My daughters and I took some time create the next great Star Trek movie. Called
Mercedes Pens with fins? What was I thinking?
Here is the latest remodel on the rear fender of my Mercedes Pens. Now that I have a whole bunch of pens donated this year by Olivet and Piner Elementary I can build my self some fins inspired by a Red 1960 Chrysler Saratoga that I park next to every day. So far mine are a work in progress.
Mercedes Pens with Crayola Fin
1960 Chrysler Saratoga fin (by the way it is for sale:)
After three years of gluing pens to my Mercedes, I think I’ve gone past the point of no return. Actually that happened the night I glued my first 20 pens to the driver side door with a tube of glue in one hand and a bunch of pens and a flash light in the other. If I was afraid people would think I was totally nuts then, I have removed all doubt now. At first there were days I too wondered what the heck I was doing ruining a perfectly good car. Three years I know the answer to that question, and I see it every day in the faces of those of you who see my car on a daily basis. I see joy and the smiling faces tell me that I did the right thing. And as long as I continue to see the joy I will continue driving this car around town. Who knows, one day I hope to travel the country in an RV with the family and the pen car in tow going from city to city doing the same thing as I do here in Sebastopol CA and beyond. This has been one of the best art projects I have ever done. It allows me to do art on the go, practice my stand up comedy, talk and encourage others to follow their dreams and get some fresh air from doing graphic design all day long.
7 Tips to Killer Garage Sale Signs from the Pen Guy
Being a graphic designer can be painful during garage sale season now in full force, because I have to endure poorly made garage sale signs that are illegible at high speeds. I recently had a very successful garage sale as a result of my 14 year design experience and my yard sale sign observations. I came up with 7 keys to successful sign making on a budget.
1) Get yourself a monster Marker (pen)
Spare no expense and get your self a Permanent Marker with a chisel tip. If you are going to spend any money get your self a massive beast of a pen because your average sharpie will not have enough width to grab the attention at high speeds. These people don’t have time to mess around trying to read your sign and have a dozen other sales to get to. You basically have to create a vortex that will suck them into coming to your sale.
2) Use Cardboard Boxes
It’s free and it comes in really big sizes. Even the bright florescent paper is wasted with a wimpy sharpie that’s way to small. Forget store bought signs.
3) Bigger is Better (font)
Use big block letters, and filled in if you want to. You have to scream and be heard above the other signs.
4) Drop the inventory list
Your potential client does not have the time to read the list and you are better off just sticking to the basics: Garage sale, arrow, date, and time. I used HUGE SALE, because there were only eight letters to write.
5) Jockey for Position (get yours up first)
Get up early and get your spot before the other garage sale wannabes get theirs up. Bring an electric drill, screws, duct tape, tie wraps and a box cutter. The drill makes it easy to put up the signs quickly. And don’t forget a cup of coffee, you will need it because you were the night before getting ready.
6) Do a drive by
As you drive look for places were your eyes naturally go to, then put your sign there. Then do a drive by to make sure the sign actually does the job.
7) Double check your signs on the second day
It was 11:30am on Sunday and no one had showed up yet so I decided to check my signs. Some had fallen down and some had been vandalized and taken down on purpose. So it never hurts to double check and make sure if you build it they will come.
All the best to you and may you make a ton of money this season.
Pen Car Remodel – replacing old pens
Three years after I begun this Mercedes Pens Art Car project I am entering into the remodeling phase. That means that pens that have been on the car now for about two years need replacing with fresh ones. Sun, rain and dust have done a work on the older pens and now need to be replaced. The upside is that there will be more opportunities for you to glue a pen back on the car. I will be appearing at the Occidental Bohemian Farmers Market the last Friday of the month as part of the Maker Faire team. I will also be accepting pen donations that will help with the remodel in preparation for Art Car Fest 08.
Pen Guy Postcards from Reach360 are in!!!
Today I picked up my new postcards in time for this years events. I was fortunate enough to get the printing donated by Eric Wold, CEO, of Reach360. They specialize in one-to-one marketing, print-production, mailing solutions and variable data print production. Thank you for supporting this project, and allowing me to continue on this journey and get my message out to more people this year.