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Ali (Buttonhead)

Are you curious to see what types of goodies I’m making for other people? Check out my photo blog and find out what’s hot off the presses at Buttonhead!

On January 1st 2007, I accepted a challenge: Take a self-portrait picture every day for an entire year. Rain or shine, good days and bad, the goal was to compile photo diary. By July, I had bought my very first button machine and started casually making pins for my friends who were also participating in the ‘Photo 365’ project on Flickr. Little by little, my button-making expanded. I adopted the name ‘Buttonhead’ and began to develop a shop on Etsy. On day 316 of 365, I took the photo that would become synonymous with my business for the next 3 years… and it was completely unrelated to buttons! Inspired by Elvis Costello singing, ‘Tear off your own head. It’s a Doll Revolution!’, the picture was supposed to look like a life-like doll. At the time, I didn’t think it quite accomplished what I intended, so I quickly disregarded it. A few months later, I made a deal with talented illustrator and fellow Flickr friend, Ben Rollman. I traded a few of my buttons for a custom-drawn robot portrait of me based on a photo of his choosing. Guess what? He chose the Doll Revolution photo! The robot portrait was so unique that it made me begin looking at the original photo in a whole new way. So, with branding on my mind, I turned to poptoon dreamer genius, Jelene Morris, to help me create a set of graphics and banners based around the photo. Within days, the Buttonhead girl was born! 

Today, Buttonhead has sold and shipped over 50,000 button-based items worldwide. In 3 years, I’ve grown from offering just 1” pinback buttons to making 3 sizes of buttons, magnets, mirrors, and more! Now, as my studio has grown, so have my graphic design skills. I’m able to accomplish so much more with digital and web media than the girl who just wanted to dress up as a doll and take photos. For 2011, I decided to create an illustration of the Buttonhead logo and give all of my graphics a much-needed facelift. Enter Buttonhead version 2.0! I think the new artwork is fun, fresh, colorful, and most importantly, it’s representative of who I am… and how I started. 

See the new Buttonhead artwork in action:
The Etsy shop
Buttonhead.org
All New Packaging

Have feedback about the Buttonhead makeover? Leave a comment!

Ali takes a moment to reflect on 3 years as an indepdendent business owner.

This vintage, powder blue train case is stuffed to the brim with fabulous Buttonhead goodies.  The case serves as my new traveling portfolio, with samples of custom work, retail items, and of course, many lovely Buttonhead giveaways.  The top of the lid holds a stack of full-color, tri-fold brochures.  On the inside, there are three colors of handmade silk organza bags:  Blue contains examples of special order work I’ve done for clients, White are filled with a brand new line of glamorous freebies, and Gold contains retail items available for immediate sale.  The case (nicknamed ‘The Veruca Prima’) is part of a pilot program and the first of several to come. 

My brand new 

1.5” button machine.

American made.

Fresh out of the box.

Shining silver and new.

Her double dyes

like two eyes
staring back at me.

Please feel free to review the ‘Customer Feedback’ section of this website to see messages from happy clients.  Other people make buttons.  Buttonhead makes love!

Contact me anytime at ali [at!] buttonhead.org if you have any questions or if you’d just like to say hello.  I’m really looking forward to hearing from you!

More about me at AliPuckett.com