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MAY 2017
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THINK
Busy Beave r
O
ne peek at Chicago, Illinois-
based supplier Busy Beaver
Buttons’s (PPAI 230145) website
and you instantly know this
supplier has an extra edge.The
friendly, charming retro design
is refreshingly fun and inviting.
One pull-downmenu shows the
company’s cartoon character
beaver mascot instructing visitors
to “Hop on the Busy Beaver
Bandwagon!”When you click
on the ‘Contact’ link, the beaver
appears again to say: “We’re here
for You! Let’s talk. Give us a ring.
Shoot us an email, or drop on by
for a visit.”
Who wouldn’t want to take
them up on their offer? It’s easy
to imagine that stepping into
their headquarters in Chicago’s
Logan Square would be like
stopping by an old friend’s house.
Christen Carter, the woman
who created this cheery company,
found her calling while on a work-
study semester in Londonwhile
earning her comparative literature
and filmdegree. “Buttons hadn’t
been popular in the U.S. since I was
a kid, but I noticed they were still a
thing withmy friends in London,”
says Carter. “They never really
went away.”
Carter returned to Indiana
University inBloomington after the
semester was over and resumed
classes, with the idea of starting
her own button company. “My
friend,Mark Pawson, an artist who’s
beenmaking buttons for a long
time, offered to showme how to get
started.”When one organization
she contacted said that if she
started a button company, they
would order fromher, shewas
off and running. She started the
company in 1995, the same year
she graduated fromcollege.
She contacted an artist whose
work she admired, Archer Prewitt,
and said, “Hey, I’m starting this
button company. Would you be
interested in drawing a character
for it?” He ended up drawing the
company’s logo in exchange for
300 buttons and still occasionally
contributes designs.
The name of the company
evolved over its first year in
business. “The original name of
the company wasThe Little One-
Inch Button Company, but in 1996
I renamed it Busy Beaver Buttons
because I knew I wanted to do
more than just one-inch buttons
at some point,” Carter says. “The
name came froman old children’s
bookmymomhad, called
Busy
Beavers
, which was about these
very industrious beavers. Plus, I
thought it was funny.”
From the beginning, the
company has always had a
commitment to U.S.-made
products and to the environment.
“It’s important for the whole
country’s economy,” Carter says.
“All of our supplies aremade in the
USA [the company uses steel from
Gary, Indiana, machinery and
paper fromWisconsin, and paper
fromFrench Paper Company in
Niles, Michigan] whichmakes it
easier when dealing with issues
or short turnaround. We want the
control tomake quality products
as quickly as our customer needs
themand our local suppliers help
us do that.”
One of the company’s core
Busy Beaver
Button Co.
preserves the
past and protects
the planet
while making
pin-backed
masterpieces
and more.
by
Julie Richie
A Nod To Nostalgia
Busy Beaver Buttons
Company owner Christen
Carter poses in front of
some buttons on display
in the world’s only button
museum housed in the
company’s headquarters.