How To Make Enamel Pins: Everything You Need To Know

Enamel pins have exploded in the fashion world, and entrepreneurs across many industries can take advantage of this business opportunity.

These tiny metal pins are highly customizable and can feature any design, including offbeat illustrations, branded logos, and anything else you can dream up. Enamel pins act as an extension of people’s personalities and give them the chance to customize and accessorize jean jackets, backpacks, hats, and more.

From graphic designers to apparel masterminds to major retailers like Urban Outfitters, creatives and pin makers worldwide have started building successful online businesses by transforming their unique designs and ideas into enamel lapel pins.

This comprehensive guide covers how to make and sell your own enamel pins, from design to manufacturing and marketing. 

Why make enamel pins?

Souvenir pins have been around for decades. Go into any rest stop or gift store and you’ll likely find an assortment of different lapel pins.

Today, people wear pins to express themselves and to promote the things they like. They can place pins anywhere from backpacks and hats to shirts, sweatshirts, and pants. Enamel pins have become a sort of fashion statement, with celebrities like Taylor Swift wearing them on the cover of Entertainment Weekly.

Illustrators and artists love the enamel pin industry for a few reasons:

• Pins are a good complement to selling clothes and stickers.
• The profit margins on enamel pins are high.
• They are easy to make and ship.
• There’s no limit on creativity.

If you’re creative and have graphic design skills, there’s no limit to what you can do in the enamel pin business.

Types of enamel pins to make

• Soft enamel
• Hard enamel
• 3D mold
• Offset epoxy 
• Die struck
• Duel-plated enamel 
• Metallic enamel 

Explore the most common types of enamel pins to determine which make the most sense for your business: 

Soft enamel

To create a soft enamel pin, you apply one layer of paint on the recessed areas of the pin’s surface. The slightly higher metal between these recessed areas give the pin a rigid finish. Soft enamel is the most popular choice for beginners because it’s cheaper and faster to produce than hard enamel and generally has more color options, with richer and more vibrant colors available. Using enamel paint, you can customize your pins to your heart’s content.

Using soft enamel also lets you get more texture detail into your design, including borders and edges you can actually feel. However, soft enamel pins are also much less durable than hard enamel pins, and they can be scratched easily. From a pin production perspective, they can be easy to make but have durability drawbacks.

Hard enamel

Hard enamel is much more durable and rugged than soft enamel, but it can be more expensive and more restrictive when it comes to coloring. Hard enamel pins can appear subdued and less vivid than soft enamel pins.

That said, hard enamel pins use a clear coat of resin on top to create a textureless, smooth surface. Hard enamel is a good choice if long-term durability is important to you and your customers. For example, if you’re targeting customers who want to hang their enamel pin on their outdoor back back, this type of pin is a great option.

3D mold

3D mold pins, or die-cast pins, are a type of pin made by pouring molten metal under high pressure into a mold of your design. 3D mold pins typically have a more elegant, classic look and are made from either zinc or pewter.

You’ll want to use die cast pins when you have an intricate design that requires cutouts or a pin that isn’t a perfect shape. Think designs for animals, toys, planes, or symbols.

Offset epoxy 

An epoxy pin has a clear plastic coating that is applied to soft enamel or offset-printed-style lapel pins. It adds shine and protects your designs from damage. Epoxy coating can protect silk screen paint or offset printed designs from fading or scratching over time. These types of pins are great for intricate designs with photographic detail.

Die struck

Die struck pins are made from pressing metals—like iron, gold, or copper—against a steel mold to create your pin. Striking the metal creates a recessed area where you can add color options, like cloisonné. Some makers also sandblast the recessed area to create a two-tone metal look.

Dual-plated enamel 

Dual-plated enamel pins are the fancy sports cars of the pin world. They use two different metal platings on the same pin. This effect creates a contrast that makes your design pop. 

You might use gold plating for the main elements and silver for the details, or mix it up however you want. Just keep in mind that this extra metalwork means they cost more to produce.

Metallic enamel 

Metallic enamel contains tiny metal flakes that catch the light and create an awesome shimmer effect. When someone tilts your pin in different ways, it’ll flash and gleam like a disco ball (but way classier). 

These pins are perfect for creating something that looks high-end without going overboard. The metallic finish works especially well for designs featuring stars, celestial elements, or anything that’s supposed to have that extra bit of shine.

How to make enamel pins

1. Design your own custom enamel pins
2. Choose the right materials
3. Decide on enamel pin size
4. Select a manufacturer or production method
5. Manage your pin production
6. Determine pricing and profit margins
7. Sell your pins on marketplaces

1. Design your own custom enamel pins

Even if you don’t have any design skills, creating enamel pins is possible. 

For creating mockups of your lapel pins, using Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop is probably your best bet. If you don’t have access to Photoshop, here are some free alternatives you can use to create your own original designs:

• Pixlr
• Sumo Paint
• GIMP
• Paint.NET

Alternatively, you can work with a company like Your Stuff Made that specializes in pin design and manufacturing.The brand is artist-run and owned, so you know you’ll get high-quality, custom pin designs at an affordable price. It also manufactures pins out of its own ethically sourced and certified factory in China. You’ll pay between $130 and $180 for a minimum order of 100 pins between a size range of one- to two-inch pins.

There are also great marketplaces for hiring graphic designers and purchasing design resources:

• Creative Market
• GraphicRiver
• Fiverr
• Upwork

Note: If you’re purchasing design resources, make sure they have a commercial license so you can use them for your products.

When it comes to enamel pins, there are a few guidelines your final designs will need to follow:

• Your designs will need to only use solid colors, usually from the Pantone color matching system, which means your enamel colors can’t include gradients or transparent colors.
• Due to the size of enamel pins, you should typically avoid using small text or fine details in your designs.
• Normally, your manufacturer will only need a JPG, PNG, or vector file of your design, but be sure to ask them for details like sizing and bleed area to make sure you’re following their specific guidelines.

2. Choose the right materials

Your materials can make or break your enamel pin. You want your pins to look amazing and last forever (or at least until someone loses them off their denim jacket).

First, decide between hard and soft enamel:

• Hard enamel pins. These have that smooth, polished finish that screams quality, but they cost more to make.
• Soft enamel pins. These have recessed areas between the metal lines and a textured feel. It’s cheaper, but can still look super clean if done right.

For the metal base, zinc alloy is your best friend. It’s durable, takes detail well, and won’t destroy your budget. You could go fancy with sterling silver or gold-plated options, but start with the basics that actually make sense for your bottom line and target audience.

The plating finish matters too. Most people go with gold, silver, or black nickel plating. Each one gives a different vibe:

• Gold plating: Classic and luxe.
• Silver: Modern and versatile.
• Black nickel: Edgy and contemporary.

Don’t forget the backing hardware. You’ve got two main options:

• Butterfly clutch: The standard choice, secure and reliable.
• Rubber backing: Better for delicate fabrics but can wear out faster.

3. Decide on enamel pin size

The size of your pins matters. Go too small, and your designs turn into blobs of metal. Go too large and suddenly your pin is competing with actual brooches. 

The sweet spot for most pins is between one and 1.5 inches in any direction. It’s the most practical size, because it’s big enough to show off design details, cost effective to product, and compact enough to not drag down fabric.

Think about where your customers will wear these pins. A massive three-inch pin might look cool, but it’ll probably spend more time in a drawer than on someone’s jacket.

Here’s a quick size guide:

• 0.75 inch: Good for simple logos or minimalist designs.
• 1 inch: Popular, versatile, and practical.
• 1.5 inch: Perfect for detailed artwork or designs with text.
• 2+ inches: Statement pieces (expect higher production costs).

Your manufacturer will charge by size, so every quarter-inch increase affects your profit margin. Balance your artistic vision with what makes sense for your budget and target price point.

4. Select a manufacturer or production method

Manufacturers bring your designs to life, so you want to choose the right partner. You’ve got two main routes here: overseas manufacturers or local producers. 

Overseas manufacturers typically offer the best bang for your buck—especially when you’re ordering in bulk. You can find them on platforms like Alibaba, where prices might range from $1 to $3 per pin when ordering 100 or more pieces.

Here’s a quick look at a few options:

• WizardPins
• The/Studio
• Made by Cooper
• True Metal Works

Local manufacturers cost more (maybe $5 to $8 per pin), but you get perks like easier communication and faster turnaround times. Plus, you can actually visit their facility if you want to see the production process firsthand, which is nice to see as a business owner.

Some key things to look out for when picking a manufacturer:

• Their minimum order quantity (MOQ)
• Sample costs and policies
• Production timelines
• Their previous work 
• Customer reviews and testimonials

💡 Pro tip: Always order samples of your materials before going all in on a big production run. There’s nothing worse than getting 500 pins delivered and realizing the gold plating looks more like mustard yellow.

5. Manage your pin production

Once you’ve selected a manufacturer, it’s essential to keep your production costs low while maintaining quality. Here are the key factors that will influence the final price of your enamel pins:

• Design complexity. More intricate designs may require additional production steps, raising costs.
• Number of colors. The more colors used in your design, the higher the production cost.
• Pin size. Larger pins use more materials, which also increases the price.
• Order quantity. While the initial cost of creating the mold for your pin is significant, the cost per pin decreases as you increase your order size.

Most enamel lapel pin manufacturers will allow you to customize the materials you use for your pins, beyond hard or soft enamel. You’ll be able to choose the color and texture of your enamel pins’ base before dyes are added, so make sure you ask to see all the options available. Ask about the options available for the needle on the back of your pin, including whether the clasp for the needle is steel, rubber, or some other material.

Find out if your chosen manufacturers will let you customize the way your pins are shipped. Enamel pins usually arrive in small plastic bags, but some manufacturers will allow you to add a custom backing card to each pin for a unique, professional touch. If backing cards are available, make sure you’re given the exact design specifications for them, including color limitations and bleed area.

6. Determine pricing and profit margins

First, calculate your total costs per pin. This includes:

• Manufacturing cost per pin
• Shipping from manufacturer
• Packaging materials (backing cards, plastic sleeves)
• Other supplies you need
• Transaction fees from payment processors
• Marketing costs

Enamel pins usually cost between $2 and $4 to manufacture, depending on size and complexity. You can order in bigger quantities to get better prices per pin, but don’t blow your whole budget at once.

For a solid profit margin, most successful pin makers price their products at four to five times the manufacturing cost. So if your pin costs $3 to make, you might sell it for $12 to $15. This might seem like a big markup, but remember you need to cover all those extra costs and make enough profit to keep your business running.

💡 Use Shopify’s Profit Margin Calculator to set optimal product prices and improve profit margin. 

7. Sell your pins on marketplaces

Lots of pin sellers create an Etsy shop to sell their work, but there are also marketplaces like Amazon Handmade and eBay where you can sell pins. 

Ecommerce platforms like Shopify help you set up shop easily and handle the technical stuff for you. Shopify can also connect all your sales channels into one dashboard so you can monitor sales in real time. 

Keep track of which marketplaces are bringing in the most sales and focus your energy there. Sometimes it’s better to rock it on two or three platforms than spread yourself too thin trying to be everywhere at once.

How to sell enamel pins online

1. Open an online store
2. Take great product photos
3. Market your online store

Now that you know your market, the pins you’ll sell, and your supply chain, it’s time to figure out how and where to sell your enamel pins:

1. Open an online store

Marketplaces are good places to list your pins, but you’ll want to open an online store to have more control over your own brand. An online store acts as your digital home, where you can connect with shoppers and sell your products.

For example, PINTRILL, a leading enamel pin seller, features hundreds of pins on its ecommerce website. PINTRILL gives new life to work by artists who have passed, like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. It also expanded its product line to include keychains, pin backs, and hats. 

Because PINTRILL doesn’t list on third-party marketplaces, it doesn’t pay commission and can keep all the profits.

2. Take great product photos

Make sure to take good product photos of your pins. Shoppers will want to see the details. Plus, you took the time to design them, so might as well show ’em off.

A few tips to improve your photos: 

• Set up a clean background. You can easily find inexpensive paper sweeps on Amazon, which can add a professional look to your product photos. 
• Use a lightbox. Lightboxes create even lighting and are perfect for shooting small products. 
• Save time for some light retouching. Even great product shots can use a little editing. Use free tools like Canva or Shopify Magic (which comes with every Shopify account) to clean up the background, adjust the colors, and add contrast. 

3. Market your online store

When it comes to marketing your own enamel pin business, there are some recommended channels you’ll want to try:

• Search engine optimization (SEO). SEO helps you reach people who are looking for specific enamel pins or designs. The buying intent behind these searches means you’ll get relevant traffic to your product pages, which can result in more sales. 
• Instagram marketing. Instagram is a highly visual platform and perfect for creators to show off their products. You can publish a mix of Stories, posts, or Reels to promote your products and connect with followers. The more they enjoy your content, the more likely they are to buy.
• Facebook advertising. Say you want to target a specific group with your pins. Facebook ads can help you market to people who fit that profile.
• Influencer marketing. Partner up with micro-celebrities, YouTubers, Instagrammers, and TikTokers to promote your pins. Look for content creators with audiences similar to yours to make the most of your partnership.

Want to really boost your sales? Bundle similar pins together, offer discounts on multiple purchases, and create limited edition runs to create some FOMO (fear of missing out). Just make sure your shipping is speedy and reliable. Nobody likes waiting forever for their pins to arrive.

Building a DIY enamel pin business

Building an enamel pin business can be both rewarding and profitable when done right. 

Start your business as a side hustle, then slowly turn it into a full-time venture. You’ll figure out what pins sell and different ways to source them to increase margins and make money online.

Illustration by Pete Ryan