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This month I opened an online shop on my blog. I’m so excited to share products I’ve designed, starting with my first – an enamel pin I’ve titled Cube Castle. You can click here to see how my pin turned out.
Why did I decide to open an online shop?
I learnt a lot about design and creative processes while studying architecture. I enjoy 3D modeling and wanted to utilise this skill to create a physical product. To design my pin, I built the castle in the 3D modeling program, Rhino. I then changed the viewport to isometric and made the model 2D. This made the design 2D linework with a 3D appearance.
What do I plan to sell in my online shop?
My first product is an enamel pin. I plan to make more enamel pins, but my shop is currently somewhere between a hobby and a small business (much closer to a hobby), meaning it might not happen and if it does it probably won’t happen anytime soon. Maybe I’ll one day end up selling products related to books I write, but that’s the impossible (or rather, improbable!) dream. For now, I’m happy making products for fun in the hope that other people like them as much as I do.
How did I source production of the pins?
I had to do a lot of research to learn about how enamel pins are made. My main concern was the quality of the pins. I didn’t mind how long they took to produce, especially considering it was my first product, but I wanted to ensure anyone who bought a pin from me was receiving a good quality product. There are plenty of manufacturers on Alibaba, but the quality might not always be the same. I made sure to check the colours used in my pin with Pantone Solid Coated colours before production started.
How did I source packaging?
I made sure to source my pin packaging and backing cards within Australia. I’ve admired the printing company I used for my backing cards for a long time on Instagram. I was glad to finally have an excuse to use them! In terms of plastic packaging, I wanted to be as environmentally responsible as possible. I found a company in Melbourne that sold padded envelopes in small sizes, so there was as little waste as possible, and cellophane poly bags. Cellophane bags are manufactured using paper-pulp or wood-pulp, meaning they’re much more environmentally friendly then polypropylene bags, which are manufactured using crude oil.
Buy a pin!
If you’d like to buy a pin, I would be very grateful because it means I can make more! I’ll be sure to send it out to you as soon as possible. As of writing this post (May 2019), you can purchase pins in my website shop or Etsy shop. I ship to Australia, New Zealand, the US, Canada, the UK and Ireland. Figuring out shipping took a lot of research too, as well as deciding on the product cost and including tax. It’s a good thing I enjoy learning!