Monday, April 4

It's a Small World Wall Clock

When in Disneyland, nothing quite says "Happiest Place on Earth" like the sound of chimes, gears, and horns coming from the majestic It's a Small World queue. Every 15 minutes, the most charming facade in the park becomes even more endearing when an international pageant of dolls pour out of its doors to celebrate the hour in true It's a Small World fashion.

I wanted to replicate that signature Rolly Crump charm in a clock I could hang on my wall. My first instinct was to craft a full out mid-century modern wall clock similar to the one below. These colorful, geometric, and oh so retro clocks were quite popular around the time the attraction was being designed.

This novel George Nelson clock was the main inspiration for this train of thought. It almost directly resembles the smile on the clock face.
But after some initial concepts, I began to think a clock of this sort would look too theme-y in an everyday environment. My neutral-colored office, where I planned to display my crafted clock, is a pretty inhospitable environment for something so colorful and high concept. Instead, I decided to pull back on the mid-century goodness and focus on what would look best in a contemporary space.

I initially wanted to build the clock from scratch, but when I saw all of the options at my local Target, I decided to take of least resistance. I purchased a stock frame with some attractive hands, and shifted my attention on designing a cool custom face plate. Whimsy and movement were my priorities when designing the numerals. I wanted it to have all of the fun of the moving numbers on the facade.
Here are some more colorful options I considered, suitable for a nursery or the more colorful bedroom. All color schemes are based Mary Blair concept pieces for the attraction.
Having finished customized clock, I must say I'm pretty happy with the result. So happy, that I feel selfish having only made one clock for myself. For the next week, I'm holding a contest on Twitter to give away another wall clock - their choice of color - to one random follower! Follow and retweet the tweet below to add your name in the hat. One winner will be chosen next Monday, March 11th at noon. 



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