posted 07-15-2022 06:01 PM               

I’m Mike D. I'm an industrial designer. I collect the mission patches for the launches I have witnessed and have been creating my own comps for future missions. So far I've seen; NOAA Michael Frielich, SN10, NROL 87 and NROL 82. I live 5 hours from Vandenberg Space Force Base.

I'm sure much has been asked in previous threads so I won’t repeat too many questions til I dig further.

posted 04-08-2023 08:18 PM               

If you make a batch of these I would want to purchase one for my collection, I'm sure others would be interested too.

posted 04-11-2023 11:57 PM               

I'm working on dialing-in the edits that the factory is wanting to make regarding the sewing channel and some of the details. I'll be a lot better at this the second time around now that I know the tolerances of the machines and processes. Hope to have a proof very soon.

Looking forward to spending some time looking at Tim Gagnon's work. I can only imagine the extra knowledge and practice that is required to work in traditional stitchwork as well. And how much has changed since vector-based software has become the norm.

posted 04-13-2023 06:27 AM               

I am an Industrial Designer as well and, over many years, have designed several "unofficial" patches that were worn by shuttle crews as well as a number of USPS commemorative postal cancels.

I got bit by the space bug in 1989 when I designed the exhibits for the first incarnation of the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in Titusville. The project was sponsored by the U.S. Space and Rocker Center and the Mercury Seven Foundation. I had the opportunity to work with several of the Mercury Astronauts during the concept phase. The experience was amazing.

posted 04-25-2023 02:01 PM               

Sales/estimating and getting production questions answered went easy and quickly, but their staff designers had a tendency to want to put their own touch on many of my lines which resulted in four revision requests to "put it back the way it was." These back-and-forths have been taxing!

I hope to have a photo of a production sample very soon and will keep this thread updated as it occurs.

posted 05-03-2023 11:31 AM               

The colors are a bit off but I am overall happy with the shapes and details. The lightest gray needs to be lighter and the blue exhaust and glow around Earth appears as a dull gray. I'll get to a PMS book and nail down the colors.

The sample-making process took about 12 calendar days as it overlapped International Labor Day and the factory was closed for an extra long weekend.

posted 05-05-2023 09:31 AM               

I am curious why you chose the PVC style over embroidery? I know the Space Force uses PVC and some other agencies not associated with anything space are beginning to go PVC. SpaceX is a "modern company" and "futuristic company" at best. Myself, I am an embroidered patch guy but I am old school.

posted 05-05-2023 05:44 PM               

Thanks for the kind words and great question about choosing PVC for my patch. The answer is easy and the biproduct of the answer is why I am here at cS in a way...

The short answer is that the PVC was easier for me. I draw and know Adobe Illustrator well and watched a few YouTube videos on the process of making the PVC patches which made me feel pretty comfortable with the design process. The learning curve for manufacturing was very fast. The tolerances of the die and ability of the machines are pretty well established and easily shared.

I know the basics of sewing and patternmaking for fashion and costume but not a lick about embroidery, the machines, file prep, any stitch style name... I lack the ABCs of it all enough to even begin.

Could be an over-simplified metaphor, but to me PVC is like drawing a coloring book with a sharp pen and then coloring it in; pretty straight forward. Traditional patch making seems more like sidewalk-chalking a mural. You have to have a bigger vision and you don't have the benefit of hard lines and easily discernible shapes, but you get gradients, textures, layers, metallic threads, and the ability to keep modifying the next piece instead of a fixed die with a slow and costly retooling.

Overall, I came to cS because I was hoping to connect with other makers more than anything. It is very difficult to learn a 'trade' like this nowadays without some sort of community backbone and support. I was hoping that I could both be the backbone for someone else who wanted to turn their space/aeronautics interest into something physical and sharable like this through an example, and I was hoping as well to learn new skills along the way.

I would love to learn traditional patch making methods. Any recommendations on where to start? Would I use the same basic .AI file that I've already created? I imagine that there is an entire language and shorthand that goes along with such an artform.

posted 05-07-2023 02:35 PM               

As a collector, I've appreciated subtle detail machine designs as complex as direction of thread stitch. But that's still above my pay grade as a craftsperson.

I do very much enjoy the beauty of real embroidery, while PVC can give you accuracy in design. Embroidered patches can have more clothing applications. I found using different manufacturers produced different appearances in thread color, type, stitching.

posted 07-09-2023 02:32 PM               

I'm happy with the production quality and the speed of delivery once the proof was accurate. I would still love to tweak a color or two and fine-tune some of the 3D components but I'm happy to step back and call the project complete.

Thank you all again for the feedback and inspiration along the way. I felt like giving up many times during the process and having community support kept me working through it to the end.

This patch is available right now for members at SpaceX Patch List Collectors (much love to them for grabbing half of my lot and donating their profits to charity) and I would love to be able to offer the remaining patches to domestic collectors here who were interested ($12 — includes regular USPS shipping) before I put them up on my Etsy site for sale to the general public. Email me if you are interested. I made 100 pieces. Aloha!