Lark Crafts Interviews Dana Schneider, Mockingjay Pin Designer
There are many replica mockingjay pins out there, but if there ever was a real mockingjay pin, this one owned by the pin’s designer, Dana Schneider, is the real deal. It’s sterling silver plated in 22K gold and as you all know, the original pin in the book given to Katniss from Madge is described as being made out of gold. Sadly, you can’t buy one from her.
Tell me about making the mockingjay pin for The Hunger Games.
Well, with The Hunger Games, the design was already established. The pin is on the cover of the first book. So it was an incredible challenge to replicate something that’s so clear in the minds of so many fans. Getting it right involved months of meetings, models, and plane trips. [Dana now lives in her hometown of Canton, Ohio, and “commutes” to her film work.]
I carved the original by hand using lost-wax casting. It is sterling silver plated with 22-karat gold and with an antique finish applied. It took a while to get that aged look right. And it took six different models to work out things such as where to solder the arrow on the pin and how to make it look delicate and yet have it still be functional.
When working on a movie, you have many different things to take into account. Jennifer Lawrence’s main costume was canvas, so the pin had to look delicate but be able go through several thick layers of canvas. And because I’d read the book, when the costume designer asked me to make the mockingjay pin, I knew immediately that I’d also be making the pin for the stunt double. You don’t want the stunt double to be hurt when wearing a piece of jewelry—that’s number one. You always have to think about things like that when making jewelry for movies.
And there’s no point in contacting you to buy a copy of the mockingjay pin, right?
Right. I have nothing to do with the ones for sale. Those are not a replica of my pin, but a computer-generated 3D model of the book cover illustration. I made only four finished pins for the movie. I always make one to keep and have as a backup. You never know when you may need that backup.
Is that not just the most gorgeous mockingjay pin you’ve ever seen?! You can read the full interview with Dana at Lark Crafts. Thanks to our reader Kathy for the tip!
I thought it was weird when Willow shields said there was only one pin on set instead of a bucket full, but it makes sense when they were actually made of gold.
Dana Schneider because there is a Dan Schneider who is the creator of iCarly, Victorious, Drake and Josh, Amanda Show, All THat, Zoey 101, etc.
They said they only had like 4 pins made….i can get that because it was made out of GOLD !!
Willow Shields said there was only one but she said there was 4. I guess one for Dana one for stunt double and then one for Jenn and Willow but what would the other one be for?
Man, I’m liking that design much better than the mass market versions. The shapes are pretty much identical, but the “real” pin has so much more depth to it. The arrow head and fletching really POP compared to the Neca one.
Oh my, that’s gorgeous. The details on the bird is drool-worthy. ;O
She’s from Canton, Ohio! I grew up half an hour from there.
Wow! That looks so much cooler than the measly replica I got! But I’m glad I get to wear Katniss’s symbol around. Go district 12!
i wish i could get the real hunger games mockingjay pin or just a replica would ve awesome. i love the hunger games i read the books 4 months ago and wached the movie. i love the hunger games and i love peeta!! team peeta!!
wow spent like 3 hrs looking for a real one on eBay for cheap should of just looked at this first
its not gold its gold plated.. Big difference hahahaha