Well, this week I decided to do a vinyl wrap on my silver F-150 and turn it into a flat black rugged beast!  It’s a good thing I enlisted the help of a good buddy, Bill Hennessy.  About 20 hours into the wrap I wondered what I got myself into.  Bill has wrapped a lot more vehicles that I have, so he kept me calm.

It started with the deconstruction of the truck – all trim, seals, bumpers, tail gate, bed, etc all needed to come off.  A lot of people that do wraps cheat the systems and do not disassemble vehicles like this ahead of time.  I wanted this to be completely seamless – and look like a professional paint job.

The material is really nice to work with.  A bit different than typical wrap material, but overall easy to work with.  We had about 50 hours total into the vehicle.  In the end, I am very happy with the final result.

Below are some photos of the project.

We started with the name. While they used to be formerly named “The Bogey Inn” – they became known to many as just “The Bogey.” Our recommendation was to slowly phase out the “Inn” and start re-branding as “The Bogey.” We developed a new logo to played off of some golf elements, but also was clear they were a restaurant and bar. Once the logo was developed, we immediately started producing new signage to let the audience know The Bogey is back and brand new.

After the signage was up and rolling, we got right on top of building a website and social media strategies to start promoting the new ownership.

We have also produced several print collateral pieces such as business cards, table tents, check fliers, menus, banners, and more.

Services provided:

• Logo/Branding
• website design
• web development
• e-commerce / merchant integration
• search engine optimization
• javascript applications
• apparel design
• email marketing
• ad campaign
• trade show graphics
• custom cut vinyl applications
• large format prints
• social media integration

After a successful first year, it’s time to launch our seasonal business again. This year we decided to turn the back of our offices into a retail shop.

To learn more about the Ugly Sweater Shoppe, check out our article in C Magazine.

Cary Smith
C Magazine

Nobody’s quite sure why or when the marriage of irritating itchy wool and holiday cheer coincided to create the first tacky and atrocious Christmas sweater, but it’s a tradition that’s lived on year after year. Like something from the mind of a deranged Martha Stewart type obsessed with Christmas, the idea of having an unavoidable giant felt Santa Claus plastered across your chest spreading holiday cheer to everyone seems like it might have gotten a little out of hand at some point. By accident, that sweater we all dreaded getting as a present, or the one we never wanted a family member to wear in public, has become an ironic holiday tradition in itself.

“The bigger the Christmas tree or Santa Claus the better, is what we’ve found people were looking for,” says Nate Strine, who opened the Ugly Sweater Shoppe along with Austin Sullivan last year. “Really just the more of anything Christmas related the better. Glitter doesn’t hurt either.”

In the back room of their design offices in New Albany, Strine and Sullivan have amassed an inventory of more than 700 of the uglier and tackier sweaters that could be found in the greater Columbus area. Racks are covered with red and green and reindeer, the stuff that ugly sweater party enthusiasts hope to find hidden in the crawl spaces of their grandparents’ houses. The racks read like an evolution of the ugly Christmas sweater: from the more traditional, to
the ’80s snow and school-inspired, up to the new brand of sweater that is made for the sole purpose of being ugly.

“When we started doing this, we went around and looked for some of the worst ones that we could find through the Internet and thrift stores,” says Strine. “Really, though, the best ones that we’ve gotten came from grandparents and moms of friends who have brought them by to help us out. I’m not even really sure where they find them.”

After being well received last year, the Ugly Sweater Shoppe is becoming a winter tradition for Strine and Sullivan, who are just trying to do their part to make everyone’s ugly sweater party filled with items grandma would sport.

For more information, go to www.uglysweatershoppe.com