Ghost Mantis Chocolatiers Zine

OK guys, I know I haven't posted for awhile, but I've been busy making lots of new projects, so expect lots of posts in the next few days! The first one is this zine package I just finished; I made these an edition of ten, and here they all are:



So here's the story: these are made to look like corporate packages from a fictional company called Ghost Mantis Chocolatiers. I screenprinted everything in this package: all the box logos, coupons, letters, and the zine itself. Here's what the package looks like when it's being opened:





From the top left, there's a white chocolate box, two coupons that read "One free truffle redeemable at any Ghost Mantis location," a black chocolate box, and a sealed letter with the actual zine itself underneath. The letter is abaca paper I made myself, and I sealed it with red wax and a "G" seal; here it is unopened:



The letter reads: "Dear Loyal Customer, as a member of the ATHENS-CLARKE COUNTY community, either you or someone you know has most likely been affected by the tragic events that occurred over the Thanksgiving holiday. Some have pointed to Ghost Mantis Chocolatiers as the source of this disaster, but we would like to stress that test results with the potential to substantiate this claim have not been released. As such, we must all remember that we do not yet know the cause of the accident. That said, although Ghost Mantis does not yet take responsibility, any disturbance to the ATHENS-CLARKE COUNTY community affects us, too. That's why we have prepared these complimentary chocolates, coupons, and Collector's Edition Ghost Mantis Company History Pamphlets as a reminder of our concern for the community and as a sign of our goodwill. We sincerely hope these packages find you well. Happy Holidays, Mortimer Windle, CEO Ghost Mantis Chocolatiers."

That's right, these packages are sort of apologies for some sort of unexplained tragedy that was, in all likelyhood, caused by this company. Here are the chocolates that come in the package (white and dark chocolate, with painted chocolate G's on them.) I made these by painting G's backwards into a chocolate mold, then pouring the opposite kind of melted chocolate on top:



And finally, here is the zine itself, the company history pamphlet:





Text: "Ghost Mantis Chocolatiers
A history of painstakingly observed tradition"



Text: "In 1884, Gregor Mantodea, a wealthy Englishman and the future founder of Ghost Mantis Chocolatiers, moved to Warwick, Rhode Island, to make his fortune and to escape a father who had difficulties accepting his many eccentricities. One of these eccentricities was his fascination with the ghost mantis, a small African species of praying mantis. In these glossy, black specimens, he saw not only himself, but the decadent allure and polished aesthetics of chocolate."



Text: "Mantodea adopted the ghost mantis as his mascot when he founded Ghost Mantis Chocolatiers and began selling chocolates out of a small cart in 1886. The American public were willing to ignore his rather offputting mascot in order to get their hands on the delicious chocolate that he was making in his own home. By 1891, the Ghost Mantis Chocolatiers company boasted its own factory, situated in the heart of Swansea, Rhode Island. His fortune made, Mantodea retired early in 1893, leaving Ghost Mantis Chocolatiers to a series of individuals hand-picked to run the company."





Text: "Since Mantodea's time, Ghost Mantis Chocolatiers has altered neither its chocolate recipes nor its machinery, despite all modern advances in the field. We believe that this respect for tradition is the key to our success. Aesthetically, however, our company continues to improve. In 1902, company CEO Humphrey Carasik created the iconic "G" that now appears on all Ghost Mantis Chocolates when he discovered his daughter Isabelle painting in her room. He wasted no time in putting her to work hand-painting each chocolate. To this day, every "G" is painted by hand."



Text: "CEO Artemis Gadebush, too, developed our company's look when he introduced the black and white motif, based on the aesthetics of the mantis itself, that still graces all Ghost Mantis buildings and packaging. Today, Ghost Mantis Chocolatiers has nine factories and hundreds of specialty stores around the globe. We look forward to overcoming any obstacle that we meet and providing our customers with unparalleled service and quality."



So, at some point I'm thinking I'll don a Ghost Mantis representative uniform, take these babies to the streets, and hand them out to the unsuspecting public. Delicious!