Endless Enamel: Pins of the Week #1

4 new pins up on the site. Remember, buy 3 and get a random fourth one free.

A photo posted by @strikegentlyco on Jan 27, 2016 at 9:47pm PST

As the founder of Strike Gently Co, I deal in pins and patches on a daily basis. The Creators Project asked me to pull together a weekly roundup of the best newly-released pins. Most of these will probably sell out. If you like them, smash that “add to cart” button below. Every Wednesday, you can head to the bottom of this column for an exclusive 20% discount code so you can keep your pin game sharp.  

Punk’s not dead; it'll always have a future in commodity fetishism. It’s fun as hell to blow $8 on PayPal a few times a day supporting small businesses selling cool shit, right? Minus the Peter Thiel part, that’s how people used to support scenes whose ideologies they valued, anyway: with money. Ian Mackaye glued the first Minor Threat 7”s together by hand, sure, but he still sold them. All in all, selling things is OK.

Thousands of recently-created small companies are carrying this torch and selling limited-edition enamel pins and embroidered patches. I happened upon the “pin game” while working in a coffee shop a few months after graduating college. One day, a dude named Morgan Watt came in and gave me a few pins. I started asking questions. Morgan is the creator of @innerdecay. He’s at the forefront of this community; perhaps more importantly, he’s a small business owner, taking advantage of free-reign social media platforms to create cool stuff and support his family without having to answer to a boss or pay for ads in the back of magazines or local cable TV stations. Morgan told me about @patchgame, a guy on instagram with a more than a hundred thousand followers who essentially dictates which pins and patches people should buy.

I’ve been obsessed with pins and patches ever since. I started my own company, Strike Gently Co, in October, releasing one pin. Since then, I’ve made more than 50 products and have become addicted to finding new pins and patches I like. I’ve also learned of strange lost traditions—the specialized DEA patches for different drug squads, the bootleg biker crew and Vietnam War squadron pins that continue to circulate eBay, the bizarre cartoon bootleg pins that could sail 1,000 cease-and-desist letters from Viacom and Fox. Like we said, it’s the same collective compulsion that made Pokémon cards and pogs fly off the shelves—except this is dissipated among thousands of tiny companies.

3 new pins in the shop. Bootleg Danzig Baldaev russian criminal tattoos Buy the set and save $$$ www.coldtoes.co #pingame #pin #enamelpin

A photo posted by @coldtoes on Jan 15, 2016 at 3:33pm PST

Cold Toes’ releases are infrequent but always make me open my wallet. Last week, they put out this triple-pack series of pins inspired by the Russian prison tattoos of Danzig Baldaev. You can get the set here for $20.

NEWNEWNEW Clockwise from top left: the Urn, Ivan the Terrible, Decline and Fall, and Sissy Solidarity patches! Pretty stoked on how these all turned out, hope you all feel the same #innerdecay #urn #ivantheterrible #declineandfall #sissysolidarity #patches #patchgame

A photo posted by Inner Decay (@innerdecay) on Jan 27, 2016 at 4:31pm PST

The aforementioned trailblazer just released four new patches, all of which are worth checking out. One is part of the Art History Series, a collection of printed patches of famous old macabre paintings. Buy them here.

Barf gals pin $12 - a pin behind each head- use if to keep your slutty ass blouse closed. #2girls1pin

A photo posted by Penelope Gazin (@penelopegazin) on Jan 25, 2016 at 7:04pm PST

So original that they fill me with envious rage. Recently released, this sick Barf Girls pin emerges alongside bizarre trophies. Spend a few hours poring over her endless Etsy store here.

Love you to death pin is up in the shop! Although Canada Post's generally unreliable service, I cannot make guarantee's on shipments arriving for valentines, I will ship out all of today and tomorrow's orders same-day in hopes that they arrive in time (North American orders should make it)

A photo posted by Matt Darling (@midnite_tremors) on Jan 27, 2016 at 8:05am PST

Darling is one of many tattoo artists who also sells pins and patches for fun and, presumably, supplemental income. He just released this sick new pin, which I imagine will sell out soon. Wait and weep… Or buy it here.

the glitter version of SUICIDE KING is sold out, but some standard pins are still left in the shop, and they look damn good. cop it at suspectltd.com. #pins #pingame #pinhead #illusion #magictrick #magick #magic #cardporn #cardistry #suicideking #enamelpin #lapelpin #hatpin

A photo posted by SUSPECT (@suspectltd) on Jan 27, 2016 at 1:37pm PST

This is another one of my favorite companies. They just released an occult-inspired “Magick & Novelties” set of pins with corresponding patches. There’s a sparkly version in limited supply. I bought all of them here.

This week's special discount code: 696969

Good for 20% off any order from http://www.strikegently.co/  Stay tuned for a new roundup and a new discount code next week.

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