1st Annual Rally for MS: Custom Stickers Leave a Lasting Impression

This past Saturday, two local motorcycle clubs in our hometown put on a motorcycle rally and run to raise money to help find a cure for MS.  Custom Sticker Makers was asked to sponsor and create the run stickers for this event, and we were happy to do so! Our designers came up with a classic design, and incorporated  the latest in printing and cutting technology, including a custom die cut around the motorcycle image on the top of the stickers. They look amazing!    

The rally took approximately 90 riders, 120 miles from Prescott, AZ, through Camp Verde, Cottonwood and Jerome, and then ended their run right back here in Prescott.  They celebrated into the evening with food, music, raffles, vendors and more.  The rally was a huge success, raising a large amount of funds to donate to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. 

 

One rider, who has MS, had to leave before the ride started, because her MS was bad enough that she couldn’t go on the ride. “This is why we do this, so that our friends and families who suffer from this disease won’t have to miss out on the things that are important to them any longer. The more money we raise today, the closer we are to finding a cure for this debilitating illness that is so misunderstood, yet so common.” said Snaps with the Desert Eagles MC, one of the event organizers. His mother suffers from MS and was the inspiration behind this rally. “It’s hard watching her suffer, and helping to put this rally together to raise money to find a cure, was the least I could do to show her that I love and support her.” Snaps also said.

The organizers of this event decided to use custom stickers as part of their ‘run bags’ that were given away to approximately 200 registered participants.  The feedback from the riders regarding the stickers was nothing but positive! They loved the die cut shape, and the classic design that we created, and we are sure we will see many of these stickers around town, and probably around the state as well.

Fundraising and event stickers can be a fun and inexpensive way for you to leave a lasting impression with your donors, sponsors, and supporters.  Your guests will remember your event for years to come, every time they look at your full color custom stickers printed by Custom Sticker Makers!

Wedding Stickers: Hot Ideas for Summer Weddings

'Tis the season not for jingle bells, but for wedding bells -- and if you or someone you know is tying the knot soon, consider the wedding sticker.

It neatly affixes to nearly anything, creating an instant, personalized wedding favor: a box full of seashells, for instance, the lid of a jam jar, or even the side of a bag of popcorn. (They can also work as save-the-date reminders when sent out to your guests in advance.)

There's the classic "Her Name and His," but wedding sticker designs these days -- like everything else associated with weddings -- have become increasingly personalized, coordinating with wedding colors, themes or even flowers.

Included with this post are just a few of the wedding sticker designs that have caught our eye recently, but the best (of course!) is your own, printed with high quality inks and high-resolution graphics from Custom Sticker Makers.

The Reusable Bag as Fashion Statement: Cheeky Green Rocks Your Eco Look

Eco-conscious shopper that you are, you may proudly use your re-usable bag at the grocery store. But how about at, say, Nordstrom? If  you're sporting a Cheeky Green bag--folded up snug in its convenient carrying case--your answer might just be 'yes.'

Cheeky Green was started in 2007 to "aid in the fight against disposable culture by producing innovative, cost-effective products with an acute sense of style that have an incredible chance of getting reused." Ease of use, practicality and portability are all focal points of these bags, which are made from recyclable, super-strong DuPont Tyvek.

Cheeky Green's product line consists of fashion bags (sold at finer green West Coast stores) and custom bags for commercial clients--all of which are machine-washable, lightweight, portable, tear- and water-resistant, and designed to easily accompany you to the market, the mall, the beach, or the plane.

Most bags that fold up small for transport come with an instructional hangtags, which tend to get torn off and thrown away. Cheeky Green had a better idea: why not make the hangtags reusable, too, by turning them into custom stickers? Instead of just ripping the hangtags off Cheeky Green bags and discarding them, the company hopes that its customers will take these tags and stick them somewhere, so Cheeky Green becomes permanently "stuck" in their heads.

Why Custom Sticker Makers? Stefanie DiBenedetto of Cheeky Green told us: "This is the second time I've placed an order and I was just as impressed with the printing and sticking quality as the first order. The price is right and the product is great! "

Check out Cheeky Green on Ecouterre! 

Oahu Wood Bat Company: Swinging Stickers from Hawaii

Michael Kim didn't have big ambitions for his business when he started out back in December of 2010--he just wanted to offer quality wood baseball bats to the people of Hawaii at affordable prices. What started out as a part time job, however, soon blew up into a full-time gig, as Oahu Wood Bat Company became a household name in Hawaii and beyond. (Michael recently sent over a few bats to Colorado and Iowa.)

A key factor here is Hawaiian pride--backed up by the fact Michael hand-delivers these bats to his local customers.  


While his business has grown over the last year, Oahu Wood Bat Company still operates out of Michael's home (he reports that his wife and in-laws have been very patient with the baseball bats all over the house and in the garage). He also carries around a handful of different types of bats in the trunk of his car.   

Stickers have been a key part of getting Michael's business off the ground. All those baseball bats in Michael's life get shipped out with Oahu Wood Bat Company stickers, branding them--and sports fans, of course, sport those stickers on their binders and clipboards at games and practices. 

Why Custom Sticker Makers? "I chose CSM because of their attractive website and customer service," Michael told us. He went on to note that while CSM wasn't at the top of the pile when he searched under "personalized stickers," those companies that did weren't as quick as CSM in returning his emails. 

Michael's fine wood bats are online on Facebook page: Oahu Wood Bat Company. 

What's Up, Dog?:Karma Warrior Sticks w/Fun, Eco Yoga Gear

Forget all that self-conscious yoga gear--if you really want to get in touch with spirituality (and save the world while you're at it) you need some down-to-earth apparel from Karma Warrior.

Show folks the real meaning of the High Life--or broadcast your Ayurvedic body-type pride with designs like "Warning. I'm a Pitta." or "Lighten up, I'm a Vata." KarmaWarrior designs show that yogis can achieve the perfect Downward Dog and have a sense of humor. 

Jackie Mori and friends' yoga-inspired clothes were created on the principle that doing good starts with each of us. Karma Warrior starts with earth-friendly, organic cotton and works with local artists and small businesses to create fun, functional apparel with community-driven mindset. 

The company even takes that common-good mindset one step further by donating 12 percent of all sales to charity. 

Karma Warrior stickers were part of the goodie bags the company offered at its recent launch party, and will be given out free at yoga festivals and events to help build visibility for the brand and drive traffic to the website, www.KarmaWarriorClothes.com.

"It's important to us to be as eco-friendly as possible when choosing our products," Jackie told us, "so we searched for the best solution we could find for sticker making. We went with Custom Sticker Makers because they use Eco Solvent inks, plus we could get any quantity we needed at a good price."  

Infamous Network/CSM 2011 Success Award Acceptance Speech

On March 22, 2011 we were honored with the Arizona Small Business Development Center's Success Award. The ceremony was held on the lawn of the State Capital in Phoenix.

Even though mine is the name most often mentioned, it has been a team effort the whole way! Success never happens in a vacuum and I would like to again offer sincere gratitude to everyone who has helped, supported, and believed in us over the past 15 years.

I chose to highlight our 'Education Is National Security' sticker at the end of the speech because the children of Arizona clearly don't have much of a voice at the Arizona State Capital. Less than a week before the award ceremony on March 17th, Arizona Senate Republicans passed a budget with the 'steepest cuts' delegated to public education:

"The steepest cuts are to education. Universities are targeted to lose 26 percent of their state funding; K-12 education faces reductions of about 7 percent, even as money from a temporary sales tax is being collected in the name of preventing deep cuts to K-12 education."

"Jennifer Loredo, lobbyist for the Arizona Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, said the $242 million in cuts to K-12 will force layoffs at schools that already are dealing with crowded classrooms and skimpy equipment budgets."
-Arizona Republic March 17, 2011


Seriously? I know it's bad, but is this really the best we can do?

Trying to solve the problems of today by short changing our childrens' chance of a better tomorrow is folly! The generations coming up must be fully educated, engaged, critical thinking individuals if they are to be prepared for the challenges that await them! Fully funding education is the least we can do... and the true definition of 'National Security'.

jeff

ps. thanks dad for taking the video and capturing this moment!


CustomStickerMakers.com
CSM on facebook

neverbetter.com
Infamous Network on facebook 

Learn more about AZSBDC

Animated Stickers: The Ultimate Art of Kelsey Stark

Kelsey Stark is an independent animator with a vision: to stretch the limits of animation, "the ultimate art form," with films that combine different aspects of all the fine arts into one four-dimensional medium. She learned her chops at the Pratt Institute in New York, where she created her graduation film, 'LGFUAD,' which has now screened to rave reviews at festivals such as the Ottawa International Animation Festival, South by Southwest, and the Melbourne International Animation Festival.


As an independent artist, her intention is not only to promo LGFUAD, but to keep the ball rolling by delving further into animation and exploring collaborative projects. Both require her to get her name out there in a big way, and towards that end, she's chosen to work with custom stickers. 

"I really love the guerilla style marketing of stickers," she told us. "Its a great way to spread the word, because they are much more permanent than something like a flyer or a business card." Kelsey goes on to note that she created her stickers as a promotional tool for her film, to hand out at festivals. People who enjoy the designs have stuck them almost anywhere--even bathroom stalls--prompting Google searches by those intrigued by the images. 

"I must have looked at a dozen or so websites that advertised custom sticker printing," Kelsey said. "My heart was absolutely set on die-cut stickers, and no other sites I looked at even compared to the price Custom Sticker Makers offers." She also really liked that it was easy to upload artwork, that she didn't have to order in bulk amounts, and she could order multiple designs at once. 

Interested in Kelsey's ultimate art form? Check out LGFUAD on Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/11426611

Vintage Japanese Art and Design: A Custom Sticker Makers Tribute

In honor of the victims of the natural disasters in Japan today, we're offering up a tribute to the extraordinary graphic design in the Land of the Rising Sun (courtesy of PinkTentacle).

These images--pulled from posters and magazine covers, from the 1920's and 30's--are clearly vintage, and yet still somehow seem fresh, a testament to the cutting-edge blend of traditional and modern aesthetics for which Japan is known, worldwide.

On behalf of graphic designers everywhere who draw inspiration from Japanese art, both traditional and modern--

--our hopes and prayers are with the people of Japan.

Bikes Built Better: Folk Engineered Has a Posse

Ryan and Marie of Folk Engineered knew they were in love--with each other, and with bikes--when they took a 1500-mile bike tour zigzagging from Santa Cruz, CA to Seattle, WA. After they returned, they discovered another passion, which became the basis of their business: building handmade custom bicycles.

Folk Engineered manufactures high-quality, hand-made-in-the-USA (Newark, NJ), steel-framed bikes, custom-built to the rider’s measurements, riding style, and intended use. Since 2009, Ryan and Marie have built custom road, touring, sport touring, city commuting, mountain, track, and utility bicycles, in sizes, geometries, component configurations, and with artistic touches available no where else. 

This year, Folk Engineered is coming out with its first line of production bicycles, The Marsupial--a multi-purpose sport touring bicycle designed for the Northeast's regional habitat of "beaches, suburbs, mountains and urban jungles." At a lower cost to custom ($2300), the Marsupial was designed to give more fans access to hand-made Folk Engineered craftsmanship.

Of course, there are more people who love Ryan and Marie's custom bikes than there are customers who can afford them--so custom stickers are a natural way for fans to support the business and spread the word, even if they're still saving up. Folk Engineered stickers are free at events, and for sale via the website, FolkEngineered.com, and have been known to sport them on helmets, water bottles, and yes, bikes. 

Why Custom Sticker Makers? "We chose CSM because you offer exactly what we were looking for - high quality eco-friendly outdoor stickers at reasonable prices and with low minimums - and could get them to us in time for our event," Marie told us. She added that the CSM website was informative and easy to understand, and that their stickers were everything they'd imagined. "When it’s time to order more," she said, "we will definitely choose CSM."

Pretty Stickers for Pretty Girl: Halle Ford's Flying Violin

Up and coming singer/songwriter Halle Ford first began playing violin at the tender age of 4, and by the age of 8, had become the youngest student of the Louisville Symphony’s Concert Master. Those classical skills served her well when she moved west in her early 20's to Los Angeles, where she made a living as a session musician--but she always knew she wanted to break out on her own.


Halle's debut album, Pretty Girl, combines her love for mainstream music with her experience and skill on the violin, creating a catchy blend of pop, classical and traditional music. To get this sound, Halle focused on the song melodies first, and wrote pop vocal choruses around them--a process that inspired what she describes as "some really exciting violin solos." The result has been described as "a KT Tunstall-esque marriage of traditional and pop, swapping out the guitars for that all important violin and bow" (The Music Slut). Pretty Girl was officially released on February 8th, of this year, and two of the songs on the album have already been recognized in the international Song of the Year competition.

To promote the project, Halle wanted to create an image that would invoke the violin, but not necessarily classical music. Inspiration for the "Violin Butterfly" logo design came from an old T shirt she wore in college, which featured an electric guitar with eagle wings. Halle replaced the guitar with a violin, and traded out the eagle wings for more feminine butterfly wings to create her logo design. 

These Violin Butterfly stickers were originally created for press and radio promo packages, but received so much interest from fans that Halle now plans to sell them on her official music website (where you can also stream the new album).

Why CSM? "I selected Custom Sticker Makers because I needed high-quality stickers, and fast," Halle told us.  "Custom Sticker Makers had one of the best turnaround times in the market." She adds she's very satisfied with the results, and has already placed orders for more.
Like Halle Ford on Facebook:  www.facebook.com/hallefordmusic

On the Road with Custom Sticker Makers: AZ Association of Student Councils Conference

Not long back, a very cool sticker caught our eye here at Custom Sticker Makers: "Awaken the Hero Within." The person behind that sticker is Brent Jarles of the Arizona Association of Student Councils, who was ordering the sticker in conjunction with the Association's 2011 State Convention. After a conversation with CSM's founder, Jeff Daverman, Brent invited CSM to attend the big event, as a vendor.

What follows is a diary of the day's events from CSM's own Erin Hutchinson (known to many of you as the friendly voice behind CSM's customer service hotline) who traveled to be at the event.

Thursday morning came early, and we were on the road, headed for Blue Ridge High School in Lakeside, Arizona, for the Arizona Association of Student Councils conference. 

At 3:00 we started setting up our booth. There were approximately 10 other vendors advertising their products, including class rings, formal wear, event planners, and vending machine distributors.

The event started at 5:00, and as the doors opened, I was a little overwhelmed by what I saw. There were literally busloads of students from all around the state, carrying signs and dressed up in costumes, laughing and chanting, singing and dancing, as they made their way down the hall of vendors.

I spent the next 2 hours explaining to hundreds, if not thousands of students, faculty members and parents what Custom Sticker Makers is, and what we do. They were excited about all the different applications for our custom stickers: fundraisers, sports teams, clubs, events, even just for fun! I collected dozens of contacts, and I could tell that the kids thought we really had a cool product to offer. When I gave them my information, and let them know they could get in contact with me directly, everyone’s response was “Oh wow, that’s great!”

I felt great about the evening, knowing that CSM has a unique product to offer these students, on a budget that is realistic for their schools.  It was a flashback to high school for me as well, and I am really happy I had the opportunity to mingle with these amazing young people, many of whom will eventually become business and community leaders. I have no doubt that we will be working with many of them in the future, and helping them express their ideas on stickers!

On our way home the next morning, our trip hit a high note when we stopped on the side of the road and saw two golden eagles, one taking off with a wing span of literally 7 feet!

It was a great experience!

Tell Us How You Really Feel: d'Fumo Stickers Offer Ocean Conservation w/'Tude

'd'Fumo' sounds like something mysterious in another language. In reality, it's an ocean conservation sticker with some serious Hawaiian attitude, which stands for one simple statement in plain English: Don't F*ck Up My Ocean.

Kyle Kernohan created the first d'Fumo sticker about a year ago to express his sentiments on ocean conservation--namely, that it's about more than just saving a few tide pools, it's about whatever is f*cking up your ocean, be that garbage, over-flowing bonfire pits, people who shouldn't be wearing small bathing suits, or fifteen dollar parking. 

His concept was to create an adhesive eco-statement that Hawaiian surf culture could really get behind, and get behind it, it has. Kernohan reports that tons of young boogie boarders have picked up these stickers at their local surf shops and now proudly sport them all over the islands.

The main purpose of the d'Fumo sticker is simply to get the message out there, on surfboards, boogie boards, cars, coolers, trash cans, ETC. Even as the concept has taken off, Kyle has managed to keep it local by designing different themed stickers for different beaches, helping to keep the focus on local pride. (Shown here: the Hawaii and Reggae editions.)

Why Custom Sticker Makers? "I choose CSM because of the low minimum order requirement," he told us. "I like to run small, limited editions of stickers so I can come out with tons of different designs. There are not many sticker producers out there that can offer such a low initial run." He goes on to note that CSM's high-quality outdoor vinyl is also durable enough to survive the biggest waves.

The Personal Touch: Flutterbye Note Cards and Stickers

When Amie Jones gave up graphic design to stay home with her kids in 2009, she loved spending time with them, but missed creating and designing. A new direction presented itself when Amie sent her mother, a teacher, a set of note cards as a gift. Other teachers asked about them, and when Amie looked around at the types of note cards available for teachers, she knew she had something to add.

Thus was Flutterbye Notes born. This line of personalized stationary gives primary school teachers a uniquely personalized way of corresponding with both students and parents--and students and parents a great, truly useful gift for teacher. 

Over the past two years, Jones has expanded her focus beyond the market for teachers, but has kept the focus on cards with that extra personal touch--as in her ThumbKins line, which incorporates the customer's actual finger print in the design. Her vision for Flutterbye is to bring people stationery that they feel is truly unique and represents who they are, encouraging recipients to reach out and appreciate others, too.

Amie uses custom stickers on all of her product packaging, noting that she doesn't invest in a lot of custom-made packaging, but is still able to brand everything associated with Flutterbye with her logo sticker. Stickers are also an aspect of her actual product, as they give her customers yet another way to personalize their cards, and to use their own creativity. 

Why Custom Sticker Makers? "CSM has been great to work with," Amie told us. "For me, the ability to print in small quantities for a great price is my biggest incentive. I am a small business and also like to reinvent my designs on a whim, so the small runs are really great for me."  

Street Stickers Sell It: the New York State of Mind

In 2008, Brett Stein discovered an important fact: thanks to the First Amendment of the Constitution, it's legal to sell T-shirts in the streets and parks of New York City as long as they make a political/religious statement. Stein put that knowledge together with his political views, love of street art/graffiti, skateboarding and hip-hop, and came up with New York State of Mind (NYSM)--a clever, eye-catching collection of t-shirts sold on the streets of Soho and in NYC's Union Square Park.

Since then, thousands of NYSM shirts have been sold to people from all over the world--proving, in the immortal words of Mos Def, "it's not where you're from, it's where you're at!"--but to this day, every shirt is silk screened by hand in Stein's Brooklyn studio with mad love.

Despite all the success, NYSM is still an independent business with virtually no budget for marketing/advertising, so beyond  word-of-mouth and some basic social networking, Stein's entire marketing plan has consisted of custom sticker "stick ups" on the streets of Manhattan and Brooklyn. As a consequence, he told us, it seems like almost everyone he meets in NYC is familiar with his brand/logo.

Why did Brett Stein choose Custom Sticker Makers to print those all-important NYSM stickers? "I choose to deal with CSM because I know they value me as a customer and go the extra mile to keep me happy," he told us.

Smoking Out the Competition: HotVapes Personal Vaporizers

HotVapes started in early 2010, after Tim Roche's girlfriend Helen got her first personal vaporizer (also known as an e-cigarette). At the time, she was a pack-a-day smoker who had no intention of quitting--but after using her new vaporizer, she walked off an airplane and never bought another pack. Tim realized that if it helped her, there was a good chance it would be able to help others, too. Thus was HotVapes born.

Currently, the company sells a number of different personal vaporizer packages at different price points, as well as a selection of different flavored liquids. These liquids contain propylene glycol (a common chemical approved for foods) mixed with flavors, much like a hookah tobacco, but without the toxic chemicals such as carbon monoxide, tar, and benzenes. These liquids are available in flavors like Mango, Blueberry Fest, and Coconut Dream Pie, and are available with or without nicotine.

While HotVapes is still just starting out--and mainly sells through its website, HotVapes.com--the company is seeing more and more distribution at tobacco and headshops across the country. (In case you were wondering, despite the fact that they've been covered in Headquest Magazine, HotVapes cannot be used for marijuana.) The company's merchant customers are expected to display the HotVapes sticker in their storefront windows, letting the public know that they carry HotVapes personal vaporizers. In this way, HotVapes hopes to make its brand easily identifiable to anyone familiar with personal vaporizers.

Why did Tim and Helen choose Custom Sticker Makers for their sticker printing?  "Mainly we liked your site, found it easy to navigate and your customer service was very good," said Tim. "Reasonable prices always helps, too."

(Bottom photo: Ash's Wicker Park Tobacconist, Chicago)

Aspen ZGreen: the Green, Local Label

In Aspen, Colorado, being green and being local both mean a lot. In order to help the Aspen's businesses and events show their community pride and commitment to the environment, the City of Aspen offers an innovative program called Aspen ZGreen. Under this program, businesses, citizens and events can apply for ZGreen certification. If they meet the standards (and complete a successful audit), they become ZGreen certified.


The City of Aspen rewards certification with space on their website, radio and newspaper ads and publicity at local events. Members of the community reward ZGreen certified businesses by voting with their dollar. The name ZGreen comes from the old Aspen license plates that used to start with ZG. (Apparently, if you still have a ZG license plate, then everyone knows you are a true 'local' or 'old timer'--which, in Aspen, means a lot.) 


Although the program is local, the program was created to provide a model for other cities and towns interested in going green and promoting the local economy. The program has grown in the last few years, and recently, Aspen took a big step in making ZGreen certification mandatory for all large public events. A key grassroots strategy for promoting the Aspen ZGreen brand has (of course!) been custom stickers. 


These stickers, designed to resemble the Colorado license plate, are distributed all over Aspen at City-sponosred events. Ashley Cantrell of Aspen ZGreen told us that custom stickers were the easiest way to start branding, and so far, they've worked great.

"We choose Custom Sticker Makers because the prices were reasonable and the website was easy to use," said Ashley. "I had a question about my order, so I called and I was amazed that someone actually answered the phone and knew about my order without having to go into some database for 15 minutes. Since then, I always work with CSM because it feels like a small company, almost like they are right here in Aspen."

Stuff We Like: Cheeky Suitcase Stickers

Sick of searching among hordes of similar suitcases in baggage claim? Have a snarky sense of humor? Well then, you are a prime candidate for these cheeky suitcase stickers.

Designed by Colin Hunt and Ryan McCormick, two enterprising Vancouver entrepreneurs, these large stickers can be placed directly on your luggage to give the impression that something (in the words of Canada's CBC) "strange or nefarious" is going on inside.

The Abducted Flight Attendant is one of four designs, which also includes the Suitcase Full of Cocaine, the Suitcase Full of Money, and the ever-popular, Suitcase Full of Personal *ahem* Massage Devices. They're available for $15 each or $40 for 3 via The Cheeky, which has this to say about them:

"Take a stand against monotonous travel with Suitcase Stickers. Designed to stick to anything, they will draw attention to your bag making it easily identifiable and sure to make you some new friends.

Caution: Some of these stickers may cause offense to airport and immigration staff. But you would have figured that out whilst enjoying those cavity searches."


We sticker connoisseurs at Custom Sticker Makers think these are hilarious--but wonder, will they really stick to anything? (Even the canvas-type material of most roller bags?)

Band Promo: Mike Peralta Sticks with the Fans

When Southern California singer/songwriter Mike Peralta was in high school, his love of Nirvana inspired him to learn to play an old guitar his mother got him--but it wasn't until a tragedy rocked his school that he came home and wrote his first song. In the years that followed, Mike found he had a knack for turning life's difficulties and dysfunctions into music, and when he finally decided to take his solo act to the streets (in bars, coffee shops, fairs, private parties, farmer's markets, even out in front of movie theaters) he found that people responded.


Now, with 150 original songs to his credit--as well as an acoustic/folk album and a new Single on iTunes--Mike Peralta has made a name for himself in the SoCal music scene. Along the way, he's learned a thing or two about using the internet to connect with fans: currently, he has 800 email subscribers on his blog, 6,500 Twitter followers, 27,000 MySpace peeps, 352 Facebook fans, and a website, www.MikePeralta.com.

Off the internet, of course, Mike knew he needed a way for fans to spread the word. So everywhere he performs, you'll see custom stickers alongside CDs, shirts, and buttons on his merch table. At $2 each, Mike's able to make a small profit on his stickers while keeping costs within range for the fans. Over the years, he's sold and given away hundreds of stickers at shows, and considers them an important part of his branding.

Why Custom Sticker Makers? "They have a personal touch," said Mike. "I can send them an email or a question and expect it to be answered by an actual human, with a real answer (not just a template), in a reasonable amount of time." He adds that CSM hasn't grown so big that they "don't care about the little guy" and are willing to actually talk about orders, "instead of replying with some BS response like a copy/paste of a slightly related Question/Answer topic like some other companies do." He also enjoys being able to customize the dimensions of his stickers, both for aesthetics and cost-control, and CSM's competitive pricing.

Midterm Election Sticker Wars!: Road Rage Edition

As we gear up for midterm elections, campaign stickers are once again appearing on the nation's bumpers.

High dollar television ads and internet campaigns aside, nothing speaks more to a candidate's grassroots support than the number of bumper stickers and campaign lawn signs bearing his or her name.

However, amid the nation's current political climate, campaign stickers are also a heated subject. In Nashville, Tennessee, a man has claimed that he was the victim of road rage due to the Obama/Biden bumpersticker on his car. 

Curious what the assailant was most likely driving? Check out this site, which has unofficially tabulated a breakdown of political affiliations by makes and models of cars from the 2008 election.

Here at Custom Sticker Makers, we're hoping that those with strong opinions this election season will choose to express them via their bumperstickers, rather than their driving habits...

Mrs. Grossmans Stickers: the Woman Behind Stickermania

Stickermania: it's a phase most kids go through, at one point or another. (There are those of us, obviously, who never get over it.) But 'twas not always so. Once upon a time, there were more kids who collected stamps than stickers. That is, until Mrs. Grossman came along.

Andrea Grossman is a graphic designer who started her sticker business because of a printing error. In 1979, a local paper store asked her to produce a red heart sticker to decorate shopping bags for Valentine's Day. Grossman couldn't find anybody who made such a thing, so she cut a heart out of black artist's paper and sent it to a label printer. Instead of coming back on sheets of paper, as expected, the hearts came back on rolls, like ribbons.

A natural entrepreneur, Grossman created nine more designs and introduced "Stickers by the Yard" at a trade show. Retailers swamped her with orders, and within three years, stickers had become one of the hottest-selling products in the country. Grossman was featured in People Magazine as the woman who started "stickermania."

Here at Custom Sticker Makers, we tip our hats to Mrs. Grossman's Stickers--a business that operates today out of a 110,000-square-foot corporate headquarters with 90 employees, home to the world's only sticker factory tour.