Brushfire Design...

Thanks for visiting my website. I have been striping and lettering trucks, cars, bikes and anything else I can get my hands on since 1996. I actually started long before that, but I didn't really know what I was doing 'til 1996. My email address is BrushfireDesign@yahoo.com and my phone number is 734.368.3273

My name is Kurt Smith and I grew up on a 1,600 acre farm. In 1981, when I was 4 years old my Dad bought a new delivery truck and hired Gary Wills from "Pioneer Sign" in Monroe Michigan to come out to the farm to letter and stripe it. I watched him from start to finish. From that day on I was trying to figure out how to learn how to pinstripe... Long story short, when I graduated high school, I stopped by Pioneer about 5 or 6 times before I finally caught Gary in the shop. I went to work for him the next day.

Gary was so much more than a boss to me. He was a mentor, encourager, and most of all a friend. I learned so much from him. I could never have repaid him. This picture was taken of Gary, my son Eli and I about one month before he passed away. I had never had him stripe anything of mine, until this last trip. I am so honored to have known him. I miss our funny conversations... He was always joking and giving me a hard time. :)

Here are the beautiful results of his work...

Lettering and pinstriping has taken me all over Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. It is so much fun to be part of some ones vision for a hot rod, motor cycle, semi truck or business. I get to meet and work with the nicest people. I get to work on the coolest machines, and I even get paid to do it. I love what I do for a living.

Please take a look through this blog, when you get to the bottom of the page, click on the "Older Posts" link to see more.

I can provide old school hand-painted pinstriping and lettering, also the latest digitally printed vinyl. If you have any questions, please call me at 734-368-3273.

Thanks again for visiting,
Kurt Smith

All of the vehicles in this post are hand painted. Yup... old school paint. :)

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This is one of my all time favorite projects...

Here is a link to my other business... I build 1/2 scale tractors and have shipped them all over the country. So far I've built 44 tractors. The only one I still have is the first one.

www.TheLittleTractorCo.com

Kurt



A very fun project from last week. I waited until the customer revealed it in public. This machine is soooooo cool! All hand painted...

 

A step back in time...

This was such a fun project... This machine has a lot of history. It was originally built in the early '70's by Scott Doty and some others... Then Gary Wills of Pioneer Sign & Custom lettered and striped it. When Scott decided it was time to settle down and start a family, he sold it in the early '80's. Now fast forward to a few years ago. Scott had the chance to buy it back from the man that he sold it to. Another year or 2 later, I meet Scott at a car swap meet in Monroe...

I had the great pleasure of re-lettering the machine... just like Gary did it. I took patterns off the old sheet metal and replicated his work. It felt like I was working for him again. When I worked at Pioneer, Gary would layout the lettering and tell me what colors to use. He had done the layout and color choice 45 years ago. I am soooo thankful for the people that God puts in my life... over the past 43 years, He has assembled quite a cast of characters to provide the skills and contacts that I have needed to provide for my family. I'm very thankful that Scott Doty had me work on this piece of history. By the way... that's a 1,500 horsepower, Super Charged, Big Block Chevy running alcohol... I love my work!

 

Some paint on some classic iron...

These trucks were very fun to work on. The Pete was totaled, and then rebuilt. The 6x6 came off a potato farm... I love my job...

 

Money for nothing...

 Money for nothing... I finally got some photos of this truck fully assembled. When I work on Loma's trucks, they are always in the middle of a build, or rebuild... bumpers missing, fenders missing... exhaust or fuel tanks missing. It's so fun to see them all put together... They build some really beautiful trucks that's for sure!