhead as low as
possible, but I will always bid the job where I can stay in
business and more importantly give the customer the very
best job that can be had at any price. My prices are fair
and my work is A1+ quality.
I appreciate your time and I want to earn your business!
Don Brabham
Shimmerz Painting Co If you are looking for a professional
painting company in the Winston-Salem area, please call me
today at 336-407-7850 or complete our
free
estimate form.
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