My husband is about to finish all the steps to become a licensed architect and I want to get him his first professional name plate as a gift to celebrate but I have no idea what to put on it.
John H. Doe, AIA
John H. Doe, Architect
John H. Doe, Licensed Architect
Or something else? What do y’all do?
archanonymous
Aug 18, 20 11:40 pm
Like a nameplate for the desk?
citizen
Aug 19, 20 12:04 am
AIA is fine, but only if he's ponied up the hundreds or more in membership fees.
Architect is best.
Licensed Architect is redundant.
Kudos to your husband and his thoughtful spouse. It's a big deal.
Josh Mings
Aug 19, 20 12:10 am
Lance Hardwood, Sex Architect
Non Sequitur
Aug 19, 20 7:26 am
This is what the internet was created for.
randomised
Aug 19, 20 6:50 am
John H. Doe, stamper of drawings
John H. Doe, could’ve been a doctor
John H. Doe, can’t afford my own designs
b3tadine[sutures]
Aug 19, 20 7:16 am
You forgot...(!)
b3tadine[sutures]
Aug 19, 20 7:17 am
John H. Doe, head drawer
archanonymous
Aug 19, 20 9:57 am
John H. Doe, Top Drawer
SneakyPete
Aug 19, 20 12:23 pm
This thread is gold, both for real and silly answers, but yours made me laugh in meat space, archanonymous.
Non Sequitur
Aug 19, 20 7:36 am
John H. Doe, my grandparents think I’m an engineer, AIA.
Bloopox
Aug 19, 20 11:13 am
I guess this could be a cute gift for your husband's desk at home, but the only nameplate I've ever seen on an architect's desk or door in a firm was on The Brady Bunch. It's a little stuffy and dated for most architects - more of a banker or accountant accessory. The thing that an architect usually gets as soon as they're licensed is a stamp or embosser, but you'd need the license number to put on it, so it doesn't really work as a surprise gift.
citizen
Aug 19, 20 12:30 pm
^ This is what I assumed the gift was for-- celebratory and fun.
Aluminate
Aug 19, 20 1:32 pm
I think the OP thinks this is a professional thing, because of calling it a "first professional nameplate" - as if there would be future additional nameplates. On the other hand, maybe the future nameplates would also be from the spouse and commemorate various household and relationship achievements.
b3tadine[sutures]
Aug 19, 20 6:37 pm
I understand these make great emBOSSers.
senjohnblutarsky
Aug 19, 20 11:48 am
I have one that says "Head Honcho".
Would like to have one that says "Master of Disaster".
Would settle for one that said "Not your babysitter"
SneakyPete
Aug 19, 20 12:34 pm
Keyser Söze
Spartacus
Chad Miller
Aug 19, 20 1:41 pm
Benevolent Overlord, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C
Everyday Architect
Aug 19, 20 3:13 pm
Architect nameplates are made by interns using the laser cutter and/or 3d printer in their down time.
Chad Miller
Aug 19, 20 6:01 pm
What intern can afford their own laser cutter or 3d printer?
SneakyPete
Aug 19, 20 6:03 pm
*looks at laser cutter by desk in house* Oh, you said INTERN,
Everyday Architect
Aug 19, 20 6:59 pm
Kid's these days, right!? Maybe if they stopped buying avocado toast they could afford one. You know back in my day we just used the school's or the office's laser cutter or 3d printer.
atelier nobody
Aug 19, 20 3:25 pm
My business cards say "nobody-in-charge".
proto
Aug 19, 20 4:24 pm
@OP, short answer: don't get a name plate
suggest: a nice pen, the kind that look good when signing contracts or whipping off napkin sketches
or, if you insist on the name plate, maybe just use his nickname: "KNOB"
senjohnblutarsky
Aug 19, 20 5:20 pm
Maybe ask him what he's had his eye on.
I was going to get a Mondaine watch as my gift to myself for finishing exams/licensure. Five years later, no watch. I should have done it, but always found excuses to not do so.
If there isn't a specific want: nice pen, nice pocketknife, or random fancy gizmo for work (I put a laser measurer on my wedding registry. Best sneaky gift ever).
atelier nobody
Aug 19, 20 5:50 pm
Every architect should have at least one really nice pen. Montblanc is cliché, but some of the higher end Pelikan Souverans and S.T. Duponts are quite nice.
Chad Miller
Aug 19, 20 6:02 pm
Fuck that. Sharpie and / or Pilot Precise V5, with an extra fine point for both. Anything else and you're just being pretentious. :P
atelier nobody
Aug 19, 20 6:43 pm
Hmm, if I order my "cheap" pens from the UK (because the US version is crap), is that pretentious?
archanonymous
Aug 19, 20 7:38 pm
nah, the UK Flairs are legitimately better.
archanonymous
Aug 19, 20 7:40 pm
and as far as nice stuff goes, I though Rotring was a little more architect style? I've got a cool one that is mechanical pencil, black or blue, and red. Montblanc or whatever screams pretentious banker, while Rotring indicates that you're just a pedantic asshole, par for the course for architects.
atelier nobody
Aug 20, 20 2:17 pm
I have a Rotring 600 2mm leadholder that I like, but rarely use. Prior to the pestilence, all of my fountain pens were in regular rotation (the Flairs and other "commodity" pens normally live in cups on my desk, not my pocket).
Non Sequitur
Aug 20, 20 2:43 pm
I just stopped by my favorite pen store at lunch today since I had not been in since C19 started. I'll be sending my wife down come anniversary time. One cannot have enough fountain pens.
atelier nobody
Aug 20, 20 3:08 pm
I bought one new pen early in the pestilence. It was an experimental pen for me - I thought I'd try out a Cross Selectip with the felt tip refills. I don't hate it, but the felt tip sure ain't no Flair...
randomised
Aug 20, 20 6:09 pm
Did a job once for the company that makes Montblanc pens and Cartier watches in Amsterdam, the security was insane, one watch easily the price of a house apparently...yet they couldn’t afford normal espresso machines.
JLC-1
Aug 20, 20 6:26 pm
I've had a caran d'ache 2 mm lead holder for 26 years, all others are disposable. really nice weight. It's not expensive at all.
Chad Miller
Aug 21, 20 10:08 am
atelier - we all know that even without fancy pens you're pretentious. :P
Chad Miller
Aug 21, 20 10:09 am
Never used a fountain pen. I do have a nice lead holder though.
It's important to note that I tend to 'misplace' most of my pens so having a $50 plus pen makes no sense to me. For hand drawn renderings and watercolor sketches I use Micron pens.
atelier nobody
Aug 21, 20 1:53 pm
Have you noticed a decline in the quality of Microns, or did I just get a bad batch? I've been using them for the last 25+ years, but recently I've had a bunch leak, and it seems the tips don't last as long.
Aluminate
Aug 21, 20 3:10 pm
I ran across all my lead holders the other day while cleaning. When I was drafting by hand I always had 10 of them going at once: 1 each of 5 different lead hardnesses, in both graphite and plastic leads. In that same box are all my technical pens - separate sets for india ink and waterproof, and sometimes blue. I still have hundreds of fountain pen nibs and a couple "prestigious pens" for their day, though I haven't used any of them in 20+ years. And even older ruling pens and their bottles of ink. And pen cleaners: both utrasonic and bulb types, and the respective cleaning fluids for them. And don't even get me started on the many sets of curves, triangles, lettering guides, compasses, dividers, drafting arms... These days software and OS updates suck up so much money, but the fortune sunk in those many boot boxes of obsolete tools and supplies may even beat that.
My husband is about to finish all the steps to become a licensed architect and I want to get him his first professional name plate as a gift to celebrate but I have no idea what to put on it.
John H. Doe, AIA
John H. Doe, Architect
John H. Doe, Licensed Architect
Or something else? What do y’all do?
Like a nameplate for the desk?
AIA is fine, but only if he's ponied up the hundreds or more in membership fees.
Architect is best.
Licensed Architect is redundant.
Kudos to your husband and his thoughtful spouse. It's a big deal.
Lance Hardwood, Sex Architect
This is what the internet was created for.
John H. Doe, stamper of drawings
John H. Doe, could’ve been a doctor
John H. Doe, can’t afford my own designs
You forgot...(!)
John H. Doe, head drawer
John H. Doe, Top Drawer
This thread is gold, both for real and silly answers, but yours made me laugh in meat space, archanonymous.
John H. Doe, my grandparents think I’m an engineer, AIA.
I guess this could be a cute gift for your husband's desk at home, but the only nameplate I've ever seen on an architect's desk or door in a firm was on The Brady Bunch. It's a little stuffy and dated for most architects - more of a banker or accountant accessory. The thing that an architect usually gets as soon as they're licensed is a stamp or embosser, but you'd need the license number to put on it, so it doesn't really work as a surprise gift.
^ This is what I assumed the gift was for-- celebratory and fun.
I think the OP thinks this is a professional thing, because of calling it a "first professional nameplate" - as if there would be future additional nameplates. On the other hand, maybe the future nameplates would also be from the spouse and commemorate various household and relationship achievements.
I understand these make great emBOSSers.
I have one that says "Head Honcho".
Would like to have one that says "Master of Disaster".
Would settle for one that said "Not your babysitter"
Keyser Söze
Spartacus
Benevolent Overlord, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C
Architect nameplates are made by interns using the laser cutter and/or 3d printer in their down time.
What intern can afford their own laser cutter or 3d printer?
*looks at laser cutter by desk in house* Oh, you said INTERN,
Kid's these days, right!? Maybe if they stopped buying avocado toast they could afford one. You know back in my day we just used the school's or the office's laser cutter or 3d printer.
My business cards say "nobody-in-charge".
@OP, short answer: don't get a name plate
suggest: a nice pen, the kind that look good when signing contracts or whipping off napkin sketches
or, if you insist on the name plate, maybe just use his nickname: "KNOB"
Maybe ask him what he's had his eye on.
I was going to get a Mondaine watch as my gift to myself for finishing exams/licensure. Five years later, no watch. I should have done it, but always found excuses to not do so.
If there isn't a specific want: nice pen, nice pocketknife, or random fancy gizmo for work (I put a laser measurer on my wedding registry. Best sneaky gift ever).
Every architect should have at least one really nice pen. Montblanc is cliché, but some of the higher end Pelikan Souverans and S.T. Duponts are quite nice.
Fuck that. Sharpie and / or Pilot Precise V5, with an extra fine point for both. Anything else and you're just being pretentious. :P
Hmm, if I order my "cheap" pens from the UK (because the US version is crap), is that pretentious?
nah, the UK Flairs are legitimately better.
and as far as nice stuff goes, I though Rotring was a little more architect style? I've got a cool one that is mechanical pencil, black or blue, and red. Montblanc or whatever screams pretentious banker, while Rotring indicates that you're just a pedantic asshole, par for the course for architects.
I have a Rotring 600 2mm leadholder that I like, but rarely use. Prior to the pestilence, all of my fountain pens were in regular rotation (the Flairs and other "commodity" pens normally live in cups on my desk, not my pocket).
I just stopped by my favorite pen store at lunch today since I had not been in since C19 started. I'll be sending my wife down come anniversary time. One cannot have enough fountain pens.
I bought one new pen early in the pestilence. It was an experimental pen for me - I thought I'd try out a Cross Selectip with the felt tip refills. I don't hate it, but the felt tip sure ain't no Flair...
Did a job once for the company that makes Montblanc pens and Cartier watches in Amsterdam, the security was insane, one watch easily the price of a house apparently...yet they couldn’t afford normal espresso machines.
I've had a caran d'ache 2 mm lead holder for 26 years, all others are disposable. really nice weight. It's not expensive at all.
atelier - we all know that even without fancy pens you're pretentious. :P
Never used a fountain pen. I do have a nice lead holder though.
It's important to note that I tend to 'misplace' most of my pens so having a $50 plus pen makes no sense to me. For hand drawn renderings and watercolor sketches I use Micron pens.
Have you noticed a decline in the quality of Microns, or did I just get a bad batch? I've been using them for the last 25+ years, but recently I've had a bunch leak, and it seems the tips don't last as long.
I ran across all my lead holders the other day while cleaning. When I was drafting by hand I always had 10 of them going at once: 1 each of 5 different lead hardnesses, in both graphite and plastic leads. In that same box are all my technical pens - separate sets for india ink and waterproof, and sometimes blue. I still have hundreds of fountain pen nibs and a couple "prestigious pens" for their day, though I haven't used any of them in 20+ years. And even older ruling pens and their bottles of ink. And pen cleaners: both utrasonic and bulb types, and the respective cleaning fluids for them. And don't even get me started on the many sets of curves, triangles, lettering guides, compasses, dividers, drafting arms... These days software and OS updates suck up so much money, but the fortune sunk in those many boot boxes of obsolete tools and supplies may even beat that.
pen/cil quiver