Cute BDay Card

I found this cute card which would be a cool thing to have in your card drawer for those scooterist birthdays that seem to pop up here and there. Inside it says, "Wishing you a day of great adventures." Maybe there's a fancy lady scooterist in your life who might enjoy it.
Get it at Taylor Papers for $2.75.

New Scoot! T-Shirt

We've got a new t-shirt that should go into production in the next couple of weeks. Designed by Spanish artist, Charuca, for our Scooter Art issue, it is a vibrant, sexy illustration likely to get scooter boys and girls excited to get dressed in the morning. Because many of our past graphic Ts have sold out quickly, we're trying a pre-order system this time. You can go to our website & place a pre-order which will not charge your card until we are ready to ship the shirt. This will help us order a more appropriate quantity. The shirt comes in both
a women's version and a men's version so make sure to order the right one.
Note: the Scoot! logo will not appear on the shirt, just in the online logo.

If you have any feedback on the shirt or suggestions on what sort of clothing or lifestyle items you would like Scoot! to offer, let me know. We aim to please...:)

Also, if you want to get a look at Charuca's other work, visit her website.

Scoot! Magazine Isue #40 Now Available

I've been so busy working on the next issue that I completely forgot to mention that the Summer issue is now available. We've brought back the Scooter Art issue and have some cool submissions from all over the world. We've also got our review of the Piaggio MP3. Find out what we think about this eye-catching three wheeler. Our "Ladies Love Cool Scoots" article will introduce you to all-female scooter clubs from around the US along with some tips on starting your own club. We've also got the scoop on Grammy Award-winning rock group Audio Adrenaline and their recent tour which included a fleet of Honda Ruckuses. Have you seen the Gymboree "When in Rome" baby clothes line? Check it out in the Scooter Collector. There's a lot more in this issue, so check it out at the Scoot! webiste.

Art Vespa...Cool Idea

I hapened upon this news item. Vespa South Africa had a contest where design professionials were asked to create an artistic treatment for an LX. The winners each won an LX bearing his/her design. I think that is a great idea. It gets the design community involved with customizing the scooters, which is a big draw to scooterists, and provides some interesting news about the company. I'd love it if a manufacturer in the US would do the same.
Check out the
Vespa South Africa site for other winners and a downloadable computer wallpaper of the entries.

Summer issue in production

Our Summer issue, due out May 15th, is in production. It's going to be a fun issue. We're spotlighting Scooter Art with a range of artists that use scooters as their inspiration or as their canvas. We even have two artfully exectued scooters for our Readers Ride to go along with the theme. We're also focusing on women's scooter clubs. I interviewed folks from several clubs and included some great advice on starting your own all-female club.

Also, this issue features reviews of the Piaggio MP3 and Argo AR150. Josh and Mike had a blast on the MP3 and have lots to say about it!

If you haven't heard (since we haven't really publicized it)we're planning on publishing 5 issues this year, with further plans to go 6 issues next year. Those with current subscriptions will get the additional issue. It's very exciting and will give us a chance to get out more news in a timely manner and to whittle down the time between issues. I often hear from readers that can't get enough and dislike the long gaps between our quarterly issues.

I'm Back!

Sorry for the big hiatus. Our website was not able to be updated since February and our webmaster was on a sailing boat off the coast of Italy. Considering that I am kinda dumb when it comes to maintaining a server, I'm glad he's back and able to help.

So much has been happening that I am not sure where to start. Well, the next issue will be out in May. We're in the layout phase right now. We're featuring Scooter Art and All-Girl Scooter Clubs. We've also got some great custom scooters that embody their owners' artistic abilities. Look for reviews of the Piaggio MP3 and the Argo AR150-18. I'm pleased that we're introducing two new recurring sections: Budget Bling, which gives you the scoop on customizing your scooter inexpensively; and Josh's Tattoo Corner which will feature scooter-themed tattoos. If you've got any ideas on future columns for these sections, let me know.

Upcoming features include an article on creating more scooter parking in your town; a "Totally 80s" feature reminiscing about the scooter resurgence in the 1980s; Scooter collections: individuals with mind-blowing scooter collections that inspire envy. If you want to contribute to any of these stories, let me know.

Another cool development is that we've got a new t-shirt in the works, designed by one of our contributors to this next issue. We're hammering out the printing particulars, but let me just say that the shirt is super-cute! It's a fitting replacement for the blue ringer shirt with the scooter couple on it.

There's more to say, but I'll save that for another post. It's good to be back!

Scooter Girl Calendars

Wondering how to kep that scootring spirit going while you're stuck at your desk indooors? Two scooter clubs have created calendars that may do just that. The SF Scooter Girls out of San Francisco and Midwest USA's The Debutantes SC both have released calendars that feature pinup-style photos of their members. Previous year's editions of the alendars have been such big hits that both clubs have increased their production for 2007. Order yours, now:

The Debutantes SC

The SF Scooter Girls

Calling all artists with scooter themes...

If you are an artist that uses scooters in his/her art or uses scooters as your canvas, let us know. We're working on an upcoming Scooter Art issue which celebrates how the scooters can motivate creativity with their design or through the freedom they symbolize. Painting, sculpture, video, photography, textile art..we want to see it! In past issues we printed examples of the art as well as artists info. Might be a great way to sell some of your artwork to appreciative scooter fans. Contact me for more information.

Blog was messed up...

It appears that many of the blog posts I posted over the past 6 weeks or so didn't make it onto my blog. Sorry! I haven't abandoned the blog, we've just had some technical errors which I think had something to go with migrating it to appear on our site. Most of my old pics disappeared. Ugh! I'll look into ironing it out over the next few weeks.

I am hard at work on the Spring 07 issue which features our Buyer's Guide. It is a TON of work, but I hope that it will all be worth it in the end. Mike will be in layout stages next week.

After all this time in front of the computer and OFF my scooter, I'm looking forward to a weekend away. Josh & I are planning a business trip one weekend in January to Miami to checkout some scooter stuff for the Summer issue. If you live in Miami, let us know maybe we can get together!

I'm also working on some pieces for upcoming issues:
Totally 80s: we're looking for people who were scooterists in the 80s who can send us photos of their old scooters, fashions and the like. With the advent of so many new scooters and scooterists, we'd like to pay hommage to the distinct style of US scootering in the 80s. If you want to contribute or have any ideas, let me know.

Scooter Art: Are you an artist that uses scooters in your art? We want to put together another scooter art issue. Contact me if you are interested or have a tip on a scooter artist. Also great opportunity for those who do custom murals and such on scooters.

Well, back to editing the Spring issue....
-april