Owner: abby99
Designer: Johnny5 (J5 Design)
During my 2.5 years of admiring so many fabulous custom sets on chiptalk.net and being involved in the design phase with other members, I wanted a set of custom chips but never had one single idea for my own set. Early in August 2009, BCC announced that they would no longer accept retail orders for custom chips after August 31. Around the same time I saw that joshuadalton's Medium Greek Key mold was available. On Sunday afternoon, August 16, 2009, I realized that if I didn't take part in BCC's last call for orders, I would regret it for a long time, and to make matters even worse, I may never again have the opportunity to use the MGK mold. These factors were the impetus I needed, and I decided to go for it. However, I needed a theme. Given the nature of the MGK mold, I thought something classic would be appropriate, using a generic poker theme like, say, Lady Luck. Eureka! Lady Luck [something] (Casino, Club, Poker Room, Lounge, um, scratch Lounge).
Johnny5, my designer of choice, agreed to design my inlays despite the time constraints. My vision was something classic and classy, something that might have been used in a casino or private card room in Las Vegas back in the '40s or '50s when people dressed up for a night of clubbing and gaming: tuxedos, gowns, fur stoles, long gloves, martinis, and cigarette holders. It didn't take John long to come up with a concept that I liked, although refining the details took longer than I had anticipated. Early in the design process, we agreed that The Lady Luck Club was the best choice for a brand, and Mike Endy of BCC approved the use of this name. Once I knew that this set was going to become a reality, I spoke of little else (my sister will attest to this) until my artwork was finalized in early October.
I selected traditional colors and told John that I wanted an inlay with a simple design and clearly visible denominations. I also wanted an insert progression (a modern concern, I think) that moved from simple to complex, which satisfied my desire for chips to look more important as the denominations increased. The scheme alternated between even and odd-numbered insert groups, which I found to be pleasing and balanced, and the base colors follow a dark-light-dark-light-dark sequence. The insert patterns themselves are relatively common for that period, and although I really like some of the newer insert patterns, I avoided them to be consistent with the classic look.
The design process was exhilarating, frustrating, and at times mind-numbing. Now that I’ve gone through this process, I have gained the utmost admiration for every person who has ever designed their first set of custom chips. I started out with an assortment of possibilities, some of which were boring, some just OK, and some ripe with possibilities. None made the final cut. Heeding the custom chip mantra, get samples, I ordered a color sample set from BCC and was blown away by the BCC/TRK colors (BCC’s efforts to replicate some of the best TRK colors). Of all the revisions that I made, the decision to incorporate as many TRK colors as possible had the biggest impact on the final design. Anybody interested in seeing how the designs evolved are welcome to check out my mock-up thread here.
Special thanks to J5, without whom I would have blank chips (or worse yet, no chips at all); to Mike Endy for his extraordinary patience and for pretending to be amused when I made last-minute color changes and increased the number of chips in my order at the last minute; to the Endys at BCC for converting my dreams to reality and for producing quality product, to the group of my fellow ChipTalkers who offered valuable advice, opinions, and support, both in my mock-up thread and in numerous PMs and emails; and to my sister for not kicking me out of our home.
Designer: Johnny5 (J5 Design)
During my 2.5 years of admiring so many fabulous custom sets on chiptalk.net and being involved in the design phase with other members, I wanted a set of custom chips but never had one single idea for my own set. Early in August 2009, BCC announced that they would no longer accept retail orders for custom chips after August 31. Around the same time I saw that joshuadalton's Medium Greek Key mold was available. On Sunday afternoon, August 16, 2009, I realized that if I didn't take part in BCC's last call for orders, I would regret it for a long time, and to make matters even worse, I may never again have the opportunity to use the MGK mold. These factors were the impetus I needed, and I decided to go for it. However, I needed a theme. Given the nature of the MGK mold, I thought something classic would be appropriate, using a generic poker theme like, say, Lady Luck. Eureka! Lady Luck [something] (Casino, Club, Poker Room, Lounge, um, scratch Lounge).
Johnny5, my designer of choice, agreed to design my inlays despite the time constraints. My vision was something classic and classy, something that might have been used in a casino or private card room in Las Vegas back in the '40s or '50s when people dressed up for a night of clubbing and gaming: tuxedos, gowns, fur stoles, long gloves, martinis, and cigarette holders. It didn't take John long to come up with a concept that I liked, although refining the details took longer than I had anticipated. Early in the design process, we agreed that The Lady Luck Club was the best choice for a brand, and Mike Endy of BCC approved the use of this name. Once I knew that this set was going to become a reality, I spoke of little else (my sister will attest to this) until my artwork was finalized in early October.
I selected traditional colors and told John that I wanted an inlay with a simple design and clearly visible denominations. I also wanted an insert progression (a modern concern, I think) that moved from simple to complex, which satisfied my desire for chips to look more important as the denominations increased. The scheme alternated between even and odd-numbered insert groups, which I found to be pleasing and balanced, and the base colors follow a dark-light-dark-light-dark sequence. The insert patterns themselves are relatively common for that period, and although I really like some of the newer insert patterns, I avoided them to be consistent with the classic look.
The design process was exhilarating, frustrating, and at times mind-numbing. Now that I’ve gone through this process, I have gained the utmost admiration for every person who has ever designed their first set of custom chips. I started out with an assortment of possibilities, some of which were boring, some just OK, and some ripe with possibilities. None made the final cut. Heeding the custom chip mantra, get samples, I ordered a color sample set from BCC and was blown away by the BCC/TRK colors (BCC’s efforts to replicate some of the best TRK colors). Of all the revisions that I made, the decision to incorporate as many TRK colors as possible had the biggest impact on the final design. Anybody interested in seeing how the designs evolved are welcome to check out my mock-up thread here.
Special thanks to J5, without whom I would have blank chips (or worse yet, no chips at all); to Mike Endy for his extraordinary patience and for pretending to be amused when I made last-minute color changes and increased the number of chips in my order at the last minute; to the Endys at BCC for converting my dreams to reality and for producing quality product, to the group of my fellow ChipTalkers who offered valuable advice, opinions, and support, both in my mock-up thread and in numerous PMs and emails; and to my sister for not kicking me out of our home.
- 300 x 25¢
- 600 x $1
- 600 x $5
- 300 x $20
- 100 x $100
- 1900 Total chips
- $19,680 Total bank
