CONEJO VALLEY : Official Design for Festival Badge Chosen

Harlan West, 31, joined the not-so-short list of Conejo Valley honorees this month when his design won the contest for the 1994 Conejo Valley Days official badge.

West joins a group of about 30 other local residents whose designs have graced official badges over the years.

“I am very much excited,” he said. “We loved working on it.”

West, who owns Harlan West Design Studios in Thousand Oaks, said he worked largely on the design himself. According to contest regulations, the design reflects this year’s festival theme of “Boots, Buckles and Bandannas.”

“I was very influenced by the colors of the Conejo, reflected in the green mountains and bright, clean air,” he said of his design, which depicts a large Western cowboy boot with a spur, bandanna and cactus-embossed belt buckle, all highlighted by a colorful mountainscape.

If he holds on to a few reproductions of his creation, West could be a wealthy man one day. According to Steve Rubenstein, executive director of the Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce, badges from past festivals are worth well into three digits.

Rubenstein whipped out a list from his file to prove it: 1972’s badge is now worth $45, and 1964’s badge trades for about $350, he said. The 1994 badge, like the one before it, and the one before it, will sell for $1, he said.

“Only 11,000 are printed and they gain in value every year,” he said.