“@” a New Location

Before we started Unusual Offerings, Valerie spent 24 years working in NYC for one of the world’s largest independent global communications agencies. Since the creative projects she managed included digital as well as traditional print, she bought an artisan-made metal “@” sign from Fab.com for her new office.

She took the sign with her when she left, but it never worked in our home. Although we like the patina, it’s not as sturdy as it looks. It’s large and made of thin sheet steel held together by spot-welding.

Initially we thought of incorporating it into the branding of Unusual Offerings and discussed using it as part of our weekly display at Elephant’s Trunk Flea Market. We determined that it was too large to sacrifice the space we could be using for stock. Still, we knew it would work well as a “grabber,” an item that pulls people to the booth.

After the third trip, an older couple spotted it and began taking pictures from all angles and sending them to someone. Their phone rang back and they talked for a minute, borrowing the tape measure we keep on hand, and giving the dimensions to whomever was on the other end of the line.

We went back and forth for a couple of minutes and agreed on a price. As they were loading it on a cart to bring back to their car, they told us, “Our son is opening a restaurant down in Greenwich Village, and it has a patio enclosed by a brick wall. This @ sign will be perfect to hang on that wall. It’s striking and it fits in with his vision of what his restaurant will be.”

One of our offerings is now hanging in a restaurant in New York City, which is a happy ending for an unusual piece.

Yes, we accidentally shot this backwards, so now you get to view it upside down.

The "@" sign is leaning against the wall under the ’50s map of Manhattan.