Mario Guertin, president of Painting in Partnership, Inc. in Palatine, Illinois, founded the PDCA Craftsmanship Forum in May of 2001. His idea was the idea of “The Pursuit of Excellence”. After 25 plus years in business, Guertin has been the recipient of many awards for his Residential repainting of Interior and Exterior, Decorative and Historical Restoration works. This impressive list includes six PIPP Awards, three TOP JOB Awards (including two Grand Prizes), Grand Prize of Chicago Painted Lady Contest, and two PDCA Distinguished Service Awards. The foundation built in the Craftsmanship Forum is greatly due to the contributions of Mario Guertin.

Craftsmanship was first defined in 1325-75 as “a person who practices or is highly skilled in a craft; artisan”. Today’s definition is “the quality of design and work shown in something made by hand”. Synonyms include specialist, mastery, expertise, ingenuity and artistry.

There is a school of thought that 10,000 hours of experience in your field is often the mark of an expert. In this time knowledge is gained, imagination is formed, method of operations is tried, and dexterity increased, and then a true aptitude for the craft is clear. How many baskets did Larry Bird shoot in his backyard, or Pete Rose hit in the batting cages?  Michelangelo is known as the “Father and Master of All the Arts”, and was an apprentice to a painter before studying sculpture.

I define a craftsman as one who practices and studies their craft, gains insight from peers, learns from history, and always in search of perfection.