Sometimes you just have fun, and Moody Man was “rebelliously” living up to that. Designing and pre-fabs were testing my mood, and many times I left the shop not happy. We had epoxy separation issues, air bubbles, and more separation. It took six months to figure it out, and when we did, I can honestly say I immediately loved this pendant…

Moody Man was designed to capture the essence of the Burner through color. I wanted a pendant that would show how you felt, and what better way than a mood color-changing type pendant. But some hurdles had to be addressed. First, how do I ensure it captures the Burner, not the environment (temperature). And have a brilliant color with the color changes! I machined about 5, and none could come up with a way to capture the body’s heat. Then, after I machine a profile Burning Man, I noticed that the cut-out edges would rapidly change with the body heat. So I machine a pendant with a cavity and invert man opposite of the cavity. Placing the inverted side against the body immediately captured my body heat, not the temperature around it. Success…

The next big hurdle was ensuring the resin thermochromic leuco dye would be bright and have a broad spectrum of color. We tested about 20 dyes and found one that was bright and had a vast range of colors but was very expensive. Finally, fabricating pendants with this dye, we encountered some issues. The solution was to send out the pendants for the epoxy pour and set.

The last big feature was for the pendant to have a slight glow. This was achieved by a fine reflector dye, and adding just a tad to the plating tanks. The end was a lustrous black finish with a slight silver tint. That tint with the leuco dye, made the pendant scream with its colors!

The pendant itself represents fun! It has no other meaning but for the wearing to interact with others about the mood colors being displayed. It was my goal with this pendant to wear and let the mood color tell a story. If this is accomplished, then my pendant design was successful.

The pendant itself is made from zinc alloy with a black chrome finish. The thermochromic leuco dye mixed with the epoxy gives the pendant its life of colors. The inverted Burning Man captures the body heat to activate the thermochromic feature.

Designed 2021. Manufactured June 2022.