Barack Obama’s Official Button Supplier
Buttons can be big business - just ask Tigereye Design. The company is based in Greenville, Ohio and is the main supplier of buttons, yard signs, posters, t-shirts, etc. for Barack Obama’s campaign. How much is that contract worth? Over $6 million and counting.
There is a very intersting article in the Dayton Daily News that profiles this company. For example…
Tigereye had 30 employees when it began the Obama contract in February 2007; now it has 175 workers and Hemminger expects to add 30 more.
The first time we covered this company on this blog was when they made a snafu making an Obama button with a Larry Craig picture on it. But, when you are making that many buttons, your bound to make a few mistakes.
Barack Obama Button Templates
If you would like to use your button machine to make Barack Obama buttons, there are several websites that have templates and graphics ready to be printed out.
A website called Buttons4Obama has a lot of resources available.
Chris Cox over at Change the Thought has several different designs available for download.
Over at Mercer County for Obama, they have button templates available in 2.25″, 1.75″, and 1.25″.
If you have some templates for download, let us know.
Buttons on Display at New York Museum
The Museum of the City of New York has an exhibit through election day that features political buttons and a variety of other political memorabilia. Campaigning for President: New York and the American Election opened on June 24 and has buttons, oil lamps, a George Washington coat button, and more.
New York Museum Features Campaign Memorabilia in Exhibit Through Election Day - Fox News
APIC National Convention
Today is the last day of the 2008 American Political Items Collectors National Convention in Las Vegas.
The New York Times wrote an interesting story about the event and some of the people that attend it. Buttons are not the only political memorabilia collected - you have a Mike Huckabee guitar pick and even a Hillary Clinton change purse.
There is also slideshow of the event available from The New York Times.
Oktoberfest Button
Okbtoberfest in La Crosse, Wisconsin is in its 48th year. The event is a German tradition. The button for the was recently revealed.
The button was designed by Dana Moe, a graphic design student at Western Technical College. Dana is pictured with the winning entry. That may be largest picture of a button I’ve ever seen.
Oktoberfest Button Design Unveiled - WKBT.com
Oktoberfest Button - Official Oktoberfest Website
Button Packaging - Part 1
Every now and then I will post pictures of button packaging. If you have packaging you think should be featured, please let us know.
From WildOlive
From Button Kings
From melissahead designs
Barack Obama / Larry Craig Button Snafu
A button maker in Idaho mistakenly put a picture of Barack Obama and Larry Craig on the same button. You may remember Larry Craig as the Republican U.S. Senator from Idaho who was arrested in airport bathroom for lewd conduct.
Tigereye Design accidently put Craig in the picture instead of Larry LaRocco, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Idaho. Craig is not seeking re-election.
Change Obama can’t believe in; he’s on a ticket with Larry Craig - LA Times
Obama Buttons Outsell McCain Buttons
Obama trounces McCain … in sales of T-shirts, badges, caps - Breitbart
The article above takes a look at merchandise sales for Barack Obama and John McCain. Obama merchandise is much more popular than McCain merchandise. Last week at a popular website, McCain barely beat out Hillary Clinton in merchandise sales.
If you make political buttons, you’re probably already aware of the popularity of Obama buttons. It’s interesting to see a news article written about the discrepancy.
What Should Obama Wear?
Early in the presidential race, Barak Obama caught some heat for not wearing an American flag lapel pin on his suit.
Over at The New York Times, Steven Heller asks a few designers what Barak Obama should wear on his suit instead of an American flag pin. There are some interesting suggestions - such as an Abraham Lincoln lapel, lots of lapels, and more.
The buttons below were submitted by illustrator Oliver Munday.
Button Packaging
If you sell buttons in a retail store (or are thinking about it), you’ll probably need packaging for your buttons.
A company called Pure Buttons offers custom button packaging. The company offers five different types of packaging. They’ve been doing packaging for over three years.
