Stick It On The Fridge

Words by Alex Kaufman

Photos by Ski The East Facebook Fans

Remember when you were young and stickers were one of life's great achievements? You'd put them all over everything you owned with little concern for their quality, relevance or what it might say about you to the outside world. As we get older, we develop a sense of self that causes us to pause before littering our belongings with random statements and brands. This causes a buildup of stickers. There are two types of people when it comes to this evolutionary sticker dilemma.

Type 1: Do not adhere them to anything. There might come a time or place where that beer logo would be perfect. These folks may have a bag or drawer filled up and ever growing with fresh stickers. These people are afraid of commitment.

Type 2: Sticker dumpers. Whether on a roof rack, laptop, refrigerator or silly vandalism, these folks create a shrine that allows all the stickers to co-exist on display in a sort of "this is what I'm into" stew.

We recently showed off a ski heavy collection noticed in North Conway, NH on our facebook page. It brought a number of other quality collections out of the eastern woodwork. Each tells a story of triumph, despair, political affiliation and recreational interest. Let's take a look.
 

The Cleaner

This was the original we posted. Much can be gleaned about it's owner from it's exterior. It tells a story of former Nascar Fan (placement upper left means it was the first sticker on the unit potentially from a previous owner). This person is highly organized (notice the lack of sticker overlap). Their ski areas of choice are local to the MWV, but they also venture often. The open door indicates the fridge is only being kept for its sticker collection. The weed whacker and other home maintenance items confirm that this fridge is past its party days.

The Reformed Hippie

Exhibit B has more than one Phish sticker on it and the Telemark Tips sticker confirms that this person is "sharing in the groove". They may wish to note other musical interests are present as well as not to be labed a phishhead. A solid mix of beer, mountain biking and multiple EMS born stickers complete the picture of a well worn mountain soldier.

The Addict (to stickers)

Our only entrant with a representative, we have a leader in the total number category. Odds are this person was in the headphones business as a sticker of that scope is made in very small numbers. They may be mad at Skull Candy for "stealing their idea". Hard to tell if the fridge is in use or simply a decoration with great meaning to the owner. I'm seeing 4 Sunday River stickers. Points are deducted for numerous sticker repeats.

The Artist

A nicely varied and artistic layout draws the eyes to the grenade. Freezer handle flames are also a nice touch. That chopper is high on the badass scale. This person takes great care in their sticker selection and placement. They are rewarded. 

The Aging Skater

A higher percentage of societal statements makes this entrant an interesting view, if not a more concerning owner to meet in a back alley. Wonder what Slappin Grama is all about. Somebody google that.

Still Addicted

Oh wait, this is the same fridge as #3 from a different angle. Holy shit! It's next to another one, which is also covered in stickers, albeit more selectively. Clearly the biggest news in this shot is the impressive vinyl selection. This person does not throw things away. Five Gunstock stickers are visible from this angle. Go Pats.

Beer and Politics

Having a keg inside is clearly an advantage in the fridge wars. I'm not sure I want to make too many comments on this one, Tea Party sticker and all. In case you're curious: In 2000 that Lazio guy ran for Senate against Hillary Clinton and lost.