It's just a printed vinyl stuck onto a round magnet...

 

Here's a message of mine from earlier in the thread. It's a place that sells car magnet kits. They recommend that you use an Epson Photo printer or one that uses waterproof inks. It would also be a good idea to get cold laminating sheets from the office supply store to put over them. I haven't tried it yet, but I intend to soon.

 

OK, they are using 15mil magnetic material. If laminating on top of all that then I can just put a sticker on there and use non-film magnetic material. Google has a ton of links if you look for "waterproof magnetic 15mil":
http://www.google.com/search?q=magne...mil+waterproof

And this site lists that 15mil magnetic material (5 sheets for $17.99, probably 6 badges per sheet.) and the UV lamination spray coating.
http://www.texascraft.com/hps/produc...cat=270&page=1

So for the $35 I spent I could have gotten the above and made 5 times that many badges. My kid does graphic arts and is a whiz with photoshop, so I'm going to see about locally sourcing a few of these today just to see how they come out.


I think these can be more successful if we do them as limited runs and put them up somewhere like Ebay as a multiple item auction with a buy-it-now price, and it will be obvious that there are no more available at that time.

 

First attempt can be seen at http://www.shokk.com/blog/articles/2...grille-badges/

 

Wow those are awesome!! Can I buy some from you?

 

Those look pretty cool! Very clean graphics.

You're probably going to need to find a better circle cutter .

 

Yeah, the circles were done quick and dirty with a pair of meat cutting scissors I found in the drawer. As for selling these, a few are trademark symbols that I would not have permission to reproduce, and others were just plain lifted from Google images. Each pictures is a 224 x 224 pixel image and arranged in the sheet with Photoshop at 75 pixles/inch. Up close you can see the pixelation, but on the grille they look nice.

Once I have something more original to offer I would consider selling some. I have to see what the thicker magnetic material will cost. They feel really light, and although they stick to the grille holder, they seem like they will slip off. I'll know tonight after having put another 100 miles of work miles on the mini. Then I'll want to send a few samples out to some of the people I've seen here with the bigger collections so they can compare and give me an idea of the quality - I've never held one of the real badges since my order never came through.

 

I just received my order from Kewl Auto Art. Their badges are very nice and professional looking (some of my others look a bit ragged on the edges). Also, I got an immediate response to my email and they shipped quickly. What more can I ask? Oh, maybe more designs.

This DIY idea is very intriguing!!!!

Shokk, those look good for a first attempt. I think you really have something with the wavy flag badges.

 

Thanks for the pointer to Kewl Auto Art. I love the idea of the badges, so I'm going to order a bunch anyway, since their designs look awesome.

I tested my badges on the commute today and it stayed on without sliding or budging, so I did a new set of designs tonight. I'll pop by the craft store this weekend to see about getting a circle cutter to make it a little more professional looking.

 

2nd batch of designs is up. And, of course, I'll take any suggestions and critiques.

 

I want the American Flag badge and the British flag badge. LOL

 

As a follow up question...

Has anyone had good or bad experiences recently ordering items OTHER than badges from MiniSwag/MotoringSwag? I really want a set of eyes (contacts), but with all of the badge problems, not sure if I should...

Or, maybe another source for the eyes?

 

you could try http://www.rogueminis.com/3.html some of my other Cannucks used them and liked them...

now they did have a fire that destroyed their equipment.. I think it was them, so contact them and see where they are at in production, they may only have left over stock...

I got mine from them I think at the Dragon my first year.

 

Good call! I forgot that she does them as well.

+1

 

I've ordered both badges and eyes from MotorSwag with no issues, and that was during this time period that people are complaining about. I'm not sure why some people are having no problems and some people are waiting months and months. Seems odd. But my eyes order took maybe a week, and my badges took maybe 2 weeks.

 

Maybe he just likes you. LOL

 

Maybe we can all order them to your address and then you can distribute them.

 

Haha. I wish there weren't such issues...they have really good looking products

I haven't seen any of their badges in person, but www.americanminimates.com just added some new ones and has some good designs. Might be worth checking out

 

Thanks for the link, noles825. I'm glad to patronize any establishment that can actually deliver.

 

I ordered the "Eyes" nearly 6 weeks ago and have yet to receive them. Communication is extremely limited and it appears that others have had the same experience. The latest response is below and I received a shipping notice that they were supposed to have arrived 11/14 UPS. The notice does not provide any details on tracking at the UPS site. I have asked Jeff several times to resolve this and have warned that I would start to pursue alternative methods if I did not receive my order. He will not respond to the fact that they still have not arrived. This is the first step...

11/8/07
Jamie,
Your order arrived yesterday and will ship today. Very sorry for the delay. Cool Blue is tough to match and I went through 3 versions before they came out right.
Thanks for your patience.

On Nov 7, 2007 5:35 AM, Jamie2btru @ North American Motoring
I have tried to contact you many times by e-mail and phone. I ordered my outside Cool Blue Eyes over a month ago and when you finally responded, you said they were overlooked. These Eyes were ordered especially for a trip that I am leaving on this weekend with a Mini Cooper Club. You asked when I needed them and I told you by Wednesday so I would have time to hopefully get them installed. NO RESPONSE. It looks like you have a history that is not always favorable. I need these Eyes absolutely no later than tomorrow. I would hope that you would want happy customers so please make arrangements to have these to me by tomorrow. I am in the process of reviewing various groups/posts for additional means to contact you so please respond right away.

Jamie
jamie2btru@***.net

 

Jeff,

UPS says that the package has never been shipped. I expect to receive my order (of the highest quality) by Monday. If you have to overnight to accomplish this then do so. You are dishonest and deceitful. Honesty in additional delays would have at least given me insight into an attempted honest transaction but you failed to do so. If I do not receive these by Monday, I will be contacting the Better Business Bureau with the history of transactions and correspondence. And will take further action if necessary.

Your shipping notice says it has been SHIPPED and UPS confirmed it is NOT TRUE.

"There is an update regarding your motorswag.com order.


Thanks for shopping at MINIswag and please don't forget to complete our customer Yahoo! rating form..it's the only way we know how we're doing and how we can improve.

The following items have been shipped to:"

You have what appears to be a line of fine products with limited competition. It is unbelievable that you would subject your business to this degree of customer dissatisfaction as is already noted by others on the Internet.


Jamie ______

 

Yes, it's been a tangled year...again... but I'm on track to getting back up to speed. I've shipped a lot of orders over the past several weeks that were overdue, which has made new orders become delayed. There have been other production delays as some vendors are also running behind their usual 2-3 day turnound. Some have gone to several weeks.

Anyone who is in the Los Angeles area and would like to become a temporary employee of motorswag ( and would like to help me dig out of this ditch)-- has retail experience and some degree of dexterity and/or Adobe Illustrator, art production, screen printing, embroidery, or just customer service experience is welcome to contact me via email. Please no PMs..motorswag@gmail.com

Here is the text of an email (below) and my response from this morning. Reall doing all that I can here. I know communication has been shoddy at best. Should be resolved within the next week to 10 days. This is a deadline I plan to meet although past deadlines have escaped me.

Thanks for your understanding. I've been updating Mark Ferguson and CCin him on some of my reply emails. I was the first Independent MINI apparel company. I truly intend to restore my reputation as being the best.

Cheers,

Jeff de la Rosa


<<<Re: Warning - Will be contacting the Better Business Bureau MondayInbox


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JamieJeff, UPS says that the package has never been shipped. I expect to receive m...
5:41 AM (1 hour ago)











Jeffrey delaRosa to jamie2btru
show details 6:46 AM (30 minutes ago)
Reply



Jamie,

I'm sorry that you are so angry about this purchase. I have been very behind, yes. Very behind. Others have been waiting much , much longer for their purchase . Some are more angry than you , but many are very understanding.

Yes, communication has been spotty or worse from me. I literally have over one hundred packages needing to be processed, badges assembled and shipped. I have help here but they need supervision as this is a company I built from scratch and it's difficult for others to understand the intricacies of production., even though they want to help.

I printed the UPS label and packaged your order when I said I did. for Nov. 14 delivery.

I literally have not been able to get away from work when UPS is open and there are no pick-ups for ground packages. Disney has begun a policy where we cannot use the mail room for personal shipments anymore, which was helping for awhile.

The most recent delays have been due to personal exhaustion. I am working on the TV show "Brothers & Sisters" which is my main source of income. As you may have heard, the Writers Guild has gone on strike causing major havoc in my industry.

My job that would have gone until May 08 will now end in a few days with no start up date in sight. We would have started up again in July 08, but like many shows , mine is under consideration to be postponed indefinitely ---even if the writers and producers come to an agreement.

We have been working (on the show) incredibly long days for many weeks --sometimes as long as 16 hours--to get our shows done. There have been injuries, illnesses and even 1 nervous breakdown on our crew because we are under so much stress.

Since I am the head of the lighting dept. (my boss left to go on to a movie in order to stay employed to support his family) --I am managing 4 stages, multiple shooting crews and hundreds pieces of lighting equipment, just trying to keep it together. We are now out of scripts and must shut down. on December 9.

I am going into the stages today to work on Motor Swag in the office while my rigging crew completes a last minute set.

I will get your package to UPS before Monday. It is now 3 days past your scheduled delivery date. I hope you can wait a few days longer before carrying out your threat to tarnish my already bruised business reputation. MotorSwag will be my sole source in come for the next several months and I'm hoping to have a successful holiday sales season.

[SIZE=2]Please post my reply in your thread with your tracking number, so that others may see it's progress. Or send me a link to where you have posted this message.[/SIZE]

Thank you for your continued understanding. The good news is that I'll have nothing to do but work on MotorSwag for the foreseeable future. The Actors are set to strike in June. Should be a great 2008. Many workers in the industry will lose there homes. We trying to pull together and tough it out.

Many thanks. Hope your holiday are happy and prosperous.

Jeff>>>

 

If anyone knows of other threads like this pertaining to me, would you please repost my previous message in those threads?

Thanks

Jeff

 

I ordered a Christmas Wreath badge from American Mini Mates. I ordered it on November 12th and it arrived on the 16th. They also answer their emails quickly. Just thought I'd let you guys know that they seem to have excellent customer service.

 

Are these vendors running 3 months behind their "usual 2-3 day turnaround"? I ordered from you and PAID you 3 months ago and I still have not received my badges. Now I read here that people who have ordered fairly recently have received their orders or are due to receive them very soon.

What about mine? When will I get my order that I PAID for 3 months ago?

Matt Breneman - Order placed 8/18/2007 (I can provide you with a copy of the order in case you have lost it)