Jar Shaker Charm

2026 | Gundam and Zeta Gundam

I’ve long been fascinated and impressed by the kinds of merchandise that indie artists are able to have manufactured now. Specialized manufacturers’ catalogs are replete with charms and keychains that have moving parts, cool effects, or magnetic components. While I had previously dabbled in designing simple acrylic standees and charms for myself, I’d never tried making a more complicated design until this summer.

This is what’s called a “shaker” charm: two layers of clear acrylic encase an empty space with smaller, thinner acrylic charms inside. The item can be shaken to move the smaller charms around, hence the name. For my design, I wanted the outer layer to resemble a glass jar, while the inner charm looks like a little guy trapped inside. (If that sounds a bit morbid, for context “I want to put him in a jar and shake him around” is a pretty common sentiment among people who like this character.)

To promote the item and explain the concept, I also designed a simple graphic. The intended audience for this item is fellow fans and peers, so the language used reflects that.

It took a few weeks between sending the design off to the manufacturer and the final product arriving in my hands. They came out exactly as I envisioned! I wanted the inner charm to be big enough that casual shaking wouldn’t cause it to turn upside-down. It also makes a very satisfying clacking sound when shaken.

I ultimately only had a few made (these were relatively expensive to produce and pre-orders were not as robust as I’d hoped), but if you’d like one, they are still available in my shop.