When I was younger one of the hallmarks of the back to school season was filling a new backpack with supplies for the upcoming year. Now that summer vacation is winding down for many, it got me thinking about the essential items in my autograph bag and what I need to be prepared for another year of graphing.
In the video below I take you inside my autograph bag and discuss 11 must-have items that should be in yours.
What’s in your autograph bag?
Matt Raymond
Matt Raymond is the founder of Autograph University. He lives in the Boston area with his wife and two sons. Connect with him on Twitter at @mattraymond.
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Small adds for those who do cards along with photo and what I normally have :
Photo corner
25ct case for signed cards
Larger white eraser
Mulitiple pens. Min of 5 sharpie. Lumacolor and bic
Twitter “simplykja” with 55k autos and growing
I normally bring a binder of 8×10’s
Sharpie
Color Blending marker (so when If my shit gets personalized, I can take it off right away)
This is what’s in my bag I have prepared for baseball (Primarily Lexington Legends games):
1. My Sketchbooks (Typically carry 2-3, 4 at most, with the pages holding 4-6 cards per page) with the cards mounted inside to get signed
2. Multiple Blue Staedtlers for cards
3. Multiple Black Sharpies to disperse to fans, keeping the best one separate for myself
4. Multiple Silver, Copper, and Gold Paint Pens/Markers for potential broken bats
5. Multiple Ballpoint pens for baseballs
6. 3-4 baseballs in case someone special comes into the ballpark that I don’t have cards of
7. Photo corners in case of necessary sketchbook maintenance
8. Multiple White Pearl Erasers
9. 1 Small Container of Baby Powder
10. 1 Microfiber Towel (#’s 8, 9, and 10 are for prepping of cards I may receive in trades from other fans)
11. Rosters of each team that are as recent as possible
do black sharpies fade quicker? is that why you use the blue ones? Or because the blue sharpies show up better on the background?
Hi Lauren, great question. Black Sharpies are prone to fading on some items but using blue has more to do with the more pleasing appearance on cards and photos. That said, blue may bleed on white panel balls and jersey numbers so you have to be careful with some items.
Contents of my bag:
1. USB Photo flash drives
2. White Hi-Poly Erasers (3)
3. ROMLB Baseballs (3-5)
4. Sketchbook with Cards
5. Microfiber Towel
6. Ziploc baggies (3-5)
7. Large square of cardboard with large piece of matte cardstock taped to it for prepping markers and pens
8. Blue Staedtler Permanent Compact Lumocolor
9. Blue Staedtler Permanent Marker Lumocolor
10. Silver Sharpie (2)
11. Blue Sharpie (5+)
12. Black Sharpie (3-4)
13. Red Staedtler Permanent Lumocolor
14. Bic Ultra Round Stic Grip in BLUE (24+)
15. LIFESAVERS!!! Rackrs Autograph Cards
16. Various Folders for holding photos (3-4)