4-H’s: A Chop for Jack

By Jeffrey Willius, September 2022

I was pleasantly surprised when Linda asked me to design an identifying mark—or, as she called it, a chop*—to commemorate Jack’s 50th birthday. I should have been terrified.

After all, here was a commission for raw creativity from a pair of super-smart, discerning, well-connected clients, one of the Twin Cities’ true arts power couples. No pressure, right?

But, as with all my interactions with Linda and Jack before and since, any anxiety soon evaporated. They were nothing but kind, generous, understanding and patient. Oh, and they had a sense of humor. Most importantly, they knew what they wanted and how to articulate that vision. 

And a bonus I’m sure others they’ve commissioned appreciate: Linda’s and Jack’s irrepressible bonhomie, always rendered any line between professionalism and friendship blurry, if not transparent.

I loved the fact that Jack and Linda were no strangers to the creative process. They’d already engaged many artists, designers and composers. They understood, as few clients do, the difference between customer and patron, between micromanager and champion. 

So, the chop: the Hoeschlers wanted their emblem to be unique and memorable, light and airy, yet commanding. To illustrate that, Linda referred to the Japanese torii, that ceremonial, π-shaped gate marking the entrance to many Shinto shrines and suggesting the transition from the mundane to the sacred.

To further inspire me Linda led me out to their garden, and left me to just sit for a while and let the calming, contemplative spirit of the place soak in.

I wish I could find my original conceptual sketches for the design; I must have done hundreds of them before crafting the interlocking four-“h” monogram. I’m sure we massaged the line weight, proportions and color, but then there it was, an elegant motif we all agreed said a lot for using so little ink.

Then it was on to the applications: letterhead, business cards and note cards. And later, I was happy to hear, they had the chop embroidered on their linens. 

Now, since Jack’s passing, the chop has found its way onto the family’s website documenting and celebrating this remarkable man’s life. It is an honor to be included at all on the long list of creative folks he and Linda have engaged and empowered.

* “Chop” comes from the Hindi chaap, meaning stamp, imprint, seal or brand, or instrument for stamping (used already in 17th-century colonial Indian English). The word entered English in the early 19th-century as “chop,” referring to a trademark.