The sky is the limit when it comes to Penn State students’ endless talent, and Avery Vodar is a clear example of that.
Vodar, a fourth-year supply chain management student, is the founder and CEO of Buttons on Beaver. Her talent, skill and ambition have put her on the map of Penn State small businesses that re-imagine gameday fashion.
Combining southern style with an it-girl East Coast look, Buttons on Beaver has joined the list of Penn State entrepreneurs while also catering to the demand for new and innovative gameday fashion.
While gameday buttons may not be a new accessory for SEC schools, Penn State students had yet to see unique accessories like the ones Vodar creates.
Integrating a four-year high school background in graphic design and her business studies at Smeal College of Business, Vodar has successfully started her own business catering to every Penn Stater need… THON, birthdays, gamedays, Greek life — Buttons on Beaver has got you.
Each design is hand-illustrated in Adobe Illustrator, printed, cut and clipped together by Vodar.
“Everything you see, I designed by hand on Adobe Illustrator. I’ll use reference photos to get inspiration or to help trace something if I’m not confident drawing it, but otherwise like they’re all just from my head,” says Vodar.
In gearing up for football season, Vodar spent her summer creating various designs while aiming to perfect each one.
Each design can take anywhere from 20 minutes to two hours, not including re-draws which Vodar says is a necessary part of the process if you want the best product possible.
“I usually think of things that I think would be fun on a pin or what my roommates think of,” she says.
“One of my best sellers, ‘Got Glizzies?’ came to be because I had already drawn the Nittany Lion peeking over the edge of the button, and then my roommate had been begging for a hot dog pin, more specifically a ‘glizzy’ pin. So I changed it to the lion holding the hotdog and added ‘Got Glizzies’.”
Orders for gameday pins are ordered a week in advance to give Vodar time to work her magic and are distributed on Mondays and Thursdays at the Starbucks at the Pugh Center.
Pins are priced at $6 for one and $5 each if you order more than one. Custom or group orders of 10 or more are sold at $3.50 each.
Although Buttons on Beaver initially started with gamedays in mind, Vodar’s market expanded once the Penn State community started to take notice.
But her audience doesn’t just stop at Penn State students. Businesses like Doggies Pub have also taken notice and have paired with Vodar to design pins for them.
Speaking to Buttons on Beaver’s success, Vodar says that networking and dedication are crucial. She continues telling others who may want to start their own business not to be afraid to follow their dreams.
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