NZSDA SIGNEE: BIG BROWN

Big Brown celebrates its first 10 years

Busy sign shop looks to a busier future

This year marked sign maker Jeremy Hunt’s 27th year in the industry and a decade for his company Big Brown Industries.

When we last spoke to Jeremy, Big Brown Industries had just signed on its first official apprentice, Jay Isgrove. Jeremy says, “Jay has come on in leaps and bounds. I feel lucky I have a good apprentice in Jay. I have taught a few guys over the years at different companies, I have seen some great people come into the industry. Some of those have stayed and some have left.

Jay is just one of those really enthusiastic guys, with a great work ethic and a willingness to learn. We have also discovered that he enjoys design work, so I have been sharing as much as that with him as I can.

“All the effort that he has put in, and the team’s effort has paid off. Jay won a gold medal at the New Zealand Sign Display Awards for work by an apprentice, and that is in his first year.”

Racing stripes

Big Brown Industries has undergone other significant changes in staffing and workload. Jeremy says, “We are still a crew of four: two full-time and one part-time and one contractor. We have a few more contractors come in to ease workload, so occasionally we have six or seven people working.

It does get a bit hectic. I have to make sure the work is there for them, ready to install and that they have all the information they need. Of course, I need to ensure they complete it the way I want and to the level I expect. That might make me look like a slave driver but producing quality work requires keeping our standards high.

Jeremy Hunt shares a laugh with Cally Freestone form Computaleta at the NZSDA Conference

Recently, my original semi-permanent contractor had to move on as he had too much of his own work happening. That is how I started on my own, so I appreciate the time he did work for me, and we are still good friends. However, that also brought an unfamiliar situation, where I had to find a capable replacement, which I managed to do after a bit of time.

One of the other changes, we have gone through is changing the type of work we produce more of. Our largest portion of work now comes from the motorsport sector, producing graphics for race cars, helmets, transporters and event signage.

We used to do a lot of race cars, but now we are doing even more. We cover the likes of GT3 and GT4 cars: McLaren, Porsche, Aston Martin and so on. Our race season starts in January and finishes in December, so we are going all year. The work is diverse with so many different racing series, from grassroots amateur, up to professional drivers, as well as the million dollar cars.

These jobs can be a gift and a curse at the same time. We can get a call mid-week to have a car ready for the weekend. It is stressful but also rewarding. This also brings work for sponsors, owners and others associated with racing. It all helps us to grow Big Brown as a company and as a brand.

“We feel fortunate that we haven’t felt the economic hit that others felt with the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath. This is mainly due to the nature of the majority of work we do with the race cars. Also, we are small enough to last through any quiet times before we would run out of money. That hasn’t happened. In fact, we have been busy for so long that we actually look forward to having a quiet week or two. That gives us space to do some of our own side-line projects and time to do some planning.”

The Signee Programme is promoting the industry to a younger generation

Despite dodging major economic damage, Big Brown Industries has still had to deal with the same challenges other businesses have faced. Jeremy says, “We have had the frustrations of the supply chain issues and the continual price increases. Some of our materials have increased over 60 per cent in last couple years but luckily for us, we are able to pass these on without too many issues. Our clients are quite accepting of this, but also we don’t have to price as much as we used to. We just get given the job and the bill gets paid on completion. We feel rather blessed with this.

“As far as the supply chain issues are concerned, you just have to be as clued up as possible about the availability of the alternatives out there in terms of brands and colours.

In addition, you need to be prepared to make something new where you need to. We have done this with wrap films and colours by matching and printing our own. We are also flexible with brands, so we will happily jump from one to another. They all have something to offer. Of course, it all depends on colour and application.”

Conference and awards

Jeremy has welcomed the return of industry events. He says, “I had missed the New Zealand Sign Display Awards and the conference. It is always a great event, giving us a chance to catch up with the signage family. We enjoy having a sharing this time with our friends in the industry.

“The conference also provides us with a chance to meet other signees. I am part of a network group of fellow small sign shops. We stay in regular contact, socially and professionally. We share tips, work, contacts and a fair amount of childish banter.

Gold medal winning apprentice Jay Isgrove flanked by Computaleta director Janene Ford and NZSDA president Andy Lowe

“As far as the awards went, we came away with a gold and a silver. That is a good haul for us, as we don’t have too many entries, but it also keeps our streak going: six awards over six years.”

New blood

Among the subjects covered at this year’s NZSDA Conference was training and the requirement for fresh ideas. Jeremy says, “It was good to talk to fellow signees about work and the future, which we all agree is the youth and apprenticeships. The need for having young blood coming into the industry is a real one.

“I am a huge believer in the fact we need young people to see this as a viable trade. We also need to show them how it can actually be a fun and challenging industry to be in. Jay winning an award in his first year speaks volumes about the value of encouraging the young ones. And keep your eyes peeled, I already have him working on next year’s award entry.

Jeremy has helped the NZSDA with the Signee Programme and participates in the Gateway Programme. He says, “We are promoting the industry to the younger generation. I have been to a couple of youth centres and done a few demos and made myself available to chat about sign making.

“I enjoy seeing how the Gateway Programme operates where school students get to spend one day a week for several weeks, working in the sign shop to see if this is an option for them. I have given advice to a couple of young people, helping get them started in the industry. To them, we are signage rock stars as we get to do what they deem cool; things like placing an iCE wrap on a high end car.

“It would be great to be able to take them all into Big Brown but that would not be fair to Jay. But we intend to put ourselves into a position in the future where we can take on more trainees. Jay will continue to grow as a signee and he won’t me looking over his shoulder all the time.”

Looking back and forward

While it has been mooted for a long time, this year saw the print and signage sector organisations working together and next year will see further joint initiatives. Jeremy says, “The combination of the print and signage industries is an interesting one. I mean it is a good thing, but I have seen the price and knowledge wars first hand.

“Our industries are very much intertwined, and they share so many similarities but there are also moments where they are very different.

Work life balance: Jeremy relaxing with wife Kim and boys, Darius and Reuben

As long as there is mutual respect, that they are two different industries that share some techniques and skills, then everything should be fine.”

With Big Brown Industries going from strength to strength in 2022, Jeremy has several significant moments to reflect on. He says, “We welcomed our second child, Reuben so we now have two budding apprentices who will no doubt decorate the walls.”

We asked him for his highlights from 2022:

• Watching our two boys growing

• The New Zealand Sign Display Awards

• Being able to travel relatively freely

• Women’s sport being the main event

• Celebrating 10 years as Big Brown

He concludes, “Bring on 2023 and whatever opportunities arise. We will continue to push and to be ‘louder’ than ever.”