Interview with DAVe TOO
Sticker origins, sticker trends, and sticker futures
DAVe TOO (Website, Instagram) has a sticker blog, check it out! We also interviewed each other, as two sticker connoisseurs.
1) What is your earliest sticker memory?
Dave: My earliest memory of stickers was getting stickers in packs of cards that came with these terribly dry, powdery, tasteless sticks of pink chewing gum. The wax packs (I think they were called) were from Star Wars, The Dukes of Hazzard, The A-Team, and various super heroes and came with several cards and a sticker. I’d put them all over my toy box, so I was an early sticker bomber I guess you could say.
Holly: My earliest sticker memory is picking out Sandylion stickers off the roll at a tiny local sticker shop and trading them with my friends. Sometimes I put them on my Barbies with a layer of clear nail polish to make "tattoos".
2) What trends are you seeing in stickers?
Dave: There seem to be a lot more people having their own sticker designs printed which I think is great. There are more sticker printers than ever which is also a good thing in my opinion. I also see a lot of social and political stickers lately. I think it’s great that people are voicing their opinions through stickers.
Holly: Some good trends I'm seeing in stickers are a lot of creativity and hyper-specific messages. I love the ones supporting labour movements, for example, and very local ones that only make sense to a fraction of the population.
Some not great trends too, there's a lot of theft online of people's designs. I think it's a grey area too when the content is, for example, a common internet meme or phrase in a publicly available font, because who really owns it? There is also the threat of AI, I'm not seeing it as much in stickers as I am on book covers (big reader) but I'm assuming it's coming.
3) What in your opinion makes for a great sticker?
Dave: In general, it’s a sticker that you have to have two of. One to stick on something and one to keep… forever. Specifically though, I’d say a good sticker design should have enough detail to draw you in but not so much that it gets lost because of its small size. And then the subject matter should resonate with an audience, unless, of course, you’re just making the sticker for your own satisfaction which is a perfectly fine reason to make a sticker.
Holly: I am also guilty of having two or more of the really special ones. I am a sucker for original art and lettering. Part holographic are awesome, even though they are a pain to photograph. Words that are at least big enough to read without squinting!
4) How, if at all, do you think stickers are culturally relevant in a lasting way?
Dave: Stickers, like any medium, have their place in culture but sometimes it isn’t clear how they fit in or play a role until one looks back historically on their influence. But I would say that as far as stickers go, they’re harder to censor than online mediums and for that reason they’re a more accessible and democratic medium than things like social media.
Holly: Same, I think we won’t know until we look back from the future.
5) What do you have coming up next regarding stickers?
Dave: One thing I’m excited about is that I’m helping to bring back into circulation a sticker design by Shepard Fairey (OBEY Giant) that’s been out of print since about 1998. It will be available through a partnership with OBEY (obeygiant.com) and Sticker Robot (stickerobot.com) on my blog for the cost of postage at stickerdave.com.
Another thing I’m working on is a sticker-centric art exhibit, SLAPTOWN, I’m helping bring together in Indianapolis this summer. It will feature stickers and sticker-centric art pieces from more than 500 international artists. SLAPTOWN.com
Holly: I am going to keep writing my free newsletter as long as I'm having fun, and continue to share my collection with friends and family and sometimes strangers. I’ve stopped a few kids from crying on planes! Sometimes I want to design my own stickers, but right now I’m happy supporting local artists.
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