The Story
During the early part of the pandemic, when we were required to stay secure at home except for key workers performing essential services, it became the national symbol of support to “Clap for our Carers” at 8pm on Thursday evenings. Everyone participating must’ve felt emotion and a feeling of pride for those we were applauding as a thank you for their service, people fighting on the front line, risking their lives whilst most of us were safe at home.
Surely a pin badge in the form of clapping hands would make a wonderful design for an NHS “Thank You” pin, a national symbol that could be worn with pride to show our thanks for the NHS, becoming a keepsake of the pandemic to be cherished and handed down, whilst also raising funds for the NHS.
Initially Christopher looked at stamping the clapping hands from sheet metal, but whilst easier, quicker and cheaper, doing so would mean they’d be dull two-dimensional, and soon a decision was made to lost-wax cast three dimensional hands designed using modern CAD technology.
Whilst chatting over the project with TMB’s CAD designer, Tim Milward of Backface, an idea was formed – to base the design around the hands of six members of NHS staff from the Covid front-line, representing all the NHS staff fighting the Covid war. Cutting a long story short, with the help of NHS Charities Together TMB recruited six ambassadors who’s hands were photographed, so Tim could amalgamate elements of each into our clapping hands design.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, one of the key things that helped NHS staff through the worst of the pandemic was being part of a closely knit team, and the hands design seems to also reflect that camaraderie.
It is such a profound, strong and symbolic part of our “Thank You” Pins’ back story that they are actually designed around the hands of six of the very people who put their lives on the line for us.