Testimonials
Happy Worker was such an easy company to work with. They took an idea and turned it into a detailed final product. Communication was always open and they were efficient with working out our design.
Office of Admission
Canterbury School
Who
Canterbury School is an independent Catholic co-educational boarding and day school enrolling 355 students in a college preparatory program for grades 9-12. In addition to its rigorous academic program, the school is known for the beauty of its location, a strong fine arts program, a true dedication to spiritual growth, and an exciting athletic program.
Canterbury School pays homage to its Catholic identity through its mascot: the Canterbury Saint. The hardworking Saint represents the school, its students, and their determination both in the classroom and on the field. The Saint sends a clear message – that Canterbury students are hardworking and determined.
Why
With just 120 new openings each year, Canterbury School carefully enrolls “future Saints” - a combination of students with high academic achievement, strong character, and the right mix of extracurricular interests and passions.
To help prospective students imagine themselves as Saints, Canterbury School wanted to put a tangible reminder in the hands of qualified students. This reminder needed to embody what it means to be a Saint.
What
Canterbury Saints Squeeze Toys are part collectible and part community outreach. These squeezable toys stand a mighty 4” tall. Made for the desktop and posed to dash onto the field or into the classroom, the Saints toys were created to become a playful symbol of Canterbury School, its drive, and its community.
How
When Canterbury School first approached Happy Worker about bringing their Saint mascot to life, the Saint existed as a simple black and white sketch.
Happy Worker went to task at transforming the original drawing into a bonafide character with the right mix of fun-and-fierce personality. Those who’ve ever tried to convey two facial expressions at the same time know that this is no simple task. With Canterbury providing support and our happy illustrator Rich Dannys up to the challenge, we prepared rough character illustrations to establish the Saint’s expression and pose – determined, action posed, and tough as nails (even in squeezable toy foam!). After trying a few different facial expressions, we zeroed in on just right Saintly expression and created final toy turnarounds and control illustrations.
Then the first tangible Saint was hand sculpted from clay. With a few tweaks to the sculpture, we created the production molds and made a pre-production test toy to make sure the design and painting was just right. At the same time Happy Worker developed tailor-made polybag packaging for the Saints. With Canterbury’s final approval, toy birthing (a.k.a. production) began!
Happy Worker produced the Canterbury Saints toy and shipped them just in time for early Fall recruitment events.
