My first version actually did have a metal shovel, but that went against certain con policies, and it's not what I was trying to convey anyway. That plastic snow shovel is exactly what I had in mind. A snow shovel certainly represents Quebecquer culture well! My decision was inspired by a bit in a comedy routine by Martin Petit.

I agree about the colorful OC that we find out there. This was one of the arguments we discussed at my panel yesterday: Hetalia as a show cannot possibly cover every single culture in present and past history. But its most wonderful purpose is precisely to open up the door for all of us to do just that, among ourselves. We get to educate one another and have fun with it.

Someone at the panel also brought up a very interesting OC of Alaska she created. I liked her vision very much.