Oregon Rocks

2016
Enamel Pins and Zine

I was inspired by a recent Mt. Hood Rock Club meeting by the enamel pins that the senior members wore on their club vests. It’s no secret that enamel pins are incredibly right now, but I felt like the market for them all lends about the same: trendy young people. In thinking this project through, I came to the realization that rockhounds are severally underserved in the cool merch department, so I created these pins as a homage to the local Oregon rockhounding community.

The pins feature a lady rock hammer hand, a sunstone, a thunder egg, and a state outline of Oregon.

Printed materials accompany each pin that explain and highlight a different element of Oregon rockhound education, specifically about the state rock and state gemstone—the Thunderegg and the Sunstone.  In the center of the packaging is also a comprehensive rockhounding map for the state of Oregon, with information crowdsourced from the Mt. Hood Rock Club.