Label
BUSY BEE HARDWARE
1963
Donated by Laura Kidson Hausladen, with thanks to Eric Evavold
Neon restored by Roxy Rose
With just four neon tubes on each side of the sign, the flying Busy Bee with its animated wings is an object of simplicity. The bee was constructed in the waning days of neon, as signs were being replaced with cheaper plastic materials. Although a backlit-plastic sign could glow, a plastic sign could not flap its wings – the Busy Bee was made of neon for that purpose.
Once suspended over the entrance of the nearly 100-year-old, family-run hardware store on 1521 Santa Monica Boulevard, the bee has flown from the City of Santa Monica to the Museum of Neon Art for a new home.