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His name is Matt Roeser, and he makes buttons. But not just any buttons, buttons that Harry Potter fans would love.

"I’ve always enjoyed making things, designing stuff, trying to be creative," Matt says. "I like working on websites and doodling. And I always thought it would be cool to be able to make buttons and t-shirts, etc. with whatever I wanted on them. For as true fans of something, there are rarely great merchandise that you can buy that will fit to the thing you love so much about something. And that sort of led me to the Harry Potter buttons."

Matt is a junior at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri, majoring in advertising, and he's using what he's learning about marketing and putting the proceeds from the buttons towards his education.

"I think there is a lot of cool Harry Potter merchandise, but there is an overwhelming amount of crap out there that I don’t think deserves to have the Harry Potter name on it. So, I was joking around with some friends, thinking of what I would put on things if I were in charge of the Potter merchandise, and the button ideas sprouted from that."

But why buttons with Harry Potter themes?

"On a high school trip in December of 1999," Matt explains, "my friend Meredith was reading the first Harry Potter book, and I commented on how I had seen those in the stores and they looked interesting. She said she was loving it so far. So, for Christmas, she got me the first book as a gift. (The best Christmas gift ever!) That evening was the first evening of Christmas break for our school and I had plans to hang out with a friend. He later called and said he had to babysit his sister. So, with the evening open, I, curious, pulled out Meredith’s gift and began reading it.

"WOW! After the first chapter, I just thought this was the coolest thing ever! Being a lover of mysteries I was very intriqued by the whole mystery surrounding this little baby who somehow defeated the most evil wizard of the time. The rest is history. I flew through the book, had to have the second, read it and went onto the third, and then began the wait for the 4th book. I few friends and family members and I went to Barnes and Noble at midnight for the Goblet of Fire release, as we did for the Order of the Phoenix as well. I anxiously await the 6th book and 3rd film, which looks awesome."

The buttons are made by Matt himself, using his own button press and button products made by Badge-a-minit which yields very high-quality buttons. Matt says that the most fun part about making them for him is coming up with the designs and the phrases.

"I like coming up with buttons I think the people in the Harry Potter universe would wear, such as the S.P.E.W. badges obviously, but others like Remember Cedric Diggory, and I’m quite sure Gladys Gudgeon would wear a Gilderoy Lockhart Fan Club button.

"As an avid fan, I come from the point of view of 'What would I want to wear to show my love for Harry Potter?' and go from there. Some are obscure, like the 62442 badge, but I like the fact that only people who have read Harry Potter 5 would know what you’re saying with your button."

For more information about Matt's Harry Potter buttons, visit xionakis.dune.net/harrypotterbuttons.htm. ©

Published March 30, 2004

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