I’ve seen female car sales professionals and race car drivers. I see plenty of ladies standing next to vehicles at car shows, ready to tell me important facts and figures about them. There’s a woman here in Austin, TX that runs a dealership.
I’ve never seen a woman laying a coat of paint down in a body shop, though.
Hilary Noack is aiming to change that. She needs some help, though.
She’s running an Indiegogo campaign to raise $20,000 CAD to pay the first and last months’ rent on a shop where she and four other women can perform “everything from general auto body repairs such as minor accident damage, dents and scratches and rust repair, to restorations, custom cars and paint.” Funds raised will also help cover the costs of materials, such as fillers, paints, and primers, and opening expenses, including legal fees and advertising.
Should Noack be able to get her venture off the ground, she would like to eventually recruit and train female apprentices for her business. Those young women should be able to learn a lot from the Toronto-based Noack, who’s a 12-year veteran of the paint and body industry. She states, “I’ve worked for two of the most reputable shops in Canada, Legendary Motorcar and 427 Auto Collision as well as currently teaching auto body at Centennial College.”
You can find out more about Ink&Iron and Noack’s push to make it a reality by watching the video below.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
