I’ve been working on a handful of secret projects behind the scenes at Branded in the 80s and the Cult Film Club that I’m super stoked about. Every couple of years I try and light a fire under my backside in order to make myself try and do things I’ve always dreamed of doing. Over the last 10 years I’ve been able to check off a lot “to-do” items on my bucket list including writing and designing a zine, tabling at a large comic convention, and designing my own stickers. Well, I recently had the opportunity to knock another item off my list, an item that I was really happy to finally be able to tackle and one which I was lucky to be able to collaborate on with a very cool bud. Thanks to Tommy Day of Top Hat Sasquatch and Buy the Rights, I’ve finally been able to use a couple of my illustrations to create a couple of pretty damn neat enamel pins!
Tommy just launched a new project called Laser Pins, a small boutique online store for selling enamel pins and patches. I’ve been a pin fan for years with a pretty sizeable collection of pin-back buttons and enamel pins that I wear all the time. I’ve always wanted to design some pins that feature my illustrations, but I had no idea how to even get started on making any. That’s where Tommy stepped in and was a huge help in acting as a go between with a company he’s been working with, and after just a few short weeks I was able to finally hold the above two pins in my hand (and then immediate pin them to my hoodie.)
For my first two pins I decided to go with illustrations I did for the podcast I co-host with my fiancée Jaime and good bud Paxton Holley, the Cult Film Club. I settled on the design I created for our show logo, the skull projector that for me really sums up cult and horror films in one fun image, as well as an illustration I did of Steve Buscemi that was done in the style of Daniel Clowes which is sort of an homage to Buscemi’s turn in the movie Ghost World. The pins are available now and limited to a 100 pieces each. The Buscemi “Mr. Pink” pin is $8 plus shipping, and the Cult Film Club Skull Projector is $9 plus shipping. All proceeds from these pin sales go directly into covering the hosting fees we have for both the Cult Film Club and Branded in the 80s, so if you are a fan of either, picking up one or both of these pins goes a long way to keeping these site up and running.
Aside from the two pins that I have up at Laserpins.com, Tommy and some of our really cool artist friends have been designing a bunch of really awesome pins. Here’s a selection of the kind of stuff you can snag there…
Above we have Alf (who is back, in POG form!), a seriously awesome Shredder from the 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles flick (complete with rad glitter suit), and Cole Robert’s take on a favorite of mine, My Pet Monster! I personally have the Shredder and MPM pins and I absolutely love them.
Some more of my favorites include the Ernest P. Worell pin, a glow in the dark TGRI mutagen canister from pin Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the kind of obscure but awesome Tiger Electronic Handheld game pin. You be the judge, but I think Tommy has a great crop of really cool and unique pins, and I’ve certainly put my money where my mouth is…
Again, so if you want to help support the projects I work on and get some really cool pins in the process, head on over to LaserPins.com and buy yourself some flair for your jean jacket, messenger bag, or whatever you put pins on! Thanks in advance for your support and being rad…
