I seriously had no idea we had so many creative people in our midst. Below are some of the entries. We picked two first place winners – can you guess which ones won? Also among them is one designed by our president. Can you guess which is his? Be sure to post a comment so I know whether you’re a good guesser or not. After is the big reveal – the two winning entries and their creators, along with some insight on how they did what they did with Sharpies.

I’ll never walk by their offices the same way again. Enjoy!

 

BIG REVEAL

 AND THE WINNERS ARE… 

Ron Ruvoli and his winning Wrigley Field nameplate

I love the Cubs so I just thought it would be great to do my name in lights on the Wrigley Field marquis. It’s the only chance it will ever be there.

I found some pictures on the internet.   I also had some books at home.  I kinda got the details there. I tried to add as much detail as possible. It’s not a lot. A lot of red and white. I tried to get it as close to the original sign as possible.

I used the Sharpie red ultra-fine to outline all the letters. I used a Sharpie Pen in black. And I used one of the new Cafe Coleurs for the brick – the Pomegranate one.   I used Sharpie fine points for coloring.

I did it at home on a Sunday, after my kids were in bed.  I have two girls, 6 and 4.  My wife was in bed too. It was pretty pathetic.

I wanted bold colors and I really like red, I figured why not open up the cardstock.  I figured most people probably did there’s in half. I opened it so I could get more color. I wanted to color the whole entire piece of paper.

It took me about 3 hours. All the outlining really took awhile.

Growing up as a kid, all that was on in the house was the Cubs. I grew up in the South Suburbs of Chicago so I’m supposed to be a Sox fan. We Cubs fans kind of band together -  there’s actually a lot of us on the South Side.  Cubs are a real passion of mine. I follow them everyday. My friends and family, it’s all we talk about.

I havent’ taken an art class since 6th grade, but I doodle a lot in meetings. I like to goof around. I get a lot of inspiration form my kids because we do a lot of art projects. I got back into drawing and coloring beause of them. I’m not really an artist, I wouldn’t say. My brothers and sisters and dad are all very artistically inclined.

I’ve always been a fan of Sharpie. I worked retail in high school and college and we would always go to the stationery section and take out markers and use them for work purposes. You always looked for a Sharpie laying around and not being used and swipe it.  I love the markers. Absolutely love them. I don’t know what it is I love – the colors, the design, the way it looks and feels in your hand. The retractable version. Office supplies and pens, pencils and markers in general, I don’t know what it is, I just love them.

Mariola Dudzicka and her winning monogram nameplate

Mariola Dudzicka on her monogram nameplate (Mariola is in our consumer affairs department):

I used the Sharpie Pen to create my nameplate. I chose it because of the nature of the drawing and I needed something very fine.  It’s a miniature, a very small picture, so the details are very small and tiny so I needed something I could finish. Sharpie actually gave a very fine line.  I’m not an artist but I think I have the gift. I like to draw. I like to play with the pens and markers. In my spare time, I draw.

I learned to draw in high school.  I had an art class.   I’ve always had an interst in art. I am very touched by the arts. I like to collect things, drawings, pictures. I’m in a museum on a regular basis.

I really like to be around the arts and I admire impressionism.  I like Monet, Van Gogh, Rembrandt.

Sometime ago I collected monograms for embroidery to make with a needle and I had a small collection. I had the embroidery monogram pictures in front of me but made the nameplate drawing freehand.

I’m was born in Poland.  I’ve lived here for 16 years and worked at Sharpie for 4 years.

I do laces. I learned all kinds of styles but my favorite is bobbin lace. It’s a little tool that you tie the threads and wave them in your hands. I learned in Poland from my mother and from a friend, and at a culture center where I took classes.

I made the nametag at home, gradually over the weekend.   It wasn’t that much time.  I made the composition in pencil first.  It took total about 5-6 hours.

I was stunned when I won. I didn’t expect that I would win.  It was a really nice surprise. I had a lot of fun doing it and that is the real reward.

Ben Gadbois’ nameplate (Ben is president of Sharpie):

I know when it comes to presidents and fun, that Zappos guy gets all the glory. But I think Sharpie’s president Ben Gadbois deserves some snaps.  Look at his entry! 

This took some time and effort, people!  I haven’t had a chance to talk to Ben but my take is it’s an ant farm.  See those little black stick figures in there?  Those are ants.  And all the swirly trails and the green grass?  That’s a farm.  Of course art is a matter of interpretation (is that yellow for the sun and blue for the sky?  And whose reflection is that in the the gold nameplate???)  Art can be so mysterious.  And personal. Speaking of, get personal with Sharpie and send us your Sharpie creations.  Visit sharpieuncapped.com and hang out your own Sharpie shingle.