PinPalClub

In 2016, PinPalClub started with nothing more than a pencil, a pen, and a lot of curiosity.

I would sketch an idea, ink it by hand, scan it, and slowly teach myself how to turn those drawings into real enamel pins. I didn’t really know what I was doing yet, I just knew I loved making things.

That’s where the PinPalClub logo came from.

The original idea was simple: create a place where people could trade pins, share artwork, and connect with other makers around the world. Creative "Pin Pals", in a way.

I never imagined what would come from it.

Over the next ten years, PinPalClub became so much more than pins. It gave me the opportunity to create thousands of products, work with incredible artists and brands, meet people I never would have met otherwise, and turn something I loved doing into a real part of my life.

It taught me how to design, manufacture, build brands, solve problems, take chances, fail, learn, start over, and keep creating.

And now, after ten years, I think it’s time for me to find something new.

That’s a strange sentence to write.

PinPalClub has been part of my life for a decade. But I think there is something beautiful about knowing when it’s time to close one chapter and give yourself permission to be curious about what comes next.

So this is the end of PinPalClub.

Before I close the doors, I just want to say thank you.

Thank you to everyone who ever bought a pin, wore a shirt, placed an order, traded with me, collaborated with me, shared my work, sent an encouraging message, or simply followed along.

Whether you were here in 2016 or found PinPalClub somewhere along the way, you helped make this possible.

What started with a pencil, a pen, and an idea became ten years of my life that I’ll always be grateful for.

I don’t know exactly what comes next.

And strangely enough, that feels a lot like 2016 again.

Just curious enough to find out.

Thank you for everything.

— Nick

PinPalClub

2016–2026