PENNANT FACTORY
Homemade pennants inspired by designs of the past
BackstoryWhen it comes to sports, I'm passionate about two things: 1) venues; and 2) championships. (And scoreboards. I like scoreboards, too.) So, naturally, I've always been intrigued by the various ways teams display their titles at home. In baseball, teams often hoist a pennant or burgee flag up a flag pole in their ballpark. In hockey and basketball, they nearly always hang a banner from the rafters of their arena. Football teams ... I guess they typically unveil a sign on their ring of honor? Football teams aren't as consistent. We'll just focus on basketball. The Los Angeles Lakers own a record 17 world championship titles--tied for first with the Boston Celtics. In their current venue, the Lakers' banners aren't really hanging from the rafters; I think it's more accurate to describe them as being mounted on a wall near the rafters. Most likely, this was done to pay homage to the team's prior venue, The Forum, where the banners had been mounted on a dark wall directly behind one of the hoops. When the house lights dimmed, each banner became illuminated by its own spot light. For those that remember The "Fabulous" Forum, it was a pretty cool effect to see those lovely golden banners suddenly pop, right at tip off. If I'm right, then I appreciate the Staples Center design team for trying to recreate that look in the new arena. Okay, well, the Lakers' current home isn't exactly new: they've called Staples Center home for more than 20 years now. And, yes, it's not even called Staples Center anymore ... but we don't need to get into that. All that's important are the 17 championships and the continuity they help create between the great Laker teams of the past, and the present.
I've always wanted to hoist a championship banner to the rafters of my garage; but, who has room for 17 championships?? So, I set out to recreate the Lakers' championship banners exactly as they look in Staples Center today--in a much more scaled down format. The resultThis project involved no felt; and no screen printing. Instead, I used a wooden product called Fiberboard. Fiberboard is an engineered wood product made from pulverized wood fibers and glue. Unlike plywood, it's smooth to the touch; which means you can paint it easily. It also cuts easily using a circular saw. This was important because each of my 13 banners would be cut from the stuff; painted gold; then affixed to the backboard, which was also cut from fiberboard. I painted the backboard black to mimic the darkness of the old Forum and Staples Center while games were in progress. Finally, each banner was designed on a computer; then printed on decal paper and affixed to to the face of each wooden tile. Once each banner was assembled, I stuck them to the backboard using velcro. Why velcro? So there'd be room for expansion.... Look, when they win titles 18, 19, etc., you have to assume the present configuration of these banners will change, right? Note: All unquoted material on these pages is © 2022 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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February 2024
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