Meet the Man Who Designed Hillary Clinton’s DNC Crown

When the DNC crowns Hilary Clinton the first female nominee of a major political party later tonight, they will place the traditional Democratic crown gently onto her hard head. Only a mile away, the man who designed that crown will be watching the coronation from the comfort of his living room.

Jens Andersen has designed the crown for every Democratic National Convention since 1984, but he says that this year’s crown is his favorite due to its unique challenges. “Many people ask me if it was hard designing a crown for a woman,” he says, “but her gender had no impact on my design. Instead, I was challenged by this year’s new design theme.”

In past years, the Democratic Party has asked for Andersen’s design to give the impression of “the people’s party.” This year, they wanted to take the design in a new direction. “Last September they came to me with a request, that this year’s design shows the authority and infallibility of the Democratic party,” he said. “It was a very exciting, if not quietly disconcerting, request.”

Andersen was born in Denmark in 1937, and was only two years old when his family fled to Philadelphia to escape the tensions in Europe. Andersen became a US citizen, and found a home in the City of Brotherly Love. “I designed my first crown at the age of 10 for the Mummers Parade,” he said. It was constructed out of stale pretzels, and attracted many ravenous birds. He’s been designing crowns ever since.

Even though this is the first year the DNC is being held in his hometown, he will not be attending this year out of protest. “They offered me a ticket,” he explained, “but I’m still bitter that they towed my car on Broad Street.”