An article by Geets Vincent just came out today in this months Todays Vintage called A Different Kind Of Pen Pusher,. Geets is a retired journalist who still finds time to write came by work last month to interview me for the auto section of the magazine. When she came we went over and sat in my car for the interview, and she really enjoyed it because her article came out great. Thank you Geets, it was a pleasure to meet you.
Pen Guy Article in Today’s Vintage
An article by Geets Vincent just came out today in this months Todays Vintage called A Different Kind Of Pen Pusher,. Geets is a retired journalist who still finds the time to write about vintage cars for the magazine. I met her last month when she came by for the interview as we sat inside the my Mercedes Pens Art Car the whole time. She definetly had a good laught at the car and wrote a great article as well, thank you for a job well done.
Someone more addicted to pens than me, I don’t think so!
Today I was thinking it would be great to actually write about pens and write reviews of ones that I like the most. Before I started blogging I journaled a lot and have kept the practice now since 2000, with 22 filled journals thus far. I am so in to it, that I journal about the things I blog about, its sick I know. Anyways I found this great pen review blog called The Pen Addict which has an extensive list of pen reviews and links to other pen addicts of various flavors. Maybe what I should do is review the pens after they have been glued on my car for about two years and talk about how they held up in the sun and rain. Anyways I have to go, it’s late and I am tired, good night.
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.
The Pen Guy in the Press Democrat
The Maker Faire 08 in San Mateo Faregrounds, was a great success with over 70,000 showing up for the most amazing faire of its kind. The organizers and countless volunteers did a fantastic job of making this event run smoothly, thank you Sherry Huss for having me come to the faire, and thanks for the great spot near the entrance. It was also a good weekend for some great publicity for me in The Press Democrat with an article called “Carnival of creativity” By Nathan Halverson, and a photo of the Mercedes Pens Art Car and the Pen Guy looking up by Kent Porter also of the The Press Democrat. Saty tuned for more entries and photos about the faire.