Expertise & Elbow Grease

2012 was an important year for Blue Collar. We started out right by getting the team to Portland for a build day with Habitat for Humanity. We love the cause and always enjoy getting the mechanics out of the office to construct something meaningful with wood, hammers, nails and good old fashioned elbow grease.

Our team continued to grow—we added the expertise of John Burton as our Director of Business Development. Our client partnerships shifted a bit as we said goodbye to some relationships and opened doors to new ones.

Some of our clients

We announced some exciting new work, like the rebrand of Extensis. This project in particular allowed us to flex our creative muscles and collaborate with some of the best in the business.

In May, we moved into our third garage, with the much needed benefit of additional collaboration space.

Blue Collar reeled in some exciting accolades, including ADDY Award and Webby Award honors for the Extensis WebINK Fontfuse Launch Campaign and AOL Giving Good Campaign, respectively.

In September, Blue Collar partnered with Swellpath to launch JumpStart—a campaign to award $100,000 in agency services to the emerging company who demonstrated the greatest need by delivering the best pitch. Seeko Designs of Portland garnered the most public votes, and snagged the prize. We announced Sseko as the winner in late November and are totally stoked to see how far we can move the needle together.

The Persuaders Society meets once per month in Portland.

With the goal of building an occasion for smart, interesting, thoughtful people to get together and share ideas, Blue Collar created The Persauders Society. Staying connected with our colleagues and Portland’s creative community is super important. We thrive in the company of professional who get the same charge from this business of persuasion that we do.

All in all, we made a ton happen in 2012 and are in full gear to accomplish more in 2013 than ever before. We’d like to thank the incredibly talented people we’ve had the opportunity to work with. Our collaboration of blood, sweat and tears is truly unstoppable.

Perspective from the Team

Take a look under the hood. We enjoyed some great experiences in 2012 and offer some words of wisdom and predictions for the new year.

Our favorite things about Twenty Twelve:

• The final snow survey of the season on Mt. Hood showed snow depth and water content at 110 percent.
• Participating in the 2012 Sketchbook Project.
• 494,653 Steelhead passed through Bonneville Dam.
• Apple became the all-time most valuable company in history.
• The Charger is on the road.
• Obama’s reelection.
• The Iphone 5.
• Building a new Nicolai mountain bike.

Cool places we went (outside of Hood River, the center of the universe):

• Whistler Bike Park. Yeah!
• Drove 4000+ miles on skiing adventures, went roller skating, back talked a cop in Idaho and danced on a table.
• Comic Con in San Francisco and the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle. I’m very, very tired…still.
• Bonneville Salt Flats.
• Burning Man.
• Philadelphia (GO FLYERS!!!)
• Cascade Raptor Center.
• Joshua Tree National Park
• Acadia National Park, Maine
• San Francisco
• Dory fishing from Pacific City, Oregon coast
• Into the guts of Mount Hood at high elevation, Elk Cove, Gnarl Ridge

Favorite phrases/quotes:

• Fall seven times get up eight.
• What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it.
• Shut up and try.
• “He is a jackass. But he’s talented.” ~ President Obama on Kanye West
• “If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse. ~ Jim Rohn
• “I’m a perfectionist and perfect is a skinned knee.” ~ Mike Patton

Words of wisdom:

• Be more like a 5 year old.
• Get your sleep. Don’t get the flu. Buy a gun so the liberals don’t getcha.
• Don’t do what Lance did.
• Eat more veggies, do more yoga.
• Less want, more will.
• Think forward.
• Take Pinterest seriously.
• Spend money. It’s a renewable resource.
• Live your own life.
• “Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.”- Dali Lama

Predictions for 2013:

• External Auditory Exostoses Surgery (surfer’s ear)…aaarrrrrggggghhhhhh!
• Great design will be more appreciated.
• Congress will be in gridlock.
• Digital paper will finally gain some momentum.
• Blue Collar’s going to KILL IT!