A Few for the Q®

Concepts, copywriting, illustration, design • AUTO AIR FRESHENERS • GUM • TEMP TATS • STICKERS • MAGNETS • Client: self-proclaimed merchandising anarchists‚ Blue Q. Distributed across the US.

Fully functional CAR AIR FRESHENERS. Its about time those PINE TREE air fresheners got a refresh. Leave it to Blue Q. The VIRTUAL FUZZY DICE® air freshener advertised a virtual scent, and I got Blue Q to get the factory to run this one without any scent. This is the one that hangs in my ride cuz my car don’t stink! Speaking of… If you scroll all the way down you’ll find the MUD FLAP LADY ONLINE® & The MY SHIT REALLY DON”T STINK® air fresheners. MY SHIT® has a back-side design with a boy flipping the bird and projectile pooping– likely a first in most retails shops around the country. I”m particularly proud of my puns per product quotient on MUD FLAP LADY®. DISCLAIMER: the PIMPS-n-HO’s® concept was my wife Sarah Sockit’s (“Cops Cops by day, Pimps n Ho”s by night!”)

Blue Q’s TEMPORARY TATTOOS My goal was to create tats for acreage on the body rarely harvested for ink: the belly. Sure, Tupac’s belly tat did start a revolution near the belly button, but strictly for the wanna-be gangsta set. The I’VE GOT WORLD PEACE IN MY PANTS® temp tat set offers everyone the opportunity to tuck some good vibes into their pants. • BELLY SUCKERS® Turns out kids really dig a Thirsty Pirate hoisting a bottle of rum to their navel.

CHICKLET STYLE CHEWING GUM box designs and concepts • The HUMPY PUPPY GUM originated as a gag I mocked-up and included with a design idea for HAPPY PUPPY GUM. Blue Q, being Blue Q, ditched HAPPY PUPPY and put HUMPY PUPPY into production. They even expanded on the idea with a HUMPY PUPPY fridge magnet set.

BLUE Q is the undisputed king of smart, creative and conscientious packaged products. Not only have they pushed the outer limits of what the general public and the owners of mom and pop gift stores nationwide once perceived to be inappropriate or offensive to display but they’ve singlehandedly deflated the power of the word f**k by having it adorn cute socks and oven mitts– available in nearly every store in the USofA. They also personally fly to China to ensure that factories they work with are on the up and up.

Once the demand for Vinnie’s Tampon Cases overwhelmed my network of local NYC/Brooklyn fabric distributors, screen printers and sewers I was fortunate to be able to partner with Blue Q. Our like-minded world view made us fast friends. From this friendship they invited me to take a crack at designing new products Blue Q develops at their typical breakneck pace. Blue Q was founded by two brothers, Seth and Mitch Nash and operates out of Pittsfield, Mass. The brothers were famous in the 80’s as the original drummers for legendary local Boston band, The Pixies. During live shows the brothers took turns on the kit but eventually quit the band after a renowned on-stage fight with The Ramones at The Rat in Boston (photo below). Mitch still contends that Joey swung first.