Illustration of a yellow sun smiley face over a rainbow with clouds on a blue background and with white text along the top edge of the button

Founder Russ Berrie started his business with $500, he rented a garage in Palisades Park, New Jersey, and launched his own firm named after himself. Berrie intended to design, market, and distribute “impulse” gift items. From the start, Russ Berrie & Company produced a string of hit products that quickly found their way onto countertops, desks, and dashboards across the country. Among the company’s earliest creations: Fuzzy Wuzzies (tiny fur ball-like critters bearing messages like “You’re My Best Friend” or “Wild Thing”), troll dolls (squat gnomes with plumes of brightly colored hair) and the Bupkis Family (a motley collection of endearingly ugly rubber figurines). The owner believed in the power of “transformational giving,” partnering with energetic, visionary leaders to change the world for the better. He took an entrepreneurial approach to philanthropy, using his keen interpersonal skills to identify people and causes in which to invest and working closely with partners to hone strategies and set expectations.  “There is nothing more important in life than helping a fellow human being.”  — Russell Berrie (1933-2002).

Illustration of a yellow smiley face with a blank expression on a white background with black text at the bottom

This expressionless "smiley" button is a response to the iconic image of a smiley face paired with the phrase "Have a Nice Day" that defined the 70s. 

It was known that Harvey Ball, a graphic artist and ad man from Massachusetts created the yellow smiley face in the 50s. In the early 1970s, brothers Bernard and Murray Spain, owners of two Hallmark card shops in Philadelphia appropriated the image by adding the the slogan “Have a Happy Day” to the smile. The Spain brothers copyrighted the revised mark in 1971 and produced their own novelty items shortly after. 

White block letter text with a letter O as a smiley face that is the center of an illustration of a sun on a blue background

This button was used for the Ford ad campaign in 1973. In that summer, Ford released a series of advertisements advocating the perks such as the free travel kit for summer at the dealership. 

Illustration of a smiling face in the upper left side of the button with freckles and with black text next to it

Public libraries across the U.S. have summer reading campaigns to encourage kids to come to the library while school is out and these campaigns usually have a theme or a slogan. “Happy Go Library” was the theme for the 1985 Summer Reading program for Oklahoma public libraries. The program was developed by the Office of Library Development of the Oklahoma Department of Libraries. The libraries often have contests to see how many books children can read throughout the summer

A yellow button with hand drawn dots for eyes and a hand drawn smile. The button appears to have been painted yellow (over the top of an existing button)

The classic yellow smiley face is comprised of a yellow circle, two black dots for eyes and a black arc ending in serifs for a mouth. It  was designed in 1963 by by commercial artist, Harvey Ross Ball. Ball was commissioned by The State Mutual Life Insurance Company to create a happy face to raise the morale of their employees. His version was created in 10 minutes. The design was printed onto more than 50 million buttons. Neither Ball nor the company copyrighted this smiley, so it was continually used by other businesses in their promotions.

The design and concept is quite simple and was definitely used before Ball’s 1963 version. However his has become the most iconic. Variations have been used for advertising campaigns and in popular culture ever since.

This button has the smiley faced hand drawn in marker on it.

Traditional smiley face design with a bright green background

The classic yellow smiley face is comprised of a yellow circle, two black dots for eyes and a black arc ending in serifs for a mouth. It  was designed in 1963 by by commercial artist, Harvey Ross Ball. Ball was commissioned by The State Mutual Life Insurance Company to create a happy face to raise the morale of their employees. His version was created in 10 minutes. The design was printed onto more than 50 million buttons. Neither Ball nor the company copyrighted this smiley, so it was continually used by other businesses in their promotions.

The design and concept is quite simple and was definitely used before Ball’s 1963 version. However his has become the most iconic. Variations have been used for advertising campaigns and in popular culture ever since.

Illustration of a green flower drooped over with a sad face and tear on a yellow background

A variation of the classic smiley is the inverted sad face with a tear drop. A daisy is a common flower with either white or yellow petals with a yellow center and green stem. A wilting flower can also express sadness as well as decay.

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Illustration of a green creature with red eyes and a sharp toothed grin and tongue hanging out of its mouth wearing a black and purple suit on an orange background

This button is part of the 2014 Button-O-Matic artist series produced by Busy Beaver Button Company. It was designed by artist Anya Davidson.

Illustration of a traditional smiley face design but where the eyes and mouth make up the profile views of two other smiling faces, on a bright pink background.

This button was created by Perfect School Plan which is a division of Perfect Subscription Co.

The is a variation of the classic yellow smiley face which is comprised of a yellow circle, two black dots for eyes and a black arc ending in serifs for a mouth. It was designed in 1963 by by commercial artist, Harvey Ross Ball. Ball was commissioned by The State Mutual Life Insurance Company to create a happy face to raise the morale of their employees. His version was created in 10 minutes. The design was printed onto more than 50 million buttons. Neither Ball nor the company copyrighted this smiley, so it was continually used by other businesses in their promotions.

The design and concept is quite simple and was definitely used before Ball’s 1963 version. However his has become the most iconic. Variations have been used for advertising campaigns and in popular culture ever since.

Illustration of a face where the eyes become the letter O's of the text with a red lipped mouth under the eyes on a white background

Googie's was a coffee shop and restaurant in Los Angeles on the Sunset strip. The restaurant was known for its googie architecture, a style from the 1950s to 1960s. Googie's had other locations in downtown Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, and Monterey Park. Googie's was originally owned by Mortimer C. Burton and Ernie Goldenfeld. It was then sold to Ed Thrasher. Many celebrities dined at the restaurant including James Dean, Dennis Hopper, Vampira, Marilyn Monroe, Natalie Wood, Lee Marvin, and Steve McQueen. Lenny Bruce got into a fight in Googie's and was thrown through the window. From the 1960s to the 1980s, the restaurant changed its name from Gee Gee’s, Steak n’ Stein, and Pippy’s Pizza. It was demolished in 1988.

Lipstick, or red lips, became popular in the 20^th century. The American women’s suffrage movement adopted red lipstick as a sign of protest. Prior to this movement, red lips were considered sexual amoral and during medieval times, having to do with the devil. Red lipstick became a common part of the modern American woman’s makeup regime. During World War II, Hitler famously hated red lipstick so for an American Woman to wear red lipstick was also a protest against fascism.