When Mark left Abilene for Dallas in 1985, the Abilene Christian University graduate had not only made a vivid impression here as a painter, song writer and performer, he had also run an imaginative, award-winning ad art agency. For almost a decade now, he's been marketing rubber ties, each one painted and sculpted individually. They're pretty wild-looking things, but sales have been good. It hasn't hurt, either, that famous folks like Jay Leno have worn them. One of my customers suggested it.
Gastroenterologists just love it.
Although the native Abilenian's work as a song writer and painter is well-known, his entry into the realm of books and rubber ties might surprise some. Mark says the rubber ties came about with the oil bust. And that's when I began making rubber ties. Mark says the rubber tie business resulted from a lucky mistake. I was doing some paintings in Dallas for the banks and corporations.