This work was inspired by the 1971 film ‘Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory’, starring the late great Gene Wilder. The piece has also been repurposed from an illustration I did a few years ago from a show dedicated to the author, Roald Dahl. For that image, I created a calligram using the framework of the Wonka Bar as portrayed in the film, and the lyrics of the song ‘Pure Imagination’ from the original score. The song, which Wilder performs, resonated with me so deeply, that upon hearing it, I am immediately bewitched by the nostalgia it evokes. I wanted to keep the color scheme of the Wonka Bar as close as possible to the 1971 film version, and of course had to include the elusive Golden Ticket. The story behind this particular design takes me a back a bit further than most, which you can read below.
A few years after creating the original illustration, I began to have a more active role at conventions sharing my work, and came upon the enamel pin market. It seemed to have a rabid following, and I thought about how I might tap into it with my own work. As I went through the catalog of my work in my head, I realized the iconic Wonka Bar might make for a proper design. Most of my work is very detailed and colorful, so the image needed to be a bid more simplistic, just for manufacturing purposes alone.
I worked loosely on designing something based on the illustration, but shelved the project at some point.
It would continue to collect dust on my desktop until I received an invitation from Gallery 1988 to participate in their ‘50th Anniversary of Wonka’, show. I decided this was a prime opportunity to finally finish that project, and would also give me some sense of accomplishment, because as an artist, we have a lot of what I like to call ‘orphans’ (projects that just never see the light of day or are just half finished). I also have never done an enamel pin design, and wanted to explore the market a bit, as I intended to do years ago.
In 2020 I had done a lot of ‘firsts’, with marketing my work into other forms besides prints.
In a continued effort to try new things, and experiment (as artists do), why make this year any different?
I immediately set to work using the aforementioned original design I had created as a template. I knew I was going to have to simplify the design, and had some ideas about how I was going to reorganize the image.
First, the lyrics would have to be ditched. I wanted the pin itself to be around 1”, as that seemed to be the industry standard. I also waned to retain the calligram aspect of the design itself, and determined that I could just use the title (Pure Imagination), of the titular song in question for the design, as opposed to including all the words. It would serve the same purpose, but was going to require a bit more creative ingenuity from me.
I determined that since the frame of the bar was basically a rectangle, I could use the segments of the candy bar to make up the letters. Thankfully, I also determined that the ‘Golden Ticket’ needed to be a focal point like in the original work, and placed the ribboned ticket centrally. This allowed me to square off the protruding portions of the bar, making the four letters I needed to design aesthetically more symmetrical. With my layout roughly in place, and more conceptual than actually implemented, I needed to familiarize myself with the legitimate design process of making an enamel pin itself.
I turned to everyone’s favorite research tool, the internet, or more specifically, Youtube. I had exhausted my ability to comprehend the process via text after reading non-sensical articles that began to border terminology I did not have the patience or time to decipher. Thankfully I stumbled upon Becky Holmes “Enamel Pins 101: Preparing Designs for an Enamel Pin Manufacturer”, YouTube video, so big ups to Becky!!! This got me started, and I set to work with my newfound knowledge of pantone colors, strokes, and a nifty list of ‘things to consider’.
I gathered what visual research I needed in addition to my previous design, and started to build the image in Adobe Illustrator. Thankfully I have some familiarity with the program and was able to create the line work with little difficulty. The biggest challenge was finding where some of the options I needed were buried in the platform itself (like the VERY specific pantone colors). Once I resolved those technical issues the artwork itself took me very little time, for once. The only thing I was missing was font for the ‘Golden Ticket’, for the words ‘imagination’ to complete the design. I determined that at this point, with the design somewhat finalized, I should find an affiliate; get a quote, and an estimate how long manufacturing was going to take.
I took to the Internet again, and tracked down a designer that I was going to use for an unrelated enamel pin design that never came to fruition for a charity I was doing. I’m not sure how I came by their contact information, it could have been from a friend, recommendation, or I may have taken their card during one of the many conventions I had done over the last few years. I located their site, Alchemy Merch, and did all the reading they had provided for file preparation of design work submitted. It took me a bit of time to wrap my head around the measurements, partly due to the fact that most (if not all), enamel pin manufacturers are overseas, and work in metric measurements. Also, Adobe Illustrator’s measurements are in points, a measurement I am largely unfamiliar with, and perhaps more pixel-based than tangibly quantifiable. I contacted the manufacturer using their online form with my list of questions and concerns, including my quasi-completed design for review. My primary issue was the conversion of points to mm, as I wanted an accurate depiction on my computer screen so I knew exactly how to scale, or edit my design.
I received a response the following day from Alex, and after several correspondences, was able to finalize my design. I was however unbeknownst to me, also working against a tighter deadline than I realized, due in part to the understandably slow shipping impacted by the pandemic. Alex informed me that the usual two-week turn around was actually going to be closer to four. I knew the process was going to take time, so I thought I had given myself ample leeway this time, unlike the previous shows where I was working down to the wire and had to (expensively) expedite my projects. Given this information, it looked like the pins would arrive almost the same week as the gallery’s deadline. I contacted the gallery, and thankfully they were accommodating.
I also still had to finish the font for the ‘Golden Ticket’. I scoured the internet for a font that I thought worked best, and found a typeset inspired from the film’s title treatment. I set about creating my own letters in Adobe Illustrator to adorn the ticket, using the typeset as inspiration. Upon completing it, it still lacked the whimsical feel from the film, so I included the iconic hat ‘Wonka’ wears in the film as an accent similar to the branded chocolates produced by Nestle.
Happy with final design, I submitted the file, paid my invoice, and said a prayer to whoever was listening that these pins would arrive on time for the show. It was a gamble; especially considering that the timeframe I was given from the manufacturer was even longer than they quoted by almost two weeks. The pins were slated for arrival as early as the 1st week of February, to the week of the actual show itself on the 16th.
TO BE CONTINUED….
In the next paragraph that is!
I jokingly told myself, and others that whether or not the pins arrived on time was in ‘God’s hands now’, rather dramatically.
With so much taking place in the world, I decided to simply hope it would arrive on time, and moved on.
Thankfully, they did in fact show up, and much earlier than anticipated, or quoted.
I first received an email from Alex at Alchemy, that my pins were done, and on their way to my mailing address in the later part of January.
I received them shortly after, before the month’s end, and was really happy with the design.
The company did a great job, and I emailed Alex to thank him for his help and patience.
I was also able to drop them off at the Gallery EARLY for once, which was a relief.
The final product itself, is approximately 1.1” x .75”, and was designed entirely in Adobe Illustrator, with the pantone color selection process done in Adobe Photoshop. Alchemy Merch fabricated the mold, and their overseas affiliate fulfilled the final production requirements.
The piece is to be featured at Gallery 1988 during their ‘50th Anniversary of Wonka', scheduled to run from February 19th to March 6th, 2021.
Unfortunately, due to the current pandemic outbreak, I do not believe there will be an official opening. The work along with the rest of the shows collaborative pieces, will be featured on the gallery’s website.
For more information, or to see a catalog of my other work, please visit my online store here.
You can also find me on various social media platforms below doing a multitude of other artistic things that include hand lettering, and the occasional sculpting/crafting
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