Have you watched the marvellous movie “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory?” We bet you did! Do you remember the magical moment when the golden ticket winners entered the dreamy chocolate factory? Oof! How their faces lift with excitement. Let’s continue to making of custom enamel pins article.
Sadly, we are no Willy Wonka, nor do we have the perfect recipe for an eccentric candy or everlasting gobstoppers. However, we can take you on an exciting adventure inside the realm of enamel pin-making! Consider this blog as your golden ticket!
For that, you first have to understand the outs and ins of how these pins are made, and much more. So, buckle up for an exciting tour you are about to have into the pure imagination of the enamel pin manufacturing.
Now, you won’t find any candy cane trees, oompa loompas, or chocolate waterfalls. But we assure you whatever happens while making them is no less magical than what happens in the chocolate factory. The best part? It won’t even turn you into a giant blueberry!
So, sit back and read on to find out how these pins are made.
Custom Enamel Pins – What Are They Exactly?
Enamel pins are a certain type of lapel pin that uses enamel to create images and colours in a way that makes them look a lot different from other lapel pin-making methods. Would you believe that originally these pins were created as jewellery and decorative pins? Dope, right? Due to their fancy and cute appearance, they are now being used in a lot of industries and colours. People nowadays, even use them as personalized keychains. This is not it, these add-ons come in a number of different colours, shapes, and sizes. Let us dive a bit deeper to get insights into how these cutesy pins are made, shall we?
How Enamel Pins Are Made | 4 Simple Steps
Step No. 1 – Pinpoint A Unique Niche For Your Custom Enamel Pins
Do you want to know the secret step that makes any product go from zero to hero in no time? Well, then here is the magic formula! All you are required to do is to find an audience first! So, take all the time you need to hunt down a unique niche for your enamel pins. Trust us! Once you do this, the rest of the pin-making procedure will become a child’s play for you. By understanding your audience you will be able to understand how to design a great product for them!
The best strategy to find a niche is to stick to whatever you are passionate about. No matter whether you love the odd-looking oompa loompas, candy cane trees, blueberry children, or anything else; you can create pins on them easily. Because come on, you do things a bit differently if you are passionate about them, don’t you think? However, if you find nothing that you can make pins on, there is no harm in taking inspiration from other industries.
Step No. 2 – Design Your Custom Enamel Pins
After you have the right niche to work on, you need to create your custom pins. Don’t worry if you are no expert at crafting or designing things. You can always seek help from online pin designers to help you with the process. However, if you possess excellent design skills, then feel free to create mockups of your enamel pins by using software such as Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator.
Step No. 3 – Manufacture Your Pins
Once the design is ready, you are all set to manufacture your pins. If you are not confident in your skills, feel free to track down a pin manufacturer. These experts will seamlessly handle all your worries and craft eye-striking pins for you. However, if you want to create them on your own, then we have got your back. Below we have discussed some steps that you need to follow in order to create your very own enamel pin.
- Dye Making & Stamping: After you have the designs prepared, you need to create a dye. It is basically a stamp that is made from a hard metal. This dye will help you shape your metal into your desired shapes
- Colour Filling: Once you have your design stamped out, it is high time you start the colour-filling process. They can either be soft or even hard enamel pins.
- Metal Plating And Coatings: Next up, you have to make your pins metal plated or coated to look similar to any type of metal. Some widely used plating options are gold, nickel, brass, etc. On the other hand, a lot of manufacturers also use a black spray to coat their pins
Step No. 4 – Cherish Your Custom Enamel Pins
Bravo! Now you are familiar with your market, the designs you want to work on, as well as the supply chain, and much more. It is high time that you figure out what you wish to do with your pins. You can give them to your loved ones, cherish them yourself, or set them up to sell. To sell your pins, you can list them on reputable marketplaces such as Etsy and Amazon.
- How much will it cost me to make enamel pins?
The answer to this depends on multiple elements. For instance, the overall cost of enamel pin manufacturing itself is based on numerous factors such as the type of pin, the materials and the colours you want. To give you an estimate, you can expect to pay somewhere from $130 to $220 for about 100 pins. The price can significantly reduce as your number of pins increases.
- How can I make custom pins by myself?
To make custom pins by yourself, you need to follow the steps given below:
- Hunt down your niche
- Design your pins aesthetically
- Search for a pin maker
- Set your custom pins to sell online
- What are enamel pins made of?
Enamel pins can be made up from a lot of different materials such as metals including zinc, copper, brass, gold, pewter, and much more.
- Why are enamel pins so expensive?
It is no secret that enamel pins are quite heavy on the pockets. This is because each pin requires a specific mould to produce them. So, no matter if you produce one pin or hundreds of them, the cost of the mould would be the same. Needless to say, the priciest part of the entire pin-making process is the mould.
Summing It All Up!
So, how was your experience? You enjoyed it, no? We told you! The entire process of enamel pin-making is quite magical. Why don’t you give it a try? We are serious, it would be fun. Besides, by reading the steps discussed above, you are all aware of what it takes to make these cutesy pins. What is stopping you now? Go ahead and give it a shot. By following the steps given above, we are sure you will create expert-looking pins in no time!