The Big Foot Story at Retro51

 Big Foot seems to be growing in popularity these days. Everywhere I look, I see it on graphics, apparel, accessories and videos. Even at the grocery store the other day I saw a large sticker with the Dallas Cowboy’s logo on big foot’s silhouette (I don’t get that connection, but why not).  Maybe it’s just me, because I like Big Foot lore and have hidden them within Retro graphics for years. The story goes back to the mid-2000s when I started to watch the ABC show Lost and was introduced to the term “easter eggs” for the first time. I started looking for little clues throughout the show that gave hints to help viewers figure out what was going on. This bit of pop culture crept into the design process soon after Retro introduced the Tornado Popper series.

The first easter egg was in the 2008 Summer Tornado™ Route 66 that had a small UFO* flying off behind some cactus. It wasn’t hidden well, but still I considered it an easter egg. It was followed by the first Big Foot sighting on the Winter Skiing that next season. Again, it was small and emerging from the trees near the nose cone, but it was another small detail for fans to discover. I thought it was amusing, so I started hiding more Big Foots on packaging, printed media plus it was worked into more pen designs even when it didn’t make sense. The Big Foot was my little graffiti mark as if I was saying “Richard was here.”

With social media growing over the time, I got to know fans and it became more well known about the cryptid easter eggs. They would send me stickers, magnets and other knick-knack with Big Foot on it. We now shared in the joy of these small nuggets to discover, and they encouraged even more. Some dealers even started to ask for specific hidden treasure, so fans would be looking closely in the small details of the Tornado’s art.

With the announcement of plans for Retro to retire in early 2020, I was tasked with coming up with final designs to wind down the brand with flair. It was time for Big Foot to be featured. The end result was a large hairy cryptid emerging from the forest surrounded by multiple critters. An eagle, bear, deer, fox, bird, rabbit, raccoon plus other eyes looked on in this scenic acid-etched Tornado. Big Foot was surrounded by his friends. The sun was shining, and flowers were blooming. The Retro51 brand didn’t retire after all, and the lore of Sasquatch lives on in even more pen designs. He is no longer about “Richard was here,” but instead it’s a shared joy amongst the Retro community. Keep looking for it and you’ll find it.

An illustrated portrait gifted to Richard, from Retro51 Designer Angel

Retro51 is excited to present fun new merch pieces to proudly display our shared love of fun, whimsy, and a little mystery. It’s a reminder to Treat Nature Write and that Big Foot is out there for us to discover. Watch out for it on Sept. 26th.

*The last Tornado Popper before some of the original employees retired was Tuesday which featured UFOs beaming them up.

⭐ Check out our brief Big Foot video 🎥 where we had fun discovering our own findings in the office at our Instagram or TikTok.

About the Author: Richard K. is Creative Director and long time designer at Retro51. What began as a college internship has blossomed into an incredible career in the pen industry🖋️, with the added bonus of collaborating with an amazing and creative team. When he isn’t designing at Retro, Richard can still be found doodling, painting cool subjects or experimenting with other creative activities 🎨

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If you are interested in sharing on a blog post for Retro51.com, we are looking for creators. Whether you write, sketch, doodle or even just fill out crossword puzzles with your Retros, we want to see and/or read about it. Contact: media@retro51.com; provide a short synopsis of your writing or a photo. We look forward to hearing from you!