[View Point] Paper Quilling — and a Return to the Top 100 List

This issue marks PCT’s 14th annual Top 100 list. Since 2002, PCT’s May issue has featured a list of the industry’s 100 largest firms by revenue — and it’s arguably become our most anticipated issue of the year. As evidence of that, you hold in your hand (or are seeing on your digital device) PCT’s largest magazine since October 2012.

Each year, PCT’s October issue is typically our largest, since that’s the one distributed at NPMA PestWorld. Suppliers often launch products at the tradeshow and support those new offerings with ads in PCT. But as the Top 100 list has become more popular, and as the marketplace looks forward to it year after year, advertisers have taken note of the May issue as well.

While companies on the Top 100 list represent much of the industry’s revenue, we know most of our readers are small to medium-sized operators. As such, the majority of this issue is a typical PCT, covering technical and business topics applicable to companies of any size.

In this 166-page issue you’ll find 17 feature articles, a Commercial Product Guide, a State of the Ant Market supplement and a State of the Mosquito Market supplement. And that’s in addition to the eight-page Top 100 poster and 18 pages of Top 100 articles. I hope you’re able to set aside a significant amount of time to read through all of these articles and departments.

As you review this issue, you may notice the cover artwork. Both the cover and the artwork throughout the Top 100 coverage is unlike anything we’ve ever done.

Here’s some background on the Top 100 covers: In the years we host a Top 100 Awards and Executive Summit, we create a cover based on the location of the event. In 2010, the event was in Cleveland so we put a Billboard magazine-type record on the cover (representing the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame). In 2012, we featured a Route 66 theme for the event in Chicago. Last year, we had an illustration of cowboys branding a cockroach for our San Antonio, Texas, event.

There’s no event this year, so creatively, the sky’s the limit. We commissioned Russian paper artist Yulia Brodskaya to design the cover using a technique called “paper quilling.” Yulia started in 2006 working as a graphic designer and illustrator, however, she quickly abandoned computer design in favor of paper art. “Paper always held a special fascination for me,” she said. “I’ve tried many different methods and techniques of working with it, until I found the way that has turned out to be ‘the one’ for me; Now I draw with paper instead of on it.”

PCT’s art director, Andrea Vagas, found Yulia’s artwork and approached her about working for us. “I’ve been intrigued with paper quilling for several years and Yulia’s work in particular stood out to me,” Andrea said. “When we discussed what to do for this month’s cover, and I was given the direction to choose any style I could imagine, I immediately thought of quilling. I looked for an artist who worked with type, and Yulia’s portfolio had many great examples. I knew she would be the right fit for us.”

Come to find out, Yulia is famous too! Not only has she created a Google Chrome theme, but she is the artist behind this year’s official poster for the Wimbledon Championships. Visit http://bit.ly/1QMfZeq to watch a video of her creating the Wimbledon poster (it took her a week to do). The image at right shows a bit of the work involved with these images. Using just paper and glue, her technique involves the placement of cut and bent strips of paper to make vibrant, 3D paper artwork. We pride ourselves on PCT magazine’s graphics — we hope it shows in this and in all of our issues.

And now one more piece of “fun” news. You may remember in this space last year I wrote about how there always has to be a #101 on the Top 100 list. Last year, that “close but no cigar” spot was filled by Bug Doctor Termite and Pest Control, Paramus, N.J. The company, owned by Stuart Aust, was less than $300,000 away from the #100 spot.

Well, I have good news for Stuart’s fans: Bug Doctor came in at #100 on this year’s list, which is on the poster on page 29. Congratulations to Bug Doctor and all of the firms on the list!

The author is editor of PCT.