Free Advice

Artists, here's a word of advice: if you are going to make your signature serve as your logo, like Rembrandt, make the damn thing legible. At Surtex, there was a woman near me named Teri whose signature-logo read as "Fern." All day long I overheard, "Are you Fern?" "No, my name is Teri." "Then who's Fern?"

On the other hand, what the hell do I know? Across the way from me here is one of the top licensors. You've probably furnished your house with her stuff from Pottery Barn, but her logo is her cursive signature that reads, "Funeral Bunch." Her artwork is printed onto everything. When I arrived to set up my booth there were three enormous wooden skids parked in front of her booth. It looks like a gift shop.

One of the other exhibitors, a guy who seems to know everything, whispered to me that Funeral Bunch is a $70 million company. So maybe if your scrawled signature looks like it says "Poodle Nimrod," ignore my advice and keep it.