Our Button-O-Matic series are as integral to the Busy Beaver name as buttons themselves! In celebration of our most recent launch with Pilot Light, I decided to sit down with our founder, Christen Carter and her original co-conspirator, Rosie Sanders, to learn more about how this idea came to fruition and how the two of them got it off the ground.
ED: Where did the inspiration for the first BOM series come from? Do you remember where you were when the idea struck?
CC: I met Alan, a friend of a friend of mine in New York, he had this very strong Boston accent and was really into the various designs of manhole covers around the city– the kind of deep nerdiness I appreciate!
He ran a vending machine route and happened to have some of those capsules in his pocket and I had a 1 inch button. We tested to see if they fit and they did! It was a real Reese's Peanut Butter Cup moment! We agreed that I would design a bunch of buttons and mail them to him and he would stock a few shops with them, mostly record stores.
I was hanging out with Rosie and told her about it and she was like, why don’t we do that with artists here in Chicago?!
ED: We know about Christen’s love of buttons, Rosie us about yourself and how the BOM fits into your artistic interests.
RS: I’m an artist and production designer for TV. I'm currently working on the HBO show The Rehearsal. I love making little things to share with the world.
CC: She’s such a talented artist and would create spaces for people to either be a part of or observe. One show she had, she literally poured a concrete sidewalk in the gallery (The Butcher Shop) and we all just hung out on it.
ED: Where was the very first Button-O-Matic machine at?
RS: I don't remember... Hot Doug's?
CC: That’s right!
ED: As an artist, what made you excited to start about the Button-O-Matic?
RS: As a kid going to the supermarket and buying a tiny treasure for a quarter was so fun. So, getting to connect to that feeling and share that with people all over Chicago was super rad. Also, I loved the concept of these being the smallest art galleries, and randomly doling out little pieces of art.
ED: What was it like getting this first series off the ground?
CC: Rosie and I spent a summer rehabbing about 20 machines that we got off of eBay from someone in Louisiana. It was a hot summer and we would take breaks and sit in a kiddie pool to cool off.
RS: Each machine was broken in a different way- so it was fun to figure each out. There were lots of ice cream breaks as well. We asked our friends to design buttons. I loved the first designs people made.
We had a gallery show with the machines and each one was filled with each artist's work. It was a really fun opening. I think Christen and I wore matching jumpsuits with our pockets filled to the brim with quarters. It was also part of an art walk in Wicker Park. There were a lot of people we didn't know that came. I remember a few older ladies who loved getting a button designed by Rob Doran that was a drawing of bacne– so funny!
CC: That very first party we had was a rager! The machines kept malfunctioning, so Rosie and I were busy running around the whole time. I remember we ducked out to take a little breather, and Rosie said, “I feel like I’m working overtime at an arcade!”.
ED: Do you have a favorite series from over the years?
CC: Oh gosh, it’s impossible to say! I appreciate that some of the artists are well-known and some are not. I mean, people can say that they had artwork in a series with Milton Glasser, Maya Hayuk, Mark Mothersbaugh or Edie Fake?! And the fact they are affordable makes them art for everyone!
ED: What do you think of it still going strong after 22 years?
RS: I think it’s awesome! Christen is super dedicated to the love of buttons and the BOM project really spreads the joy that buttons give us. How fun is it to get a sweet button prize?! Answer: RAD! It’s amazing it still resonates for people.
ED: How do you think art helps people express themselves and communicate - how do wearable, sharable things like buttons contribute to this?
RS: The act of making art is expressing yourself and communicating what you want to say, even if it's just the color blue. Buttons are a fun form of art because they are collaborative. It's not just about the person who made it but also about the person wearing it.
ED: How did the series transition into partnering with nonprofits?
CC: We often asked people to curate the series. After 2016, a lot of social issues were coming to the forefront and it seemed like the perfect time to help spread messages for important causes. Organizations like the NRDC and One Tail at a Time are doing such heartfelt work and we need more people to create communities of people who care about specific issues.
ED: What is exciting for you with the Pilot Light series?
CC: I’ve followed Pilot Light for a while - they do such good work with the important life skill of nourishing the body! Being able to wear a kid’s idea of a great meal is so sweet! A lot of the button designs look like plates with food on top. There’s one with a strawberry and carrot in outer space, and another artist’s button features water and gnocchi. So much creativity!
ED: What do you hope people feel/experience when they see or wear this year’s Button-O-Matic series?
CC: I hope they remember what it was like to be a kid and eat their favorite meal!
Thank you so much to Christen and Rosie for taking the time to answer my questions, it was so much fun getting a peek into the past and learning more about Busy Beaver in the early days. It’s been a blast watching our 2024 series with Pilot Light come to life and I can’t wait to see where the Button-O-Matic goes next!
