When planning on our 50th Anniversary products for our anniversary year, we wanted to give them a little extra significance to celebrate our milestone. A limited edition medallion that would grace all of our cherry Wolf Looms and Cherry Matchless Spinning Wheels seemed fitting. As it turned out, making the medallion was quite a process, involving many people across the US. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the process of how it was created.
The concept we started with was of a valuable coin—in gold to mark our golden anniversary. Barry then took this idea to our industrial designer Matt, who created a mock-up using CAD software which was ideal for the text and other details. The sheep, however, were another matter. We needed to try a different method to create the depth and detail we wanted.
Luckily, we had an embossed card made many years ago that used our original sheep logo. This, along with our design files, were sent off to a model maker in Missouri. She used a touch probe scan machine on the card to create a 3D physical model. From there she used her artistry and a digital sculpting program to refine the image. She then carved a plastic model using a CNC mill. A rubber mold was then made from the model, and several test medallions were cast.
These test medallions were then sent to a production die-caster in Broomfield, CO where 5 replicas were made. These were then sent to a master mold maker in Rhode Island where a master mold was made and then sent back to the die casting company in Broomfield.
This company then cast the medallions using a special pewter alloy. They were trimmed, and then sent to us for some minor touch ups. Then back to Rhode Island where the medallions were give the final step: 20 carat antique gold plating. Look for our anniversary medallion on the front maiden of our special edition Cherry Matchless Spinning Wheel and on the castle of our special edition cherry Wolf Looms.