Where the drawing became a real environment.
Gilbert was a high-end woodworking and fabrication company building trade show environments, retail spaces, and architectural interiors. I got to run the graphics department inside that world. The graphics had to belong to the finished space and meet the same level of care as the work around them.
Anyone who knew that side of the trade show industry knew the expectations. Fashion, clothing, and especially high-fashion eyewear demanded a particular level of finish. My memories of that world include companies such as Luxottica and Marchon, and brands such as Ray-Ban, Oakley, Calvin Klein, Fendi, and Prada. Nikon, Olympus, and Canon were part of the imaging world around us, too.
The same attention carried into interiors, including the kind of work Gilbert did for London Jewelers. Being close to that craft changed what I expected from my own work. An idea had to make it through production, installation, and the moment a client stood in front of it.
Las Vegas, again and again.
I traveled to Las Vegas roughly 40 times over those years, working show after show. Mandalay Bay started to feel like a second home.
Those trips taught me how much work sits behind a finished experience. Running the graphics department meant learning to manage people, keep the details together, and follow the work through. Service became something I understood through doing it, repeatedly, with people relying on the result.
The people who raised the standard.
Barry Ballen, Matt Ballen, Marshall Gross, Chris Silverman, and a handful of other people helped me grow as a manager and as a human being. They taught me how to get more out of myself.
I’ve wanted to tell them that for a long time. Their influence is still present in the way I think about a customer, a finished product, and the responsibility of leading a team. I’m grateful for what they gave me, and I want that gratitude to have a place in this record.
