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339 Days And Counting

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By ROB WALKER New York Times News Service

Published: February 17, 2008

Updated: 02/15/2008 06:22 pm

Remember George W. Bush?

Given all the excitement generated by heated contests for both the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations, it's easy to forget that the current resident of the White House will not be moving out for nearly a year. Then again, maybe you know precisely when that particular change occurs, since the date - Jan. 20, 2009 - has found its way onto a variety of buttons, bumper stickers, T-shirts and even golf balls and hot sauce. In fact, the rendering of that date as 01.20.09 was trademarked by a small company that sold more than $1 million worth of "Bush's Last Day" merchandise in 2007.

Not surprisingly, perhaps, the company is based in Vermont. Its founder, Elliott Nachwalter, is an artisan who sells handmade pipes (fashioned from "the rarest of plateaux briar burls from the hillsides of Greece and Italy"). Or at least that's what he was doing in 2005, when he designed and handed out buttons adorned with the Bush era's expiration date. The feedback was so enthusiastic, he says, that he decided to order a larger batch of buttons from a unionized factory in New Jersey, he notes - and sell them. This was followed by bumper stickers and hats and the like. In addition to selling the items at bushslastday.com, he took a selection to the New York Gift Show - a trade show - and started the process of building a network of more than 600 retailers. His BLD Designs added more and more products, and sales momentum is still gathering. "We haven't hit the crest yet," Nachwalter says. He now has six employees (some part time). The pipe-crafting is on hold.

Given that the president's approval ratings have been no higher than the 30s for about a year now, Nachwalter's product line has broad potential appeal. But there's no question that he's coming from a very specific political point of view, suggested by the prominent use of peace symbols in his designs, as well as a list of "groups we support" on the BLD Designs site that includes Greenpeace and MoveOn.org. Celebrities spotted in the company's T-shirts include Rosie O'Donnell and William Baldwin. On the other hand, in addition to the picture of a VW with a 01.20.09 sticker on the Web site, there's a photo of a military vehicle sporting one, apparently sent in by a soldier in Iraq.

Nachwalter has received some hate mail, but laughs it off on account of poor spelling. Some friends and family members who weren't too excited about his project when he was simply an artisan-activist handing out anti-Bush pins have come around. "Once it turned into a successful business, then it was OK," he says. He has proved to be fairly innovative in dreaming up new ways to meet demand for anti-Bush products. Bush Biskits - the "natural dog treats" made in the USA that "every liberal dog in the country has been drooling for," a promotion says - have taken on a life of their own, with a separate Web site and pet-store distribution. (A box of 24 Bush-shaped biscuits costs $46.80.) Another option: desk clocks that show both the current time and a preset countdown feature so you can track how many days, hours and minutes are left in the Bush presidency. These are also available as key chains.

The obvious problem with a business tied to a specific event is that on Jan. 21, 2009, Nachwalter's entire stock becomes ... dated. He does not sound concerned. Maybe it's an advantage for the peddler of novelty goods to know in advance when the novelty will evaporate. But now that he has learned the ropes of trade shows and retail, it doesn't sound as if he'll be making pipes again anytime soon: He says he has another entrepreneurial idea in the works ("not political" is pretty much all he'll say about it).

And in the meantime, he's counting on the Bush administration concluding in a wave of celebratory parties, which should let his business go out with a bang.

Lately, BLD has started to sell merchandise that isn't simply anti-Bush, but pro-Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. So far, sales of these more upbeat items lag well behind the cranky 01.20.09 merchandise. But that makes sense, given that competitive primaries and elections in general tend to be divisive affairs. Maybe it's only a politician leaving office at a deeply pessimistic moment who can truly bring together all kinds of Americans in a coalition of shared disillusion, expressed through shopping - and becoming, however belatedly, a uniter.

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