Button-O-Matic!
I've been a button fanatic from the get-go. When I was younger I strung the textile buttons I'd get at flea markets into necklaces using the red and white string that ties cake boxes. Those that didn't make the necklace or were waiting for string to become available were named and then moved into the apartment complex that was actually a piece of packing styrofoam with different levels for the garage and pool. It's not that we were poor, I was just really creative. (And, well.....) The only one I really remeber was a white-with-brown-spot shank button named Cigarette. (God, this is so embarassing to admit thank God nobody's reading this yet.) Now that I think about it, maybe there was something else in city tap water besides flouride in those days. Maybe there's something in the white stuff that rose to the top of a glass of tap water. Maybe that's why we weren't allowed to drink the water until it "settled."
By the time I hit junior high buttons with holes were left to clothes and pinbacks were all the rage. I had these large motion buttons that had different pictures when you held them at different angles on my denim jacket (with shoulder pads, of course. I also bought studs and metal collar tips) and buttons with sayings--Youth is that brief period just prior to reality; I gave up bowling for sex, the balls are lighter and you don't change shoes. (I was in a youth group that went bowling.)
At some point these evolved into band logo buttons. I had a messenger-style bag that I used up until the last time my back went out and had buttons all over the front flap. The problem with this was that not only did total strangers feel the need to read every one of them in the elevator and tell me about the buttons they used to have when they were my age, I lost 2. The Donnas' Skintight logo and the Kung Fu Monkeys. Somehow, I was able to get in touch with the Kung Fu Monkeys and get a replacement but that had a different saying. The next problem was storage. First it was cloth napkins but those got too heavy, plus pins fell off. So I have 3 display frames from The Container Store and a line of pins on my desk waiting for me to get around to laying out the money I don't have.
Hey, like I said, I've been a button fanatic from the get-go. I always get buttons from bands that I've seen and like, like a little souvenier from the show. I may not be able to afford a CD (or I already have it) so I'm all about the pins and stickers. And if they don't have pins at the show I'm always on Interpunk buying, like, 3 at a time and sometimes from a band I haven't seen in a while or that I already have a pin for just so I'm not putting $2 and shipping on my credit card. I forgot which band I was looking for that didn't have pins on Interpunk that yielded Pinstand. I linked to them even though they're kinda the mack daddy of pins. Run by Joly of Punkcast and Death Disco fame, they take fan requests and have a comprehensive band roster. Haven't tried it yet because I don't know if that's extra money. And it's not like they're fly-by-nighters. I should link to 986 Disposable, even though they're primarily H/C, but they make magnets.
Last week I was reading The Onion and the ad for Busy Beaver Button Co. caught my eye. (See, there is a point to all this.) I checked them out, thinking Scott could use the info for his new band. Turns out I was getting way ahead of myself, but Busy Beaver has something called So and So's Button-o-Matic. For just 50 cents, you can get a pin from their vending machine button gallery. There's supposedly vending machines at 55DSL in Union Square and Diesel on 60th. Not wanting any of you guys to wander into a Diesel store unnecessarily, I checked into this. The store has a DJ and a listening station with an Interpol CD in the display but no Button-O-Matic. We need more Button-o-Matics. There IS one at Miniminimarket at 218 Bedford. So if you're tired of going to boutiques and not being able to afford anything, head to Miniminimarket and get a button. If it's been a while since you've found happiness in a weeble, head to Miniminimarket. And be sure to post what you got. As the song goes, Happiness runs in a circular motion.
By the time I hit junior high buttons with holes were left to clothes and pinbacks were all the rage. I had these large motion buttons that had different pictures when you held them at different angles on my denim jacket (with shoulder pads, of course. I also bought studs and metal collar tips) and buttons with sayings--Youth is that brief period just prior to reality; I gave up bowling for sex, the balls are lighter and you don't change shoes. (I was in a youth group that went bowling.)
At some point these evolved into band logo buttons. I had a messenger-style bag that I used up until the last time my back went out and had buttons all over the front flap. The problem with this was that not only did total strangers feel the need to read every one of them in the elevator and tell me about the buttons they used to have when they were my age, I lost 2. The Donnas' Skintight logo and the Kung Fu Monkeys. Somehow, I was able to get in touch with the Kung Fu Monkeys and get a replacement but that had a different saying. The next problem was storage. First it was cloth napkins but those got too heavy, plus pins fell off. So I have 3 display frames from The Container Store and a line of pins on my desk waiting for me to get around to laying out the money I don't have.
Hey, like I said, I've been a button fanatic from the get-go. I always get buttons from bands that I've seen and like, like a little souvenier from the show. I may not be able to afford a CD (or I already have it) so I'm all about the pins and stickers. And if they don't have pins at the show I'm always on Interpunk buying, like, 3 at a time and sometimes from a band I haven't seen in a while or that I already have a pin for just so I'm not putting $2 and shipping on my credit card. I forgot which band I was looking for that didn't have pins on Interpunk that yielded Pinstand. I linked to them even though they're kinda the mack daddy of pins. Run by Joly of Punkcast and Death Disco fame, they take fan requests and have a comprehensive band roster. Haven't tried it yet because I don't know if that's extra money. And it's not like they're fly-by-nighters. I should link to 986 Disposable, even though they're primarily H/C, but they make magnets.
Last week I was reading The Onion and the ad for Busy Beaver Button Co. caught my eye. (See, there is a point to all this.) I checked them out, thinking Scott could use the info for his new band. Turns out I was getting way ahead of myself, but Busy Beaver has something called So and So's Button-o-Matic. For just 50 cents, you can get a pin from their vending machine button gallery. There's supposedly vending machines at 55DSL in Union Square and Diesel on 60th. Not wanting any of you guys to wander into a Diesel store unnecessarily, I checked into this. The store has a DJ and a listening station with an Interpol CD in the display but no Button-O-Matic. We need more Button-o-Matics. There IS one at Miniminimarket at 218 Bedford. So if you're tired of going to boutiques and not being able to afford anything, head to Miniminimarket and get a button. If it's been a while since you've found happiness in a weeble, head to Miniminimarket. And be sure to post what you got. As the song goes, Happiness runs in a circular motion.
posted by heather @ 10:14 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home