OH YES...mostly GB personnel and "anglo-philes" would probably get that joke. We have a British exchange officer working in my building (he is SO funny!) who uses that term all the time.

When you say, "thanks Todd," you mean....? And for making personalized badges? I want to see if I can get one of the really strong ones (like CooperFlags strong) with "Warning, Driver Waves at other MINIs."

 

Todd is the owner of Motoringbadges.com. I was thinking him, not only for creating some cool badges, but for a small, completely unexpected 'hook-up' he gave me with an extra badge.

Ed watches this thread. You never know if there might be one added to his inventory. If not, I think he does custom badges (with a minimum quantity).

 

I have to say that the CooperFlags badges are some of the best I've seen. Even the designs on some of the old favorites ("Actual Size", for example) seem to pop out at you. The NAM Alliance badge was just as strong. Is anyone else making them that thick? They seem to be something like 40-50mil thick.

 

At MTTS in Miami they were saying that one of those badges was available exclusively at MTTS. But you were able to order both those off the site?

 

Yep. I got an email from Todd saying they were available. Since it's on his site, I figured it wasn't a big secret. I hope I didn't spill any beans.


EDIT:
Now NOT BOTH MTTS badges are on his site. The one on the bottom right is probably what you/they were talking about-and wasn't actually ordered by me. I think I either got a cool hook-up from Todd or a mistake in order fulfillment. I'd like to think I got a hook-up.

 

Well, I almost bought one for you because I thought you wouldn't be getting one otherwise. Then someone told me you're going to Chicago so I didn't get you one. Glad you got one!

 

Thanks for thinking of me, Jack. Was that you talking to Sue about me? She posted on the local board that somebody was asking her about me.

You are correct. I will be going to the owners party in Chicago and maybe the the kick-off of the rally the next morning. Unfortunately, I'll be without MINI and actually on vacation with the family, so getting away for the whole weekend is pushing it.

 

Sorry to say I don't remember her name (I talked to A LOT of people) but I remembered they were from Texas and that's why I asked. Hope you have fun! Sure would have been cool if they had different grill badges for each city!

 

Ed does great work. I had him make up a "personal" badge for me. I had an idea that I thought was cool and he and Craig (COOPERation) agreed to help. You see, I'm also the President of my local Rotary Club. When someone from one club visits another, they bring along a flag to trade from home. It's kinda corny, but it can be lots of fun when you travel. So, I had an idea to make up my own badge that I could take along on trips to give to friends I visit. If it ever catches on, people could all have their own badges and trade to have collections of their friends' badges. Ed charged a $15 setup fee and then it was $9 per badge for 9 or $6 each for 18. Here's my new badge:

Wellington is still on the boat, so the badge is on the fridge!

 

BADGE TRADING IS AN AWESOME IDEA! I was actually thinking about having some dickdavid badges made to hand out to anybody who asks me for one. A trade would be even better.

Something similar to this:

 

Those are awesome badges... I just ordered the Union Jack Stig myself.

About the MTTS badges, we are going to the LA event and this will be our first event. Do they sell the the badges there? Will there be different badges that can only be bought at the event?

I would rather get one there, to make it seem more authentic, etc. Almost like buying a concert shirt at the show you were at instead of just buying it in a store afterwars.

 

They were for sale at the White Roof Radio tent, along with some of Todd's more popular designs. They sold out of all the badges they had on the first day and ended up getting more for Sunday. I would not procrastinate (like I did on Saturday) if you want the MTTS badge from the event.

 

Thanks MINI Bee!

I'll make sure to have extra money to buy badges. I was going to place an order, but I'll just wait until I get there. I told my husband the first thing we are going to do is find that tent and buy up. I'm sure he's thrilled.

 

My wife just rolls her eyes every time I show her a new badge. I keep reminding her that it's a better hobby than booze and hookers... well, at least hookers.

 

That's what I tell my dad when I show him a new part for my cars and he just gives me a weird look.

 

So, get your order in to Ed!

 

Oh, I didn't realize you had to make choices...

 

When my husband jokes that it's always about the Mini, I tell him it's better than heroin.

 

My next badge from CooperFlags:

 

What about your personalized one?

 

I really like your idea of doing badge trading. I just need to sit down and figure out the best way to get as many folks involved as possible. On top of that, I'd like to make my badge one that is 'tradable' enough for folks.

I've talked to Ed and he might work out some sort of special pricing for 'bulk' buys to give folks inventory to trade. I wonder if other vendors would do the same? There will probably be a need for design services for folks who want to trade badges but don't have one.

After all the details are worked out, I'd like to start a different thread specifically discussing badge trading.

 

I'd be interested in seeing the cheapest places that can supply 30+ mil badges for personal designs. I have a bunch I've printed out on 20 mil Avery magnetic ink jet paper that stay on nicely with the rear mounted badge holder and are extremely cheap to produce (<$1 per badge). But it would be nice to produce something a little sturdier.

 

Well, DickDavid certainly seems to be a connoisseur! I think the CooperFlags size/weight are good stuff. Don't know about the customizing, though...

I've gone a little nuts with them lately - I know I've said it before, but I feel like a kid in the '80s collecting pins for my jean jacket!!

 

More like an addict.

I think Cooper flags has a minimum order of 18. I'm not sure of the pricing or if there's any set up fee. Maybe if enough folks ask, they can do a discount on the custom badges.

The great thing about a badge trade would be the fact that you could turn 17 of those badges into 17 different badges (assuming enough folks do it).

 

I think a $10/badge price was going around before for these custom orders, which is not quite down to the $7/badge we see from most vendors, CooperFlags included. I'm wondering what quantities we need to bring the cost down to something like $8. If they are going to use that nice thick magnetic material, I'd definitely be in for this just to trade.