Making Your First Enamel Pin Kickstarter

[@diadantist]

Thank you so much for the video! I really wanted to start a enamel pin campaign, but I was always backing in fear of not being able to make it. This gave me the push I needed and I finally posted it today!

[@dianapocalypse]

aaa congratulations!! So glad I could help! (Drop your link if you don't mind, I'd love to see it!)

[@elineclaeys8226]

This video is SUPER helpful, thank you so much for sharing your progress. I'm looking to make my first enamel pins and feel a lot less confused after watching this video.

[@dianapocalypse]

You're super welcome!! I'm so glad it helped! :D

[@pat4005]

Thank you for your very informative video! ❤️ I also have a couple questions! ☺️ I've never made pins before, and I'm working on the designs right now which will be crowd-funded on Kickstarter. I'm concerned about having to collect VAT for shipping KS rewards to the EU. I have noticed many enamel pin creators state on their KS campaign page, that it is up to the backer to pay for any VAT or other fees / taxes, etc. that their country may want to collect. Did you include telling this to the EU backers as well as the UK backers? Also, it would be awesome if you made a step-by-step video on how you organize your backers for shipping purposes, and then how you pack and make the labels for international orders too. 🌸 I am sure you must have to create and attach a Customs label on each international package, is that right? I would love to see how an international order to a KS backer would be packed (do you suggest a box in a bag?), or just adding extra packing material inside around the pin(s)? Thank you again for your great video, and I subscribed in support of your channel. 🧚🏻🌷

[@dianapocalypse]

Hi Pat! I'm not a tax expert but I will answer the best I can! So as for VAT, I actually always direct UK buyers to my Etsy instead. If they back it anyway (KS doesn't have a way to turn that off really), I message them and make them a custom listing. :) That way Etsy handles the VAT for me. I'm not a big enough business to have my own registration number, so that's the best solution for me. As of right now I don't think any other EU countries work that way and I have shipped to several via Kickstarter without any issues. I believe import taxes are collected on the customer's end, like they used to be in the UK too. On my first Kickstarter I ended up sending all my EU backers through Etsy as well, but on subsequent projects it has worked out fine shipping it the same as everywhere else. I might try to make a shipping/fulfilment video at some point! I don't have a crowdfunding campaign for my work coming up, but I get enough orders on my Etsy that I could at least go over the basics. As far as organization for a lot of orders... I am not the best person to ask, LOL! I tend to just brute force my way down my list of backers and check them off as I go. I manually enter all the shipping details into PirateShip, and I know there's a better way to do it with importing addresses and things, haha. I keep planning to figure it out before I do my next one. For international orders I actually ship them the same as my normal ones other than the different label/customs form! I use the same 5 by 7 bubble mailer for all my orders. My pins are packed either in individual plastic bags (old) or glassine bags (how I do them now) and placed inside along with my business card. If I'm shipping stickers, too, I have a slightly more involved process, but it's the same for international and domestic. My bubble mailers have not failed me yet! I'll definitely look into making a whole video breaking down how I package things! I never considered people might be interested in that kind of content, so thanks for the suggestion and sub!!

[@studio.lunaea]

This was really helpful!! I've been so nervous to do a Kickstarter, but after this video, I think I have a better idea and ready to start one! 🥺 The designs have been sitting, so thank you so much!~ 💕

[@dianapocalypse]

Aaa I'm so glad it was helpful! I would love a link when you launch! :D KZbin might not let you post it but you can DM it to me at Dianapocalypse on Insta or Twitter or Tumblr!

[@studio.lunaea]

@@dianapocalypse OMG thank you so much!! I will definitely contact you soon!~ 🥺

[@lexxiloveless7163]

Hello, thank you so so much for the video!! i was wondering if you had any tips on making the pin mockups look close to the original pin? I see the pin in this video has a gold plating, but ive always seen manufacturers use black for the outline.

[@dianapocalypse]

You're welcome and glad you like it!! So making mockups is a separate skillset, and all manufacturers do use black for the metal lines. I make my mockups from my files! The very short version is I make the pin design in Illustrator (I have a video for that process too!) and use a gold gradient for all the lines. Then, export as a transparent PNG and move to Photoshop. There, I add a bevel effect (Layer > Layer Style > Bevel and Emboss) and play with it until it looks somewhat realistic. I believe I usually get the best results with Outer Bevel. Then I add a Soft Light layer, set it as a clipping mask, and add a few white lines across the pin to create the 'shine'. It doesn't look realistic per se, but it's good enough for mockups generally! I also use a drop shadow when putting it onto a graphic to make sure it stands out. This process should work for any way you design the pin! I know other programs can do it, but I don't really use other programs for that sort of thing, so I can't speak to those. Maybe at some point I'll make a video of how I do my mockups! They're not the best, but they are effective! Hope that helps!!

[@sarah-kb7in]

Hii! I have been working on getting my campaign set up but I have become very confused on if I am suppossed to profit from my campaign or just get enough funds to make the pins. I would think you would want to price tiers so you can make a profit, but I have have seen conflicing things. 😓

[@dianapocalypse]

The reason you're seeing conflicting answers is because that's really up to you! Generally my tiers are priced to make a profit, but a slightly smaller one than selling them normally--so if I sell a pin for $15 normally, I price that tier around $12-13. The customer still gets a discount and I still get to make a profit. Where this comes into play more is in terms of your overall KS goal! Basically, your goal should be decided like this: (Cost to make the pins + Cost to pack the pins + Cost to Ship the pins) - How much you are willing to invest yourself (this can be 0!) times 1.2. That last number accounts for KS fees and errors in your calculations. I can make a video breaking down my formula if that's not clear enough! I also usually over-estimate the cost of packing and shipping, because it's much easier to accidentally go too low than too high and I like having a nice wide margin for error.

[@cubicakez8714]

Thank you so much for this informative video! I've been on the fence about turning my art into pins for a good 2 years now and I feel I can definitely give it a try now! One question, is photoshpp required? I only have Procreate at the moment.

[@dianapocalypse]

You're welcome, I'm so glad it was helpful!! So actually, most pin makers want things in .AI format, which is Adobe Illustrator. However, most manufacturers will convert files for you, from either PSD or PNG or whatever you give them. The downside to this is they may not capture details correctly, so you may have to go thru a few rounds of revisions. There are vector programs for iPad, but I don't currently use those so I don't have recommendations off hand. If you find a good one, let me know!! (I also have a video about how to use Illustrator to convert pin designs on the channel!)

[@thingswithjade]

Do you have to draw digitally in order to have pins developed or is there a way to turn traditional art into them? :) I currently have no iPad or anything to digitise them with ;(

[@dianapocalypse]

Most pin suppliers these days can work with traditional art if you can send them a high resolution image of it! You can try with your phone, but I recommend scanning--most libraries/Fedex stores have scanners they can assist you in using to get the files on a computer. I used to make all of my pins by turning traditional art into pin designs! I have a whole video about it on my channel.

[@thingswithjade]

@@dianapocalypse thank you so much!