High Yellow 56

In late 2018, I took a big chance and bought an unrestored 56 chevy truck. I'm handy, technical, and creative, but certainly not a mechanic, so purchasing this truck was a bit crazy. Although I was familiar with restorations, this was a crash course. Having recently participated in a different restoration project, a classic chevy truck rebuilt by an all-female crew, I developed a vast network of resources that could aid in the cause. This effort came to fruition because I had the rare commodity of support to go with the truck and the ill-conceived plan. Foolish tenacity can only get you so far. This is a success story because of the concentrated practical know-how of an excellent network of women. 

High Yellow 56 was born to speak to the social causes that spirited this project's inception- the scarcity of and inequalities facing women in automotive. Women are an extreme minority in the industry, and black women are practically invisible, especially in restorations. Armed with a cause, I approached this project much as I would any design problem, with observation. This meant visiting a lot of car shows, documentation, interviews with many chevy truck enthusiasts, learning what must-haves to keep, aligning that with my aesthetic vision, and working to develop a clear idea of what I wanted the result to be. High Yellow 56 was fully realized and announced for public participation in April 2019. It involved 80 determined women of all experience levels from across the US. Southern Fried Concepts is responsible for the entire design down to sketching out seat treatments, logo design, and handpicking all accessories and trim. I thoughtfully considered every aspect of this truck, and it was unveiled for public display at SEMA 2019.