Coral Gables Historical Archive
The Times
Wednesday, August 25, 1976, page 12 (of 38)
The page
The text of this pageRead by computer from the scan, so some words may be wrong. The page picture is the original.
Take pride in your work? Then let it all hang out!
By ELIZABETH OWEN Staff Writer After years of sitting at the drawing board, cartoonist Bill Collingwood finally had a brainstorm. It went something like this: The bicentennial. People's insatiable vanity. Handcrafted wood. The smell of cedar. A touch of humor. That's it! The Shingle-Jingle! "You need something new, something different to grab people's attention," said Collingwood, 34, who recently set up shop in his South Dade home manufacturing Shingle-Jingles. A Shingle-Jingle, he explained, is a new type of plaque, handcrafted from genuine cedar shingles, that will spread Americana and fun by humorously promoting people's occupation, hobby or philosophy. The eight inch by 12 inch plaques, ready to hang, are whimsically illustrated with Collingwood's jingles. For example, the shingle-jingle for pilots — the most popular by far — depicts a propeller plane with a foolishly friendly face (its nose is the propeller, of course), inscribed with the jingle, "Pilots are just plane people with a special air about them." He makes the shingle-jingles by hand, and sells them to local shops and by mail order — for $4.95 apiece. After Collingwood gave up steady jobs as an ad agency artist and then illustrator for local cartoonist Vivian Green, and before he went into business for himself, he sold hand painted, framed wooden plaques at area art shows. At the yearly Coral Gables Art Show on Miracle Mile, the demand for the humorous plaques — which sold easily for $7 apiece — skyrocketed. "I figured it was so successful at the art shows, why couldn't these things be mass marketed?" he said. "People like things that are made of wood, and the smell of cedar is fragrant." And to tie the idea in with the ever-popular bicentennial, he remembered the shingle, used as house roofing by English colonists in 17th century America. With the rapid expansion of handicrafts and commerce during the 17th century, he researched, shingles were painted and hung to identify homesites or promote occupations. The shingle signboard quickly became a highly-prized possession. Collingwood, who has been a professional cartoonist for seven years, said he grew tired of thinking up ideas and drawing illustrations for other people, with little personal credit. "This is right up my alley," he said. "I control the whole thing, from the concept to the finished product. "It's not just being able to draw a cartoon . . . I found I was very prolific with ideas." Bill Collingwood shows off a couple of his "Shingle-Jingles". T-shirts and greeting cards are his next target.
S. A. T.
SHELDON ROSE EDUCATIONAL CENTER PREP COURSES 945-3347 MCAT - DAT - LSAT - GMAT - GRE - SAT - CLEP
ELECT WM (BILL) C. MARTIN CIRCUIT JUDGE, GROUP 6
★ 30 YEARS ACTIVE LAW PRACTICE IN DADE — MORE THAN DOUBLE HIS OPPONENT. ★ PAST PRESIDENT DADE COUNTY BAR; PAST V.P. FEDERAL BAR, SO. FLA. ★ FORMER JUDGE, FLORIDA INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION; FORMER JUDGE, POLICE AND FIREMEN TRIAL BOARD, AND CRIME PROSECUTOR, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. ★ DOCTOR JURIDICAL SCIENCE IN LAW; DOCTOR JURISPRUDENCE, AND BACHELOR OF ARTS IN GOVERNMENT. ATTENDED UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, AND STRAYER BUSINESS COLLEGE. ★ RESIDENT CORAL GABLES 25 YEARS. ★ OBLIGATED TO NO ONE — NO CAMPAIGN FUNDS ACCEPTED FROM ANYONE, INCLUDING LAWYERS, EXCEPT JUDICIAL TRUST FUND. ★ VETERAN. PAID FOR BY BILL MARTIN CAMPAIGN FUND, ROBT. PRESCOTT, TREA.
nostalgia for sale HEART of the ARTICHOKE
imported silk CLOTHES and MORE We've opened our store on Oak & Rice our gifts are unique and are oh so nice macrame The heart of the artichoke is fit for a king that's why we call our store the very same thing From 10 'til 5 five days a week our doors will be open so come have a peek Oak rockers and tables. ANTIQUES galore! are just a few of the things at our very fine store monogram T shirts quilts plaques furniture TUESDAY THRU SATURDAY - ANY TIME WILL BE FINE FOR A SPECIAL SHOWING OF OUR ANTIQUE AND GIFT LINE 3300 rice street coconut grove florida 33133 442 8131