I make people want things
they were sure they didn’t want.
ARTIST
I started selling New York City Garbage in 2001 after a coworker's offhand comment.
“Packaging design doesn’t matter.”
I thought that was ridiculous, so I set out to package something no one would ever buy. The filthy streets of Times Square had the obvious answer: garbage.
I made 10 cubes and sold them for $10 each from a cardboard box. After 8 hours, a gentleman from Ecuador bought the first one. Then I built a website, and it went viral before social media existed, through blogs, newspapers, radio, and TV news worldwide.
Now in its 25th year, New York City Garbage is taught in university design and art programs worldwide, featured in art publications and exhibitions, and has sold over 1,800 cubes to collectors in 30+ countries. The cubes now sell for $100, or $125 for limited editions.
I’ve produced limited releases for New Year’s Eve in Times Square, Obama’s Inauguration, the Dublin St. Patrick’s Day Parade, and championship parades for the Yankees, Giants, and NY Liberty. I was also the ghost artist for Oscar the Grouch on a Squarespace campaign benefiting Sesame Workshop, collaborated with Only NY on a 100-piece Bodega Edition, and was recently commissioned by the NYC Department of Sanitation to create a one-of-a-kind Garbage side table.
Then, on July 3, 2026, the wedding of the century happened at MSG. I wasn’t invited, so I put on a tuxedo and collected the garbage outside. An :08 TikTok of the Pocket Garbage passed 900k views, at one point getting 10 views a second. Then the press avalanche came: NY Daily News, Forbes, TMZ, CBS, NBC, BBC, AP, and every reputable meme account on the planet. That week, nycgarbage.com had visitors from 88 countries, and all 50 cubes sold out in 24 hours and 8 minutes.
According to one IG post, Taylor’s reps have denied her involvement.
The NYC Garbage World Tour brings local editions and pop-ups to new cities, starting with Atlanta in 2025 and Amsterdam in September 2026.
My other work, including Wants for Sale, Needs for Sale, QRapping Paper, and
Nudes of Chatroulette, has been exhibited and featured in press worldwide.
SPEAKER
Everything I Know About Marketing
I Learned From Selling Garbage
How a cube of trash became a global art business, and what strangers’ coffee cups and hurdling rats taught me about attention, storytelling, and perceived value.
For brands, agencies, sales teams, and anyone who needs proof that anything is possible.
Pair it with a garbage-making workshop, where your team turns trash into something people actually want. You’d be shocked how much fun playing with garbage can be.ENTREPRENEUR
Garbage taught me that people pay for what they believe is valuable. Working Not Working was built on the same idea, applied to people. For 13 years, we gave the Universe's best creatives a place to be seen and gave top companies a better way to find them. Though I may be even prouder of our legendary Freelancer Holiday Parties.
R.I.P.
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Before Working Not Working, I was an award-winning art director and creative director at agencies across the U.S. In 2006, I was CD on Elf Yourself for OfficeMax, unexpectedly unleashing the world’s elf fetish and drawing 36 million visits in its first five weeks. The following holiday season, it got 193 million visits in under six weeks, with more Americans visiting ElfYourself.com than Facebook. Over 2.5 billion elves have been created in the 20 years since, making it perhaps the most viral marketing effort of all time.
I’ve also sold what may be the world’s most expensive T-shirt for $300,000 to benefit UNICEF, made a Super Bowl commercial with Muhammad Ali, won hardware at all the major award shows, and been named one of Ad Age’s 50 Most Creative People.
I’m always up for good projects with good people, especially tomfoolery. Big, dumb, fun ideas culture can’t ignore.2,500,000,000+ elves created
$300,000