Every once in a while, an email stops you in your tracks. Sunny from TxCHP sent one like that recently, along with a photo showing every keychain we’ve created together over the years.
Since 2012, we’ve made a new design each year for the Texas Christian Homeschool Prom — every one with its own theme, motto, and custom presentation box. Each keychain comes in a form-fitted case with the class year embossed on the lid, the logo on the back, and the year’s motto cast or engraved into the design. Collectively, they tell the story of more than a decade of graduating classes — from Narnia lampposts and sailing ships to the Eiffel Tower and 3D lion-head reliefs.
What makes this project so special is the collaboration behind it. Every year, TxCHP develops a wonderful, creative theme and visual foundation for the event — printed materials, décor, and all. Our role is to take that idea and translate it into metal: to interpret their concept through plating, color, and form, adding touches that work best for the materials and production while keeping the heart of their theme intact. It’s a creative partnership we genuinely look forward to each year.
And reading Sunny’s note — and seeing the full collection displayed together for the first time — stopped me for a moment.
It made me think of the original Goodbye, Mr. Chips, a movie that always stuck with me, specifically the scene where he looks back and realizes how many people’s stories became part of his own.
Each year, we focus on the work and design *at hand* — getting the details right, matching finishes, colors, and scale — but, seeing them all together brought a different kind of perspective.
What we’d always known in the background suddenly came into focus: these weren’t just individual keepsakes, but part of a living tradition that TxCHP has built year after year.
It’s one of those moments where you realize you’ve been helping shape something lasting without even realizing it. And unlike Mr. Chips, we’re not going anywhere — we’ll keep looking forward to the next one, and the stories that come with it.
*****
Special thanks to the Texas Christian Homeschool Prom team for sharing their display photo and for allowing us to be a small part of such a meaningful tradition. You can find them @txchpdotcom on Instagram and on Facebook at Homeschool Prom.
