Eugene
Bruce Holland Rogers is an award-winning writer of short stories and has lived in Eugene since 1996.
Samples of his short fiction may be found at shortshortshort.com.
In October 2014, Bruce was researching complementary currencies for a book (that he is still working on). He was amazed that efforts to start a complementary currency in Eugene, Oregon, had never been very successful. Eugene is a city with a distinctive identity and a population likely to embrace a campaign to increase local trade.
Bruce was also a casual collector of banknotes, particularly notes that he found beautiful, and had just discovered the world of art notes. These are banknotes that do not represent a currency but are made simply for the pleasures of design. Among Bruce's favorite art notes were the Kingdom of Time notes designed by Thomas Stebbins: one second, one minute, and especially one day.
When Bruce decided that he just might be crazy enough to launch a complementary currency for Eugene, he had a favorite artist in mind.
our history
For the Eugene skinner notes I wanted to create something as far removed from the look of US dollar bills as possible. At Bruce's suggestion, the color palette was inspired by tie-dye, so there's no mistaking the skinner for a dollar even at a distance. In the hand, skinners are distinctive by feel, too, owing to the polymer substrate that they are printed in. Additionally a clear strip running vertically in the center of the note adds both security and a surprising design element that is only possible with polymer.
Words from the designer
skinner
currency
bruce holland rogers ©