Sorry It has been a long time!!

SO It's been a while since my last post.  I have been doing a lot of planning and working on getting organized so here is a kinda update if you will.  I will tell you about what I have been up to and about Duck Duct Dave and Free Hugs  I will also try and flesh out some of my ideas for what I want to accomplish in the next couple of months.
So this past few weeks and months I have been doing a lot of organizing and trying to cut down on my physical possessions so that I can pack light and have tons of room in my car when I travel around the country and can have space to sleep.  I am trying to get all of my possessions and things that I own into three 25 gallon bins although I think that is a little bit of a stretch because I am working on a duct tape canopy and that will probably take up 2 bins by itself.   I am trying to get all of my duct tape products into one 25 gallon bin and so far so good.... I don't know what will happen in the future when I have more product but I will deal with that later.  So far I have one empty 25 gallon bin, one is filled with all of my clothes and one is full of duct tape merchandise. 
I have been trying to combine my duct tape business (Duck Duct Dave) with Free Hugs a lot more recently.  I haven't sold a lot of products yet but I am confident that in the future and through free hugging I will get the financial support so that I can free hug 40+ hours per week in the future!! I have a craft fair coming up in Muskegon, Michigan July 20-22.  Hopefully that will go well. 
In these next upcoming weeks I hope to free hug a lot more to spread peace, love, and happiness, brightening lives one hug at a time as well as get some more people to my website and etsy account to try and increase my revenue and hopefully break even soon!! :D  I also hope to get all of my duct tape ties up on etsy and make some free hugs souvenier coasters for $2.  Another project is looking for more craft fairs to sell my items (if you know of any be sure to mention them to me!). 
I currently am taking a summer math class at DePaul and working odd jobs in order to get more money to put into my business and tide me over until Duck Duct Dave takes off. 
In other news, I free hugged yesterday and it was awesome!!! Free hugging is the greatest thing ever.  I meet the most amazing and awesome people!! I got 167 hugs in 4 hours of hugging.  Huggers unite!
Lots of hugs!!
:David

Cool New News!

So I have been super busy these past few weeks.  Mostly I have been making duct tape products.  I was getting those ready for a festival in Piketon, Ohio called the Dogwood Festival where I sold lots of awesome stuff.  The awesome thing was I actually sold a lot of free hugs signs and started a Free Hugs Frenzy for the weekend.  It was pretty awesome.  I also got a lot of hugs.  I will be updating my hug count on my website right after I finish this post.
I also rewrote my mission statement to include more free hugs and distinguish that my dream job is a professional free hugger traveling around the country spreading joy and happiness but I need a way to make money so I sell duct tape merchandise.  I also do accept donations as you can see at the top of this page there is a donation button.... you know in case you were wondering.. Here is the new mission statement: 

Duck Duct Dave creates merchandise made of duct tape, including Free Hugs signs, coasters, and flowers as well as accessories such as wallets, ties, hats, bags, and more as a way to fund David's dream of becoming a “Professional Free Hugger”. The goal of the Free Hugs campaign is to transform everyday encounters between strangers with the knowledge that small encounters can have significant effects on another person's life. By focusing on the seemingly insignificant experience of a hug, we try to create positive life-changing moments. Our approach to human interaction reflects the potential of duct tape- an unassuming, overlooked object that can be transformed into something fantastical.

Tell me what you think! 
I also got my website up! I have a tally of how many free hugs I have given since I got it up.  You should go check it out at www.duckductdave.com
I am working on making some free hugs coasters and mini free hugs signs, t-shirts and other free hugs memerobilia that I should get up on Etsy soon.  Be looking out for that too!! Super exciting stuff and more stuff yet to come.  Lots of progress but lots more to do!!
Hugs!!!
David

Today was a Crazy Day.

Today I biked downtown for free hugs with Positive Focus out by the Water Tower Place on Pearson St. and Michigan Ave.  Free hugging was amazing and awesome.  I felt like I was on top of the world.  I got a lot of hugs and actually made a number of pretty cool and interesting friends.  I also made a lot of people's day which was an amazing feeling.  I really need to get back into free hugging more often!!
Next I walked back to my bike and I was sitting there getting ready to go home when I met another couple of people and they were going to Navy Pier and I wasn't doing anything or have any plans so I decided to hang with them and go to Navy Pier with them.  After getting lost a couple of times and running into a couple of dead ends we made our way to Navy Pier.  When we got there I locked up my bike at the entrance and we went to walk around.
I then saw that they had a tie shop so I stopped by and said that I make duct tape tie's and stuff and that I was interested in maybe selling my duct tape ties there or selling them some so that they could resell them or something.  So we walked around Navy Pier for about 45 minutes and when we got back to the entrance I looked around for my bike and it wasn't there!!!!
I was looking around for it and I must have had a very bewildered and crazy look on my face coupled with my bright yellow biking jacket alerted the police and security guards who called me over and asked me if the bike that they had in their possession was mine.  It was.  They then went on to explain that right after I got there a guy cut my bike lock and tried to steal it but the brilliance of the Navy Pier Security Staff and the Chicago Police Department they caught the guy!!! Just as I was going back to look for my bike, my bike was being returned to Navy Pier to be processed and stored.  Luckily I was there and was able to both identify that the bike was mine and be able to fill out the paperwork and return it back home safe and sound.  I was very lucky that they caught the guy and that my bike was returned to me!! I was told that it was very rare for them to catch the thief and it must have had something to do with the fact that I was spreading peace love and happiness though giving away free hugs earlier today.  I should probably get my bike registered with the city of Chicago now... Thank you so much Navy Pier Security and Chicago Police Department!!!

Creation Madness!

Lately I have been working on organizing my room and house as well as trying to get all of my duct tape business stuff under control and organized.  So far I have been making a lot of wallets and ties.  I also revamped my room into a sort of creation studio type place (pictured above).   I am also working on getting all of my products up to sell online so that I hopefully will be able to make some money and then I can spend more time working on giving away free hugs and all the greatness that comes with that.
Now that I am going to be in Chicago for about a month and the weather is getting better I think that I am going to go Free Hugging downtown more often.  I am going to create my duct tape free hugs bag soon that I am going to have when I free hug and it's going to be awesome!! I'll post pictures once it is made.  Just to warn you... its going to be totally epic!
David

Switchfoot, Zappos and More!!

Tuesday the 20th (yesterday) I went to a really awesome Switchfoot concert at La Jolla Play House in San Diego, California.  It was the most interesting and intimate concert that I have ever been to.  The Venue was really awesome.  It had nice cushioned seats and tables for ones belongings and no big huge crowd.  It was a very nice, relaxing and intimate setting with acoustic guitars rather than electric guitars. Throughout the show the band would answer questions about their new album Vice Verses and the creation process that went in to the album.  After the show I waited in line and get them to sign my free hugs shirt and got a picture of me with the band.  All in all one of the best concerts that I have ever been to.

 

After that I was on my way to Las Vegas to take a tour of the Zappos Headquarters located their.  I barely made it due to my sleeping and my check engine light deciding to come on at the most inconvenient time.. I got it all checked out and it was just the fact that I didn't have my gas cover but it gave me a scare and lost me precious time.   I really like the Zappos culture and it has influenced and inspired me with some ideas which I will share in a later post.  Stay tuned for that!! It's some pretty deep stuff. 
Right now I am on my way to the Solar Panel Store to learn some stuff about creating solar power so that sometime in the future I can get all my energy from the sun!! I should get back on the road.  Til next time,
David

Thoughts

Today and yesterday I have been in Starbucks getting organized and stuff for my tour of the Zappos Headquarters and my meet and greet with Switchfoot.  I was supposed to have a craft show today but it got postponed until the 31st of March because of rain.  I can't make that show anymore but I can focus more on trying to build up my online reputation. 
So funny story: Today I was just checking on the buzz light year bag that I made and stuff to make sure that it was ready and sturdy and could hold up to heavy use and I found that the zipper that I had gotten broke and then yeah I cut it off and made it so that it closes with velcro.  It's still pretty rad. 
Being organized is the one most important thing to having a good time I have come to realize.  Like once I get organized I feel like... you know I am going to be more organized and be able to figure out what to do with my time then increase my productivity. 
I have other profound thoughts that I wanted to share and get your feed back on but right now I am too tired to remember them.  Say Good Night David!!
Good Night David.

Spokane Craft Show :D

Saturday and Sunday I had a craft show at Central Valley High School.  It went pretty well.  I made my 60 dollars that I spent to be in the show and made a little bit more than that so it wasn't a lot but it's a start and hopefully with all the business cards I handed out I will be getting more orders soon and in the future.  I have really enjoyed my time here in Spokane Valley chilling with my cousin and my friends that I have here.  It's a pretty chill and awesome place. 
Today I met a pretty cool person who told me about this really cool program project thing called American Bear about the kindness of strangers and awesome cool stuff like that.  Here is a link to their blog: http://beardocumentary.blogspot.com/
It's pretty cool stuff. 
Tomorrow I am headed out to Sacramento to go visit another one of my friends Keith on Sunday.  I will drop off the buzz light year bag that I created for him and chill with him for a little bit then I will be on my way to San Diego for the Switchfoot Concert!!! :D I have to figure out which duct tape tie I am wearing to that concert....
Anywho I am chillin' watching Supernatural with my cousin so I will talk to you later!!
Peace,
David

Spokane, Washington

<p>I got to Spokane yesterday.&#160; 3 more days until my craft show!!! I have no idea what to expect from it so I am super excited as well as nervous.. I think I as ready as I am going to be for this show.. not nearly as ready as I hoped I would be but... oh well.&#160; In other news, my car is a mess and I am super unorganized so that might be why I am not ready for the show.  The next few days I am going to try and get all if my stuff organized and maybe try to get some last minute products made.
Today I am hanging out with a friend that I met the last time that I was here in Spokane.  She is a barista at Starbucks so that makes her automaticly rad.
I like food.  I enjoy Spokane.  I am super unorganized and excited for my craft show.... that's about it for now.  I'll update after my craft show on Saturday and Sunday :)
Hugs,
David

PACKING!!!

Buzz Light Year Back Pack

I leave for Spokane, Washington for my craft show in less than a week and all of my stuff is crazy disorganized from creating duct tape stuff to sell. It is time to start getting everything organized and start to pack my car so that I will be ready to leave and be able to get to Spokane by March 9 to unload my duct tape stuff and get ready for the craft show. I am really excited as well as a little bit stressed trying to get everything ready for my shows. I have no idea how much I am going to sell or make so planning for after these craft shows is hard because I don't know what to expect but hopefully I will achieve some measurable success. In other news, last week Thursday the 24rd I went to see the show "Assisted Living" staring Jordan Stacy and it was a pretty fantastic show. It was well put together and interesting and very thought provoking. I was very glad that I went to see it. I finished a buzz light year bag for one of my friends. A picture of that is at the Beginning of this post.
 So Tell me what you think.
I am going to go organize my stuff now.
Til next time.

There is too much stuffs to do!

I have a craft show coming up on the 10th and 11th of March in Spokane, Washington and another one in Sacramento, California on the 17th of March and mucho mucho things to do in order to get ready for those shows. Number one on my list is increasing my inventory to sell and things. Number two is printing out more business cards and brochures and stuff to promote my business. Number 3 is planning my trip and stuffs. Number 4 is finishing my honors application by March 1. Number 5 is getting business card holders and fun stuff like that for organizing and presentation at my craft shows. Yeah there is more like smaller stuff and everything but yeah basicly that is what I am up to. I also have to finish making a buzz light year bag pretty soon too.. Hopefully by the end of the week. Speaking of my birthday..... (Great segue right) My birthday was pretty nice. I got to watch Supernatural (my favorite tv show) and make duct tape flowers!! Who could ask for a better birthday!! My favorite moment though was after I dropped my sister off at Awana I sat in the car at my house and called one of my friends that I met while I was in Michigan and got to talk to her for a quick 5 minutes and then just sat in the car listening to some country music. It was a great little relaxing experience. That was by far the highlight of my day. Anywho, that's whats up. Til next time, Dave