The ability to manifest a physical representation of anything you can think of can be a heady power. So far I’ve created unique accessories for Star Wars: Destiny, terrain for miniature games, functional prints for custom-engineered solutions, and many more things. Until now, however, I’ve never brought someone’s memory back.
A buddy of mine approached me about making some terrain for Marvel: Crisis Protocol. He was looking to have heroes and villains crash through and tear up a place he knew as a kid, a place he grew up in, the How Joy Chinese Restaurant.
The restaurant closed in 2008, and now this is all that remains of the site where it stood.
Armed with only a blurry, off-angle photo and his memories, Brent and I set to work recreating the iconic sign.
After hours of getting it just right, we finally had the sign complete. I was ecstatic to give this little piece of his childhood back to him, but it wasn’t until Brent posted the first cut to Facebook, however, that I discovered what the restaurant actually meant to the people of the area. The post exploded with people remembering the place, and I’ve been swamped with orders from random people, including a museum in the area, wanting to own their very own copy. Brent’s father even heard about the signs through the local grapevine and is pleased with how they look
Today I finally completed the first 8″ version of the sign. I’m looking forward to getting this in the mail to the people who have cherished memories of this little Chinese restaurant.
