Hotel El Portal- CPC Customs (1 Viewer)

AZBOARDER13

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Welcome to the Hotel El Portal!

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After many twists and turns along the chipping journey, I'm extremely proud to present my custom CPC cash set.

Special thanks to @timinater for the design work, and @moechar for the friendship, feedback, and pushing me to pull the trigger.
I also had some great discussions, feedback, or just general level to try for from @mnebesny @Eloe2000 and @JeepologyOffroad . I know there are others as well, so thank you all.
Inspiration
As I am planning for this to be my main set going forward I wanted to focus on a set with a theme throughout each chip, fairly classic inlay style, and a personal connection.
I finally landed on the Hotel El Portal which is a special resort to me and my wife in Sedona, AZ. We also have a strong connection to Flagstaff and down in the desert of Phoenix and Tucson. With that, I wanted a southwest themed set with influences of the earthtones/ color pops of the region, nods to the Navajo culture, and southwest imagery.

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Inlay
The actual hotel has a very cool old truck I wanted a nod to on one side of the inlay. Keeping with the themes mentioned above, I loved the idea of a southwest/ Navajo image on the other inlay side. And I love the orange and turquoise color combo often seen in this type of artwork and a lot of tattoo work.
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5c
Purple is my daughter and wife's favorite color, and purple/ white were the color of her wedding flowers.
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25c
After previously owning a set of the Cali Rounders, requirement 1 was a DG Tiger chip that would see a lot of play. The Black and Blue edgespots represent North and South on the Navajo flag.
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$1
There is a little mountain at an exit just north of Phoenix that gets covered in daisy's every spring so I wanted the light blue of the sky and the bright pop of the dg yellow here. Also represents the bright yellow of the Aspen trees in Flagstaff during the fall.
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$5
Inspired by desert flowers, particularly cactus flowers. Chocolate base for the dirt with DG Green for the contrast of the cactus from the desert and DG Pink for the bright pink cactus flowers. I also couldn't decide which edgespot I liked so went with two versions that can play independently or together as the game requires.
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$20
Inspired by the sun which is the omnipresent force in the SW. I wanted the 'hot' and oppressive feel of the heat rather than just as bright as possible. I absolutely love how bright the peach 'rays' are even against the canary base.
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$100
Unlikely to get any use, but figured aim high with the goal of the long term set.
Went with the standard white base vs. Bright white to give a bit of a 'dusty' feel. Also inspired by the snow which is my favorite season in Sedona and Flagstaff. Red and brown tones on edgespots for the red rocks of the area
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Additional Splashed
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Thanks for looking. More pictures, cut cards, dealer buttons, etc. to come
 
These are awesome. Great set and design. Just added Sedona to the list of places we need to visit. Great work!
 
One of the biggest hurdles in designing a great set of meaningful customs is finding an image that perfectly encapsulates the theme and feeling you're trying to emulate, and at the same time actually looks good on a printed circle that's less than an inch in diameter. The stars completely aligned here with that old truck at the resort, not only is it a cool personal connection to the hotel that will trigger those awesome memories every time you play with them, but it just 100% fits in with the southwest / Arizona theme. Love the almost-non standard base colors too, most are just a shade or too different from your "standard" chip colors, which gives them a really unique feel without getting crazy off the wall different and potentially confusing players. The fiver (both of them!) is awesome, I had a very similar color combo in mind for a future meetup chip. If you get the chance, could you post the full breakdown of the CPC spots and colors?

It's been 20+ years since I've visited but IMHO Sedona is one of the most beautiful towns in the country, and you really nailed the vibe hear - all without going over the top with their famed red rocks. Bravo sir!

These are my favorites types of custom sets - those with a cool backstory that are incredibly personal to the owner and very well thought out, top to bottom.
Really awesome set, thank you for sharing your story with us and best of luck in dragging many pots your way with these beauties. :tup:
 
awesome set! i love both $5s, and i can see why you couldn't decide.

curious when you got these though, CSQ run has been over for a while right?
 
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Gotta go with the 25 cent as my favorite, but that's picking a first among many.
All of them are great and go well together.

Bravo!
 
Really well done!

I'll echo @Irish here. The best CPC sets are the ones that have the great backstories and callbacks to the original theme reflected in each chip. When I first saw photos of these, I wasn't sure where you were going with it, but now in reading the OP and learning the significance of the inlay artwork and that there is a reference to the theme in each chip, makes the set even more meaningful and awesome.

I am totally in for a sample if any are ever made available, though I would understand if none ever are. Selling samples for my Canoe Clubs is likely the first and only time I'll sell samples, as each project and CPC set that I'll come out with is so personal and has so much thought and consideration put into it.
 

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