We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Anong Beam a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Anong, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you tell us a bit about who your hero is and the influence they’ve had on you?

I read a quote once by Buckminster Fuller ” pollution is nothing but resources we are not harvesting. We allow them to disperse because we’ve been ignorant of their value” This led to the approach we take at beampaints in our manufacturing and processes, we start with materials that are waste stream, stone dust from quarries, brush and branch trim from forestry, and all through our process scraps of paint, any excess material folds back into other processes like packaging. The fun of this happens by listening and working with our team, and they find and develop better, leaner, more efficient use of our materials. This also happens to be a cost saver in alot of instances.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Beam Paints is the result of a multi-generational love of pigment, paint, colour, and innovation. I was raised by my artist parents, Carl Beam and Ann Beam, and was taught from a young age how to harvest hematite pigment in the LaCloche mountain range near our home in M’Chigeeng First Nation on Manitoulin Island.

Many years later after the birth of my sons and a difficult time with divorce and finding myself a single mum of 2 small kids with nothing living on my mums couch. With my sons at the age i was when i learned about paint and pigment from my dad, I wanted to reconnect with that knowledge and pass it on again. And that with instagram and sharing what i was doing grew into Beam Paints.

Beam Paints draws on my early educations in Indigenous pigment and expands it to encompass all paint traditions. A focus on high quality pigment content creates sublime artist materials, with plastic free packaging.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

There were alot of times where i defaulted to they way i thought business had to be and i realized that its so much more creative than it appears, and letting that creativity bloom along with respect for people has led to the development of a flexible workforce that is extremely nimble and responsive. right from starting with bubble mailers and then realizing that i could make choices in every aspect of the business to reflect my values, they have become the backbone of the company. Removing plastic as it appears in practice and process. Being flexible in employment strategies.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When my marriage dissolved, it was due to my partner taking over my business, I had started a small art supply store, and my husband was an alcoholic, he would take the business bank card and when i got a new one he would always take the in person sales and tell people that the interac was down and they had to pay cash and keep it himself. I couldnt pay bills or buy food. I had to leave. I made a plan and i took my sons and our suitcases to my mums and we lived on her couch. I had the debt of the business i couldnt run, I was 70,000 in debt with nothing. I got a job at minimum wage, and started reconnecting with paint and pigment and my memories of my father, and sharing that with my sons. This grew into Beam Paints.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.beampaints.com
• Instagram: @beampaints
• Facebook: @beampaints

Image Credits
@j.cassonphotos