Mountain Goat Ski Guides: Spreading the Word About the Great Outdoors

Michael Barton may be a professional backcountry ski guide, but he considers it his job "to spread joy in the world"--and he'd like you to know that he takes that job seriously. His business, Mountain Goat Ski Guides, was founded on a vision that education should extend beyond the classroom, and that Mother Nature's awe-inspiring winter playground is the great place for kids and adults alike to explore themselves and the world around them.

Considering a visit to the Silverton, Colorado, area? Mountain Goat offers full-service, professional and insured backcountry ski guiding for individuals and groups, with permits that allow access some of the most majestic mountains in the San Juan Mountains and the experience to keep you safe in rugged territory. Or consider a custom course from Mountain Goat in backcountry skiing, snowshoeing, or snowboarding--or even ecology, snow science, climate change, and mountain travel.


Because Mountain Goat Ski Guides is a small business with a limited budget for marketing, their promotional strategy is built around their website, business cards, and--of course--their stickers. Mountain Goat stickers have proved a big hit with the company's clientele, especially their younger adventurers.


"Custom Sticker Makers' website was easy to use and my order came right away!" said Barton. You can check out the Mountain Goat Ski Guides blog at http://silvertonbackcountry.blogspot.com/

Wall Graphics: Repositionable Stickers Double as Wall Art

Around here at Custom Sticker Makers, we print plenty of big stickers for businesses interested in gaining a higher profile without the costs of traditional signage. We also do regular runs of stickers for artists interested in promoting their work. Which is why we've been so fascinated lately with the phenomenon of repositionable wall graphics.

These are large stickers--on average, between 1 and 5 feet square--that can be stuck directly on walls. They work without traditional adhesives, so they can be peeled off and re-stuck up to 100 times. While there are plenty of galleries of preexisting designs out there to choose from, you can also design your own wall graphics and have it printed, just like you would traditional stickers.

Repositionable wall graphics have clear applications for commercial settings, offering the power of large signage anywhere there's a wall--at convention centers, networking lunches, and board rooms, for example. The novelty and size of these items definitely captures attention, and will work in areas where banners and board signage won't.

They also present some great applications for artists, offering the scale of an original or giclee work in an easily-displayed, affordably-reproduced medium. The images you see here are two of our favorite examples from LTL Prints. The penguin is intended for kids' bedrooms, clearly designed for a commercial market, while the second, a delightful mash-up of painting, photo-sticker and peeled-off postal sticker, hails more from the world of street art.

Alternately, smaller-sized versions of your repositionable big sticker designs can be used as laptop stickers, built to spec.

Sponsorship Has its Rewards: New England Skateshop Riders "Skate Fresh & Ride Fly"

Kelly Craig and her son, Dylan, had an idea for a way to spend time together and help out with family finances: a one-of-a-kind online skateshop that would feature 100% skater-owned and local skateboard companies right alongside all the top names. The result was http://www.newenglandskate.com/, your online source for decks, trucks, wheels, longboards, accessories and more. Dylan's tagline? “Skate Fresh & Ride Fly!”

It's a family business in more ways than one, as there are now more than 675 skaters worldwide who are part of the NewEnglandSkate family. Sponsoring riders is a classic win-win marketing situation: it's a great way for the company to get the word out about all that amazing skategear they offer (which ships anywhere in the world), and a great way for riders to get discounts on all the gear they need. NewEnglandSkate helps to promote all levels of riders and features their skateboarding photos and videos on all of its social media and networking sites.

All of those sponsored riders, of course, need NewEnglandSkate stickers for their decks--as did all those skaters who turned out for The Dew Tour 2010 stop in Boston, Massachusetts, NewEnglandSkate world headquarters. To date, the company has given out over 600 custom stickers in three different styles at a variety of skating events.

"Custom Sticker Makers great prices and easy ordering were the key to making my decision," said Craig. "They print quality work, and if I have any issues with the design, I know I can call them and they will make it right for me. They are a company I can trust."

Blue Ocean Yachting: Stickers Seen 'Round the World

Yachting is the dream of many people from around the world. For Luke Hammond--who currently serves as the First Officer on a 171' yacht with a gloal itinerary--it's a way of life. His dream was to fill the need for a global yachting portal on the Worldwide Web with information, news and social networking opportunities serving the global maritime industry.

Towards that end, Hammond teamed up with a younger sibling, who happened to have a background in advertising and design. The website, Blue Ocean Yachting, which was launched Feb 2010, features breaking news on sport sailing, piracy, and famous boats spotted worldwide, among other things--along with social networking, information and resources for the jet set who sail the ocean blue. The business is virtual, but it's based (like so many great luxury yachts) out of Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Hammond's strategy for using custom stickers is simple: he makes sure they get placed in ports and destinations for yachting types all over the world, guerilla marketing style. As of now, you're likely to find stickers for Blue Ocean Yachting all over the Caribbean ports, including Sint Maarten, the British and US Virgin Islands; soon, you'll find them in ports all over Europe.

"Using Custom Sticker Makers was easy and cost effictive," said Hammond. "As well, the stickers came out just the way my artwork had shown them to be."

Learn more at http://www.blueoceanyacthing.com/

Prescott's "Go on Green" Mural, Supported by Custom Sticker Makers

By now, the Prescott, AZ, mural controversy has blown up to national (and even international) proportions.  What's the big flap about this mural, sponsored, in part, by Custom Sticker Makers? A series of remarks made by Prescott City Councilman Steve Blair concerning the "Go on Green" mural at Miller Valley Elementary School, which led the school board to ask the artists involved to "lighten" the faces of those depicted in the mural.

Call it a moment in time, an intersection with small town politics with state- and nation-wide trends (SB-1070, Tea Party, etc.). There's plenty to be said about Steve Blair's remarks concerning the depiction of a child he interpreted as being African-American (who is in fact Hispanic, based on an actual student at Miller Valley) and and plenty already has been.

All of which led to a protest attended by an estimated 500 Prescottonians at the site of the mural on Monday, June 11th, where representitives of the school board publicly apologized and recognized that asking the artists to change the mural was a mistake. It also led to Steve Blair being fired from local radio station KYCA for his on-air comments regarding the issue.

But the side of the story that has failed to reach the media is the reason for and intent behind the mural itself: "Go on Green," commissioned by Prescott Alternative Transportation, with funds from the state of Arizona's Department of Transportation, was created to help raise awareness about an issue of vital importance for Prescott: Safe Routes to Schools for kids.

Is getting to and from school (and around Prescott in general) an issue for local kids? Less than a month ago, on May 30th, the Prescott Daily Courier reports that two brothers (names undisclosed) were crossing a busy intersection at Willow Creek and Iron Springs Road, directly in front of Miller Valley School--one of whom, riding a scooter, was hit by a 82 year-old woman and dragged 30-40 feet before being airlifted to Flagstaff for treatment. His brother, 11, riding a bike, was treated and later released from Yavapai Regional Medical Center. A third boy was apparently uninjured.

"We fully support the Prescott Downtown Mural Project and we support the Go on Green Mural," said Custom Sticker Makers president Jeff Daverman. "Those reporting on the controversy need to look beyond the ignorant comments of a city councilmember and consider what this mural is really about. We need safe, green transportation options in Prescott--for our kids and everyone else, too."

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SB 1070 Sticker Wars! Part 2: Voices from the Right

There's been plenty of furor from all over the country about Arizona's new SB 1070 law. (In case you've been hiding under a rock somewhere, this legislation grants police officers the right to require individuals they suspect may be in this country illegally to provide identification.)

Clearly, however, there are those who support this law. Proponents of SB 1070 cite the serious strain being put on public services in the state of Arizona by the influx of illegal immigrants.The federal government estimates that Arizona has one of the fastest growing illegal immigrant populations in the country--nearly doubling from 330,000 in 2000 to 560,000 by 2008--comprising 8% of the adult population in the state at the time surveyed. As of 2007, the non-partisan Center for Immigration Studies estimated that illegal immigrants and their U.S.-born children comprised one-fifth of those in the state of Arizona living in poverty, one-third of those without health insurance, and one out of six students in the state’s schools.

There are those who see SB 1070 as necessary in the face of federal inaction on the subject of illegal immigration--as in, if the government won't deal with this problem (or provide the funds to address the issues associated with it) then there's nothing for the states most affected to do but take matters into their own hands.

What you see here are just a few of the sticker designs that have come through Custom Sticker Makers in recent months in favor of SB1070.

Glam Spoon: Refashioned Fashion Builds a Brand

Glam Spoon is a one-woman fashion phenomenon with a memorable tag: bohemian chic for women with tenacity.  The passion for fashion (i.e., “chic”) was what led Tina Witherspoon of Seattle to start creating unique clothing for herself and her customers; it was her choice of materials—handmade, repurposed and recycled—that gave her designs their bohemian flare. And it was tenacity that led her to take that creative outlet and turn it into a clothing line now featured at boutiques all over Seattle—and all over the country, too, via the wonders of Etsy.

Since 2005, Witherspoon has been creating one-of-a-kind statement pieces that utilize existing materials—from former prom dresses to t-shirts and scarves—with handmade couture embellishments. (She also offers a unique collection of repurposed and vintage housewares and accessories.) Glamspoon participates in Seattle events and design competitions like CRAVEgreen and Discarded to Divine and works closely with The Green Chair Project, a company 100% dedicated to recycling material of all kinds.

Witherspoon reports that she hadn’t really thought about branding, per se, until she found an image that she liked in the course of designing her 5" custom stickers. They  looked so great on her brown shopping bags that she decided to start using the image everywhere. (Including her Facebook Fan Page.)

Witherspoon reports that she chose Custom Sticker Makers after searching to “the ends of the web” for a simple design tool, reasonable prices and reasonable minimum quantities.  “It was a breeze to use,” she says, “and my designs are saved, so reordering is a snap.”

SB 1070 Sticker Wars! Part 1: Root Concepts Takes on Human Rights

There's been plenty in the news recently about Arizona's SB 1070 immigration law. The law--intended to aid police in identifying and charging illegal immigrants--allows law-enforcement officers to require anyone they might "reasonably suspect" of being in the US illegally to show identifying papers.

Opposition to this bill has been widespread, leading groups as diverse as the American Immigration Lawyers Association to many Major League Baseball teams to join the now near-viral call to boycott Arizona. The bill is believed by many to infringe on the human rights of the citizens of Arizona (and those of Hispanic descent in particular) while clearing the way for state-sanctioned racial profiling.

Of course, there are two sides to every issue--and any hotly contested political topic eventually winds up being debated on the nation's bumpers. Towards that end, our sister company, Root Concepts, recently weighed in on the law with a new design: Repeal SB 1070--Respect Human Rights!

The design incorporates elements of the Arizona state flag, playing on a similar, non-political sticker expressing state pride, common throughout AZ. This makes it a sticker with a clear message: I love Arizona, but I don't support SB 1070.

Root Concepts founder and CEO Jeff Daverman reports, on the Root Concepts blog, "As long time Arizona residents, we thought it especially important to lend our voice in opposition to this unAmerican, unconstitutional law. Our opposition to Arizona SB 1070 comes primarily from the belief that every day this law is enforced the human rights of individuals living in this country will be violated. We believe this law allows law enforcement and those who support it to look at human beings (even if they are 'illegals') in a disconnecting, dehumanizing way."
Interested in the other side of the debate? Stay tuned for our next post, SB 1070 Sticker Wars, Part 2: Voices from the Right.

NEWFLASH: Custom Sticker Makers Teams Up with Anything on Shirts for “One-Stop Shop” Custom Printing

Custom Sticker Makers and Anything on Shirts is pleased to announce a new joint venture: Custom Shirt Makers, a “one stop shop” on the Web offering customers custom garment printing on a wide variety of shirts, hats and more, as well as an online store when customers can sell their own garment designs online.

Custom Shirt Makers was conceived of as a natural extension of Custom Sticker Makers, which specializes in custom, full-color stickers. Now customers will be able to take the same designs uploaded for sticker printing and get them printed on a garment, as well. The Custom Shirt Makers website offers 135 different custom garment options, including organic cotton choices, short and long sleeve t-shirts, women's cut shirts, tanks, hoodie and zip sweatshirts, button down pocket and polo style shirts, infant/toddler/youth sizes, hats, and canvas bags, all at competitive prices.

Anything on Shirts is a custom garment printer that uses use modern direct-to-garment printing technology. Direct-to-garment is currently the most environmentally responsible way to print, utilizing only the ink necessary to render a high-quality image, without the screens, cleaners and solvents associated with screen-printing.

At the Custom Shirt Makers website, users can customize their desired garment with sizes and colors, and then add a stock logo or image already on file with Custom Sticker Makers, add text, or upload a new graphic file to be printed. Additionally, customers have the opportunity to create their own presence online selling their own custom garment designs through the Custom Shirt Makers store.

“We hope to further tap into our customers' creative side by offering all of these new choices to express and promote themselves,” said Custom Shirt Makers co-founder Jeff Daverman. He notes that the new store contains special custom design software for ease of use by those who may not otherwise have access to a graphic design program, and is accessible via a direct link from http://www.customstickermakers.com/, as well as at http://www.customshirtmakers.net/.
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Miss Wit Will Bring It: Smart Branding to a T

Miss Wit (a.k.a. Deborah Goldstein) seems to have a knack for, in her words, “hitting the zeitgeist on a whim and prayer.” It started back March of 2003, when she made a few shirts for friends with the simple statement: "And I want to thank Harvey Weinstein," as a joke. The shirt was on display for just one day in a Brooklyn boutique, but a reporter from The New York Observer happened to observe it. The shirt was subsequently featured on E! News Live, The New York Post and CNBC. Some wit, a good name and a domain, and thus was Miss Wit born.
There are a whole lot of smart and sassy t-shirt designs available through her website, but the best shirt the Brooklyn-based Ms. Goldstein has to offer may be your own. That’s right: her “underground branding brigade” stands ready to turn its quick wit and graphic skills to your business or nonprofit t-shirt design. (They’ll handle getting them printed, too.)

As connoisseurs of great branding, we’re big fans of Miss Wit. Anyone who has ever tried advertising on a t-shirt understands (or found out the hard way) that it’s not about slapping your logo on a shirt, it’s about making a shirt that people actually want to wear. By offering grassroots organizers and entrepreneurs the kind of creative services normally associated with the big, expensive halls of a professional advertising agency, Miss Wit offers smart branding for everyone.

As far as custom stickers go, Miss Wit includes them in every shipment, as well as on her bags at fairs, festivals and markets. And don’t tell anyone, but she also does a "stick up" whenever she can, be it on bathroom walls or street posts. She also reports that small children love her stickers so much they stick them directly on their faces.

Why Custom Sticker Makers, oh, Miss Wit? “So far,” said Goldstein, “price, quality and great timing!”