The Uncommon Life

My hometown is…
Bronx, NY

The best customer interaction I’ve had at UncommonGoods was…
Perfecting a surprise wedding gift. There was a shipping issue and UPS was unable to deliver the customer’s order. I contacted the vendor and had a replacement shipped just in time for the wedding. Literally delivered at the wedding. The bride was beyond surprised, and the groom so happy he sent us photos with the UPS delivery guy!

I enjoy working with custom orders because…
I like the attention to detail & working directly with the artist. Each order is different and unique and the possibilities are endless.

I’m inspired by…
Brutal honesty.

The word that best describes me is…
Persistent.

An uncommon fact about me…
I have seen the movie “Coming To America” at least 200 times.

My favorite place to hang out in New York City is…
Shake Shack.

When I’m not working I’m probably…
At home cuddling with my cat, Fat- Fat.

Since working at UncommonGoods I’ve learned…
A little appreciation goes a LONG way.

Would you rather…have a lifetime supply of coffee or a lifetime supply of chocolate?
A lifetime supply of chocolate flavored coffee.

WHAT IS THE BROOKLYN FLAG PROJECT?
The Brooklyn Flag Project is a call for entries for flag designs that represent the Brooklyn neighborhood that you know and love! We will print and produce the winning flags in Brooklyn and sell them on our site. We want you to imagine these flags hanging loud and proud in your neighbor’s apartment, your local coffee shop, outside the window of your favorite restaurant, and inside your home office. This project is all about celebrating our wonderful borough, the diversity of its many neighborhoods, and the creative people that live in it.

Our guest judges include Marty Markowitz – former Brooklyn Borough President, Tina Roth Einsenbrg – founder and voice of Swissmiss, Annaliese Griffin – editor-in-chief for Brooklyn Based, and our very own David Bolotsky- founder of UncommonGoods. For more details on the judging panel, click here!

HOW DOES THE CONTEST WORK?
After you submit your artwork below, wait patiently to hear back from our Design Challenge team. In mid September, the judging panel will meet to pick their favorites, our finalists. The finalists will be presented to our online community on the voting tool where the public will be the ultimate deciders – using their votes to determine the winner. The design with the most votes at the end of the voting period will be the grand prize winner, and our buying team will be deciding on the runners up.

WHICH BROOKLYN NEIGHBORHOODS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
All of them! Whether you live in a well-established neighborhood like Williamsburg, Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope or Brighton Beach, or you identify with a newer hood like ProCro or Greenwood Heights, all neighborhoods are welcome.

DO YOU WANT THE NEIGHBORHOOD NAME IN THE DESIGN?
Yes please! This won’t only help us understand the design better, but will make it easier for the judges and online voting community to make their decision.

WHAT ARE THE FLAGS LIKE?
The flags will be a 36 inch by 46 inch rectangle (landscape or portrait is up to you) and will be made of cotton. There is a water based coating on the surface of the cotton for print adhesion. The designs will be printed with GREENGUARD certified ink, so it’s environmentally friendly. Designed for indoor use, the flags will be made with brass grommets suitable for hanging on a wall. Oh, and they’re going to be MADE IN BROOKLYN. Down the road, we’ll also look to feature the designs on other products.

WHAT DIMENSIONS DO I NEED TO WORK IN?
The final design will be a 36 inch by 46 inch flag. But in order for your submission to get through our server you must submit a file at 72dpi in the form of a JPG or PNG. And it must be less than 2mb. Make sure to keep you submission to the ratio of 9 by 11.5 – you can decide if your design will be situated landscape or portrait.

If you win, you will need to have a vector of the file, or an image at 2592 by 3312 pixels.

HOW MANY COLORS CAN I DESIGN WITH?
The designs will be digitally printed so there are no limits to color.

HOW DO I SUBMIT?
Submit your artwork using our form on the very bottom of this page. You will need a JPG or PNG of your work to enter, as well as a vector file if you win. The artwork must be original, meaning free of logos, trademarks and obvious influence from another artist – We know there are amazing coffee shops, chocolate factories, and basketball teams that represent your neighborhood. If these logos are part of your design, please understand that we will require the trademark owner’s permission to use it.

WHAT DO I GET IF I WIN?
If you are our grand prize winner – and let’s face it, why wouldn’t you be? – you’ll receive $1000 cash (OK, it’s a check, but you get the idea) and a contract with UncommonGoods that will grant you royalties after a sales threshold is reached. Technically we will be buying the design from you and giving you 5% of the retail price every time it is sold, and the prize money $1000 is an advance on the royalties you will be receiving. The same holds true of each of the other prize levels. You’ll work with our Product Development team to perfect the design and have it printed on flags. Your design will be shown on UncommonGoods.com, in our marketing emails, and possibly in our catalog. You also reserve the right for a judgment-free victory dance, literally letting your freak flag fly.

WHAT IF I DON’T WIN?
This question usually bums us out, so we are offering prizes to more than just our grand prize winner. One second place winner will receive $750, one third place winner will receive $500, and a number of other runners up will receive $250. Keep in mind that we can potentially have more than one runner up winner and that we’re hoping to add dozens of great flag designs into our assortment! The cash prize is an advance toward future sales, so there is the opportunity to make more as your designs are sold over time. There will be lots of victory dances in this design challenge!

I STILL HAVE A QUESTION!
Drop us a line at [email protected]

OFFICIAL CONTEST RULES