Fall in Bellingham means it’s time for DOCTOBER – Pickford Cinema’s month-long Documentary series. FLIR Creative is proud to be sponsoring the movie Art & Copy running October 23 & 24.

Art & Copy profiles some of the most successful and memorable ad campaigns of all time as well as candid interviews with the creative minds behind them. Kenneth Turan of the LA Times said “They are both subversives and establishmentarians, salesmen and entertainers, people who believe they are in the most exciting business on Earth. They are the giants of modern advertising, and they have some alluring tales to tell.”

Check out the trailer below, and we’ll see you at the Pickford later this month.

Visit the movie site.
Visit the Pickford Cinema page for this movie.
Learn more about the Pickford Cinema’s month-long DOCTOBER event.

The Bellingham Public Library opened its first new branch since 1924 and it’s right next door to our office. Photos from the ribbon cutting ceremony are below and here’s a link to the Herald article.

Below is the just completed Art Walk identity and poster series – the latest in an series of projects we’ve been working on with Downtown Renaissance.

Update 1: A peak at the ad in the September 3 issue of Cascadia Weekly:

Update 2: Art Walk poster discovered in the wild:
Free prize to the first person to correctly identify the location of where this photo was taken.

The Bite of Bellingham takes place this Saturday from 12-4 downtown on the 1200 block of Cornwall. Bring a few extra dollars with you and pick-up the limited edition 2008 Bite of Bellingham shirt that FLIR Creative designed. The shirts come in two flavors: Fudgsicle or Creamsicle. Mmmmmm….

FLIR Creative had the pleasure of supporting the Bellingham Festival of Music earlier this year by creating the invitation for the “Celebrate the Night” fund raiser as well as the event program. The festival is full swing right now – take a look at the schedule of performances.

I got to know Tom Hunter in high school- he’s the father of my friend Aeden. Tom has just been diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, a rapidly-spreading neurodegenerative disease that kills the brain’s nerve cells. Tom is a musician, teacher, pastor and all-around warm and loving guy who has blessed people around the country including those of us in Bellingham.

Recognizing the gifts and love Tom has shared with Bellingham, Mayor Dan Pike has officially made today “Tom Hunter Day.”

So go about your day today knowing that it is a special day honoring Tom.

Happy Tom Hunter Day!

The Bellingham Herald has recently added a business blog to their growing list of existing blogs (politics, sports, etc.). Here’s the link.

There was a time in downtown Bellingham when you knew someone had your back. If your lunch, meeting or shopping trip ran long you still had a fighting chance to beat a parking ticket. One man stood for the common drivers of Bellingham – the Rowdy Buckaroo.

The Rowdy Buckaroo would patrol downtown Bellingham in his custom painted van looking for expired parking meters. When an expired meter was found, the Rowdy Buckaroo would pop a Canadian dime into the meter (the meters used to accept Canadian currency) and leave a note that said you had been saved by the Rowdy Buckaroo. He was a downtown Robin Hood protecting the commoners from the “big mean city.” And as you and I both know, people always love to root for an underdog.

The City of Bellingham didn’t take too kindly to the lost income that would have resulted in the payment of the parking tickets had the Rowdy Buckaroo not stepped in, but surprisingly there wasn’t too much of a confrontation. In the end, the Rowdy Buckaroo rode off into the sunset, the parking meters were modified to reject Canadian change and the drivers of downtown Bellingham were left to fend for themselves.

The Rowdy Buckaroo was the effort of Travis Holland, owner of the Horseshoe Cafe in downtown Bellingham, and was a brilliant piece of out-of-the box marketing that not only benefited Holland’s own business, but the visitors to downtown and the surrounding downtown merchants as well.

There are a few reasons why the Rowdy Buckaroo was such effective marketing. See what inspiration you can take from Holland and apply to marketing your company:

1. Authenticity
   The Rowdy Buckaroo looked like a rowdy buckaroo – he was a character. And from what I remember, he also sincerely enjoyed saving people from parking tickets.
2. It didn’t “stink” like marketing.
   Something of value was given to drivers that saved them money and hassle. Drivers weren’t left feeling tricked or even marketed to.
3. Word-of-mouth
   People told one another their Rowdy Buckaroo stories and news about him and the Horseshoe spread. How could you resist telling someone the story of being saved by the Rowdy Buckaroo?!
4. Fantastic PR
   Every time a story was written about the Rowdy Buckaroo, Holland’s restaurant would get some press. PR doesn’t have to mean twisting a reporter’s arm to tell your story. Create something interesting/newsworthy to begin with and coverage will often follow.
5. The Rowdy Buckaroo was fun.
   It was fun watching the Rowdy Buckaroo in action popping dimes into expired meters and leaving notes. The Rowdy Buckaroo was was equal parts entertainment, performance art and marketing.
6. Fusion
   The Rowdy Buckaroo and his custom vehicle were highly visible. What started initially as a form of marketing in the downtown core actually became infused as a part of the landscape and culture of downtown.

Learn more about FLIR Creative. Visit our website and view our work.

My mother-in-law lives in Fairhaven near the church house that is featured in today’s Bellingham Herald. I’ve been watching with great interest and curiosity as the owner has taken a run-down vacant church and turned it into a uniquely beautiful building. Kudos to the owners for their vision and how their work beautifies and adds character to our city.

Historical and before/after photos here from the owner’s sculpture website.

I hate to even share this, because I don’t want you thinning out my selection, but about once a month my wife and I go to the Goodwill store in Sunset Square and go on a book treasure hunt. So far I’ve come away a great find each time. And best of all, books are usually only a dollar or two. The deals are so good that I’ve seen a few local used bookstore owners perusing the shelves for items to resell.

On our last trip I found a book that I had been wanting to read by Bob Pritchett, Logos Bible Software CEO, called Fire Someone Today. While the title definitely grabs your attention, don’t let it fool you about what the content is dedicated to. The book has some great candid advice and examples about developing the vision and bottom line of your company. Great thoughts on pricing, hiring/firing employees, trimming business costs and general operations.

The combination of Pritchett’s own experiences (both the good and the bad) and the down-to-earth tone and honesty of the writing combine to make it a great read.

[Chris] “I like your nurses uniform.”
[Me] “These are O.R. scrubs.”
[Chris] “OH ARE they?!”

That little exchange happened a couple of times – how could we resist? Chris and I were wearing O.R. scrubs so we could film in St. Joseph Hospital’s Operating Unit of for a video project we’re working on.

We’ll write more about this project soon. But it took us to some very interesting locations including the O.R.

Sure it was raining most of the time, but these were hardy Northwesterner VW Beetle lovers. In fact, showing up to the first annual Keith Cox Autobahn Beetle Rally with foul weather and a Seahawks game on TV demonstrated just how loyal these Beetle lovers were.

Beetles began lining up at Bellingham High School at about 1:30 and the scene was friendly with people walking around to check out each other’s ride and talk about all things VW. After a pep talk and an overview of the route from rally captain Keith Cox, Oscar (my 6 year old son) and I were on our way.

The route took the line of multi-colored Beetles through downtown Bellingham, out Meridan to Bellis Fair, over to Barkley Village via Bakerview, up Alabama Hill and around on Lakeway and finally wound back through downtown back to return to the high school.

While it was fun driving in the Beetle caravan, the best part was watching people’s reactions as it dawned on them what they were watching. Lots of smiles, cheers and car honks. A few Beetles that didn’t initially start with us actually joined in along the way when they stumbled across their Beetle kin.

If you’re kicking yourself for missing the fun, or know someone who owns a VW Beetle, go to BellinghamBeetleRally.com to register for updates on future rallys. We had 50 Beetles at the first rally, let’s double it for the next one!

more Beetle Rally photos here

I remember when I first heard about Woods Coffee opening a location in the old Whatcom Community College ceramics studio at Boulevard Park – my body trembled and my vision blurred thinking about how well this location would do.

Ok, slight exaggeration. But it doesn’t take a roomful of MBAs to do the math – selling a legal drug to the never ending foot traffic at a perfectly situated location seems pretty darn close to the perfect business. Let’s give Woods some credit though – this isn’t just some Northwest dime-a-dozen coffee shop opening a generic cafe in a great location. They were on their path to success prior to this venture.

Over the years, Woods has steadily built a strong brand and reputation for good coffee within a consistent and comfortable environment. Aside from the fairly new Bakerview store though, and a semi-hidden King street location, Woods has not been very visible in Bellingham. They’ve become well-known and successful in the Lynden area, but to date Woods has been just that – a “county brand.”

All of the sudden though, with the new location in Bellingham’s beloved Boulevard Park, Woods has a phenomenal new flagship location and is well on its way to being not just a county brand, but an established visible Whatcom County brand. And when you consider how many coffee shops were established prior to Woods even opening their first store, you can appreciate just what they’ve been able to accomplish in what was an already crowded marketplace of coffee shops.

One last thing. Verizon was offered the iPhone before AT&T was. They turned it down. 74 days and 1 million phones later it looks like Verizon made a mistake. Word on the street is that Woods wasn’t the first company to have a shot at the Boulevard Park space. One or two other local coffee businesses turned it down before Woods heard about it… ouch.

FLIR Kudos to The City of Bellingham for taking mundane Holly Street crosswalks and transforming them into something that actually enhances the beauty and vibrancy of Downtown Bellingham.

Our good friend Keith Cox, owner of Keith Cox Autobahn, is bringing all the VW Beetle loyalists together this Sunday for a joy ride through Bellingham. It’s going to be quite a sight and a lot of fun. Just picture all the multi-colored Beetles driving in a long line through the streets of Bellingham. If you own a Beetle, make sure you join the fun on Sunday. And pass the word onto your Beetle driving friends.

When
Sunday, September 16th @ 2pm

Where
Start and end at Bellingham High School on Cornwall Ave.

Food Drive
All of your generous donations will be given to local food banks.

Prizes for the following categories:
Oldest Beetle
Best Decorated Beetle
Greatest Beetle Pride

more details

And lastly, if you’re looking for a reliable used car, there’s no other auto dealer I trust more than Keith Cox. He’s honest, fair and easy work with.

St. Sophia’s Greek Orthodox Festival and the start of football season are two things that help FLIR Creative cope with the transition from warm summer weather to rainier and shorter fall days.

If you’ve never been to the festival make a point to go this year. You’ll find a variety of amazing Greek food (lamb gyros are my favorite), a fun crowd and the cute dancing St. Sophia children.

Here’s a tip: due to the festival’s popularity, it’s very crowded in the evenings. Swing by during the lunch hours for the same great food without the lines.

9/13 – 9/16
Greek Orthodox Festival
St. Sophia Orthodox Church
510 E Sunset Drive

Event Times:
Thurs-Sat. 11 AM-9 PM,
Sun Noon-8 PM

I grew up shopping at Clark’s Red Apple with my family and have fond memories of the grocery store and the other neighboring businesses like Youngstock’s across the street. As a longtime resident of Bellingham, I’m pleased to see the Sunnyland area being revitalized and become a vital area of Bellingham again with the eminent arrival of Trader Joe’s on September 28. It’s worth noting that Trader Joe’s will bring a lot more to Bellingham than just great food items within its unique and casual shopping environment:

• Increased property values for neighboring land
• Increased business for neighboring Sunnyland Square businesses
• Increased grocery choices for consumers
• Increased competition for existing grocery stores (Co-op, Barganica, Haggen)
• Increased road traffic in the Sunnyland area