PENNANT FACTORY
Homemade pennants inspired by designs of the past
The jobIn the mid-1960s Trench Mfg. Co. created the above artwork for use on collegiate pennants for a number of schools, including Notre Dame. I've always liked it. So many of Trench's Notre Dame pennants from this era (and later) lack original artwork. In lieu of this, they simply used the university seal. Borrrrrring, right? That's why this design has always caught my eye. It features a quarterback making a throw on the run. This portion of the artwork was universal, subject to variations in the player's uniform colors depending on the school. Which makes you wonder: why make this player's uniform sky blue/pink? Doesn't everyone know the Fighting Irish wear navy blue/gold? Perhaps the artist was looking for greater contrast against the navy blue felt background? Anyway, on the Notre Dame version, they made up for this gaff by placing the outline of a shamrock behind the player. All told, this artwork has great eye appeal whether you root for Notre Dame or not. If you're hoping to acquire one of these pennants for Notre Dame, or one of the other schools Trench used this graphic for, you'll be looking for a while. I can't speak for the other schools, but the Notre Dame version is very rare and seldom for sale. I've never had a chance at purchasing one of these; so, that means I will have to make it myself. The designTrench actually made two variants featuring this shamrock artwork. The first featured tapered lettering following the graphic. The second featured a more wavy script. Both spelled out "Notre Dame," as follows: Beyond this minor variation, both designs were the same: full size pennant; screen printed polychromatic graphics; and two pairs of tassels. Although the wavy script variant is slightly more rare, I prefer the look of the tapered letters. So my pennant would resemble this variant, which I believe to be the older of the two designs.
To make the coloring look like it was applied via air brush, I rubbed it with a second piece of linen, to even out the color distribution. This results in more muted colors; but, that's kind of how the real pennant appears. After cutting and gluing, this pennant was ready to be hung. The resultHow'd I do? Note: All unquoted material on these pages is © 2019 K.R. Biebesheimer & Son. All rights reserved. Short excerpts may be used after written permission obtained and proper credit is given. ♦♦
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AuthorIn 2018 I started a separate website called Pennant Fever dedicated to 20th century felt novelty manufacturers. It focuses on these companies' history, products, etc. Eventually, my interest in these businesses inspired me to start making my own pennants. THIS site you're currently viewing, Pennant Factory, is where I'll showcase some of the felt projects I've taken on. Most are reproductions of real pennants once for sale to the public. I've done my best to re-create the originals as authentically as possible based upon surviving photos, known dimensions, etc. Others are my original work, intended to look like the styles of yesteryear. Some turned out better than others. See for yourself. Enjoy! -KRB Projects:
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