THE MAKING OF WOMEN'S FESTIVAL FIGUREHEAD FOR THE MURPHYS WITCH WALK

...in creating the identifying branding and images for both the Murphys Witch Walk figurehead and the crest.  

The Covid-19 pandemic postponed the 5th Annual Murphys Witch Walk from 2020 to 2021. That delay gave us the time to conceptualize what the Murphys Witch Walk really means to its fans.
Therefore, we started to conceive a figurehead and crest as branding identifiers that will eventually be emblazoned on clothing and merchandise. 

The design process of Murphys Witch Walk figurehead began with our creative director, Christopher Buttner, scouring the internet for artists who specialized in cartoon witches and discovered a brilliant and prolific digital artist by the name of Lullia Brovchenko who  makes a career out of creating whimsical and unique cartoon witches and other characters. Check out Lullia's extensive portfolio: https://www.dreamstime.com/azuzl_info

Tapping into her online resource of some 9,000 works of art, Christopher discovered one such witch character from which the Murphys Witch Walk figurehead would evolve. 

Over the course of ten days in June 2021, Christopher and Lullia worked closely together over email to create what would become Maeve Murphys: The Wine Witch of the Sierra.

For a, primarily women's festival and empowerment event, such as the Murphys Witch Walk, the name of the figurehead was the most important asset to her backstory and credibility. 

Hence the reason the name Maeve was chosen as a nod to, and in honor of, Murphys’ Irish cultural history and the more contemporary recognition of Murphys’ contribution to wine and viticulture. 

But, moreover, the name Maeve was selected due to the respect and admiration we have for those who love, support and visit Murphys, as well as love, support and attend the Murphys Witch Walk. 

So, we are proud to introduce Maeve Murphys: 

• Maeve was originally a goddess of ancient Ireland.
• Maeve is of Irish and Gaelic origin meaning
 “She Who Intoxicates” or "She Who Rules.” 
• Maeve appears in Irish mythology in two forms; the powerful Queen of Connacht, the Warrior Queen and as the queen of the fairies. 
• Maeve is described as "tall, fair... carrying an iron sword.”
• The wonderful aspect of pre-Christian mythology is that women were portrayed as strong-willed, ambitious and opinionated.
• In Celtic mythology, women are powerful figures and solid role-models for young women today. 
• The female given name Maeve has been in constant use since the Middle Ages in Ireland.
• Maeve is one kick-ass Irish lass.

The Murphys Witch Walk Crest was created by the Murphys Witch Walk creative director, Christopher Buttner, as a far more tongue-in-cheek emblem based on the traditional skull and crossbones. 

Utilizing the green shamrock in a nod to, again, Murphys’ Irish cultural history, the crest features the acronym MWW, with the M, for Murphys, as either radiant snow-peaked orange sunset-cast Sierra mountains or Halloween Candy Corn. We leave that design element to the viewer to interpret. 

The black witch hats with purple bands contrasted against the orange, all true Halloween colors, round-out and form the “M” above the two W’s and the two crossed brooms that, well, just look badass cool.

Yes, we’re working on bringing all of these design elements to event support clothing, stickers, hoodies, tee-shirts, and more in the coming weeks. Please watch our social media accounts for the launch announcement of the Murphys Witch Walk online store.  

When we post the link to our online Murphys Witch Walk store, we will let you know. In the future, we also hope to bring these products to Teresa Rodriguez’s Potted Plum, aka: Murphys Witch Walk Central.

On behalf of the entire Murphys Witch Walk coven and the Murphys Business Community, thank you for your continued support of our family festival and the town.