I just completed our massively huge signing with skateboard legend Tony Hawk. For anyone (and that's pretty much everyone minus a handful of people) that have not conducted one of these it is almost impossible to describe how daunting a task it is. Most of these signings are focused along our best Hawk seller- the skateboard deck. This time around we did an eclectic mix of the old standards and three new graphics (13 different styles to be exact). We definitely cut it a little close timing wise as the shipment arrived mid-afternoon yesterday. It came on two wrapped pallets of deck boxes...generally it is 10 per box (a few have 8,9...11). Each deck is individually wrapped which means they have to be taken out of the plastic and laid out. We almost got halfway done yesterday and this morning had to really blitz the process. I try to lay them out in stacks of ten (coordinated by style). We were finally ready to go with about a half hour to spare before Tony arrived. The signing itself is quite a spectacle as well...Tony always makes sure to take a photo of the room before we begin as it is (as I said earlier..very difficult to explain). It is similar to stacking photos as you need to make a minimum of four to five piles before stacking...except these are bigger and awkward shaped (and there is 1000!...and we try our best to keep the thirteen different styles somewhat together. Despite the pit-falls and the labor-intensivitity (think that's a word?) of the process we do , for the most part, have it down to a science by now. It took Tony about two hours to sign the decks (at which point we moved on to photos..which is so easy in comparison)
Now that the signing is over comes the hardest part... packing up the boards. Again this is a crazy process which involves a few steps...first inventorying- we are left with a room full of decks that , once again, need to separated into the different styles, hologramming- each deck is affixed with our holograms and certificate, wrapping- each signature is then covered loosely by paper and then plastic (to assure it doesn't smear over time, and lastly- storing- the decks are then located and stored within our new wonderfully spacious warehouse facility. The packing process could possibly take upwards of a week to be done right.
So there you have it- the behind the scenes breakdown of a Tony Hawk signing. Periodically (especially on multi-signed pieces and events) I will be getting more into the background story on our amazing pieces as there is a lot more involved than most would realize.

Saturday is our public appearance with Brian Leetch at Last Licks Scarsdale. This is Brian's first public signing (quite possible ever...at least in my eight plus years of service). It should be an unbelievable event and, for the first time in what seems like forever, the weather should cooperate...hope to see you there!


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