Shane Bauer might be the one guy in Duluth few people know, but most have probably heard from.
An up-and-coming graphic designer who works from a small bedroom in his Piedmont home, Bauer creates positive, sometimes comical messagesthat are popping up all over town -- on personalized greeting cards,Fitger's new Web site and the "Elect Papa Murphy's" campaign signs plantedin local yards a couple of months ago.
So far, about 12 signs have been stolen, showing up later in spots where they weren't originally placed.
Paul Christensen, owner of the three PapaMurphy's stores in the Twin Ports, dreamed up the concept of the election signs and hired Bauer to make it happen. "He's really creative, and he's really easy to work with," Christensen said.
Bauer worked as promotion and design director for Grandma's Marathon Inc. for more than five years. He broke with the marathon in May 2007 to start Laughingstock Design.
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Launching his own company was inevitable. While in high school in the early 1990s, he designed the logo for his high school hockey team in Hazen, N.D. It's still used by the team today.
"I had a lot of clients by the time I was a junior in high school," he said.
Laughingstock Design initially sold personalized greeting cards, incorporating photos of clients into various scenes, such as a family snowball fight.
That blossomed into larger projects -- Web sites, advertisements and campaign materials. One of his clients is Roger Reinert, Duluth City Council president now running for the Minnesota House of Representatives.
Reinert knew of Bauer from his days at Grandma's Marathon and hired him largely because of Bauer's paramount commitment to being positive.
"The fact that he chooses to do positive things," was key, Reinert said. "He's a great designer. He's also just a really positive person to work with."
Bauer's biggest single project right now started when he spotted a T-shirt in a department store with the words "Bite Me" across the chest.
He did more than just shake his head in disgust. He created the Happy Space PositiveWear line of clothing.
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"This sort of stuff is a direct result of having kids," said the proud father of a 4-year-old and 1-year-old as he held up an infant-sized T-shirt titled Joy Factory. Other T-shirts that range in sizes up to adult are labeled Human Just Like You, Happy Space, Live in Harmony, All Natural, Find Your Rhythm, and Peaceful Inside and Out.
With six adult T-shirts, and two for kids, he hopes to add a new T-shirt each month. He has 28 ideas ready to print. While he hopes to get stores to carry the T-shirts, he's currently selling them through his Web site at www.laughingstockdesign.com .
He's also willing to sell companies T-shirts with their logos, his designs and positive messages.
"I'll attach Laughingstock Design to anything positive," he promised.
Some day, he'd like to launch a Laughingstock comedy festival.
The goal for now, however, is to open an office and begin hiring staff.
PATRICK GARMOE can be reached at (218) 723-5229 or pgarmoe@duluthnews.com
