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16 • April 2015 • S I G N & D I G I T A L G R A P H I C S Avery Dennison Partners With Giovanna Wheels B y T o N y K I N D e L S P I R e Bling is bling—whether it's on a car's wheels or its hood. Until now, no one's ever made an official connection between two popular forms of automotive self-expression: vehicle wraps and high-end after-market wheels. But that has changed with the introduction of Giovanna Edition Supreme Wrapping Film by Avery Dennison, new vinyl wrap films made in custom colors exclusively for Giovanna Wheels. Diko Sulahian is president and founder of WTW Corp., the parent company of Giovanna and other high-end wheel brands. He and Avery announced their partnership this month at a "Wrap Extravaganza" event he hosted at his "man cave" not far from his home in Newport Beach, California. The films are the same material and specs as all of Avery Dennison's Supreme line of films but come in three colors developed in partnership with Sulahian: Satin Pearl Nero, a black with traces of pearl showing through; Satin Pearl Cielo Blu(e); and Matte Metallic Grigio, a grey with metallic highlights. "We're really excited because this is the first of its kind in terms of a vinyl manufacturer and a wheel manufacturer e x C L u S I v e C o v e R A G e : pairing together to really broaden what the after-market space is with wheels and vinyl and really tying it altogether," says Abby Gibbs, channel programs manager for Avery Dennison. Sulahian founded Wholesale Tire and Wheel 19 years ago but two years into it he decided to make the leap and go into wheel manufactur- ing himself. The reason, he says, is he couldn't find the kind of quality and customer service he was looking for from existing manufactures. He shortened the name to WTW Corp. and named his new wheel company after his then-newborn daughter, Giovanna. (Subsequently, he rolled out other brands, including Gianélle Designs, named after his sec- ond daughter; and Koko Kuture, named after his son—Koko also being Diko's father's name.) Along with making what he considers the finest after-market wheels on the market, Sulahian's passion for automobiles has led to him becoming a self-professed "car rotator." "A car rotator is a guy that is not a collector," says the Lebanese-born Sulahian, whose father was in the automobile business when he was growing up. "So, I keep a car for a year and a half to two years, and then the next hottest thing comes out from that manufacturer and I rotate it. I get rid of that, and I get a whole new fleet of inventory—it just constantly changes. "I probably own about 15, 17 cars at any given time. I'm kind of like the 'latest, greatest' kind of guy. Every car that I own is the hottest, newest car on the market that people really want to get their hands on. I have big, big influence and relationships in the automotive man- ufacturing (world) as far as from Ferrari to Porsche to Lamborghini to McLaren—you name it. "That's always been my passion, and for 17 years I've been making wheels for these cars." At the Wrap Extravaganza he hosted in early March, Sulahian and Avery Dennison invited wrap- pers from Tire and Wheel Master in Houston; SS Customs in Redwood City, California; Phenomenal Vinyl in Oceanside, New York; Wrap Specialists in Linden, New Jersey; and Identity Design in Jacksonville, Florida. The cars they wrapped—all from Sulahian's stable of vehicles—included a Maserati Ghibli; a Porsche 918 Spyder; a Lamborghini Huracan; and a McLaren P1 customized just for him. "Jay Leno got his," Sulahian says of the latter, "and then I got mine." As for getting involved with wrapping films, he says he sees a natural connection with his wheels. "Vinyl is, in my opinion, such an impor- tant part—the icing on the cake, as I call it," Sulahian says. "It's like the final touch Diko Sulahian, founder of Giovanna Wheels. (Photos courtesy Highline Autos)