Busy Beaver’s on Instagram!
The Beaver gang has joined the world of Instagram! Follow us at @BusyBeaverButtonCo for an insider’s look at life in a button factory. Want to join the fun? Post with hashtag #buttonlove and share your button photos with the world!
Ladies of Beer
Sure, beer can have the reputation as a guy’s drink (think Homer Simpson), but as these examples from the Button Museum can attest, ladies and beer have a long history together. Clockwise from top right: 1. Valley Forge Beer button from the 1940′s/1950′s. The beer survived Prohibition and was brewed up into the 1980′s. 2....
Button Museum featured in The New Yorker
Readers of The New Yorker may have noticed a pinback button featured prominently in the April issue. The Busy Beaver Button Museum was honored to have a 1970′s women’s rights button from our collection featured in the header of Susan Faludi’s article, “Death of a Revolutionary,” about the life of activist Shulamith Firestone. Busy Beaver...
Historic Rectangle Examples from the Button Museum Collection
Last month’s introduction of our new 2×3″ rectangle size had us thinking about some of the interesting rectangle examples from The Button Museum. Rectangle buttons have been around for decades and used primarily used for advertising and promotions. Check out some of our favorite rectangles from the museum’s collection: 1. One of our favorite odd...
Design Inspiration: Type + Shadow
Looking through the Button Museum collection, there are buttons that speak clearly of their time and those that seem like they could’ve been made just yesterday. I came upon this pair of advertising buttons for Persil laundry detergent and Sanitol talcum powder and was struck by how much they fall into the latter category– both...
The Button Museum Roaring 20′s Collection
In anticipation of the release of the new movie version of The Great Gatsby this weekend, it seems that the 20′s are back. The Button Museum has plenty of buttons from the 1920s in it’s archives, including quite a few of the “roaring” variety– buttons that epitomize the bobbed hair, sexual freedom and fun-loving attitude that personified...
George W. Bush Paintings Make Great Buttons
Busy Beaver is always on the lookout for new and emerging talent to partner with for button making. When the news of George W. Bush’s skill as a painter leaked this spring, we knew that his work would be perfectly suited for buttons. According to Bush’s art teacher, the former president has painted “over 50...
Sandwich of Your Dreams
The introduction of our new 2×3″ rectangles has led to countless conversations and brainstorms about all manner of tall and wide things that would fit well on that size. Our favorite idea so far: an epic stacked sandwich. So, to illustrate the particular qualities of the 2×3″ vertical button, we present the Busy Beaver crew’s...
University of Delaware Buttons Up
Giving Joe Biden a run for his money as the best thing to come out of “the first state” lately, University of Delaware recently created this set of buttons to promote their social media efforts. The buttons feature the universities Blue Hen mascot, YoUDee, along with blue and yellow swag and the always important hashtag. Drew...
Pinback Project: And the winner is…
Congratulations to James Kelley, winner of the Pinback Project “The Tattooed Button” design contest. James, an aspiring tattoo apprentice in Wichita, Kansas, found out about Busy Beaver from a co-worker at JP Cruse Professional Tattooing who ordered buttons and spread the word around the shop about this month’s Pinback Project contest. James’ submission was selected from among...
Pinback Project: Last Day to Enter
Today’s the day, button designers! Entries for this month’s Pinback Project button design contest are being accepted until tonight at midnight. Send us you very best tattoo-inspired button design for a chance to win a whole slew of great prizes. Full details and entry form are here. Check out all the great submissions in our...
New Acquisitions to the Busy Beaver Button Museum – April 2013 Edition
The April auction additions to Busy Beaver Button Museum include 20th century-spanning examples of advertising, history and activism buttons. Check out the new additions– 1970′s advertising button for Tad’s menswear company. Apparently the naked lady gimmick was sort of their thing. Museum curator, Joel, thinks it could’ve been a precursor to Ryan O’Neal’s So Fine Jeans....
