The Portland Pins Project was created in 2009 by Bryan Bruchman (HillyTown) and Kris Johnsen (Emblem Studio) in Portland, Maine.
We ask local artists to submit their own hand-made designs for 1″ buttons, then we place the resulting pins in gumball machines so anyone can buy great, affordable, wearable artwork! We have both 50 cent and 25 cent machines – sometimes you’ll even get multiple pins at a time! Currently, you can find our machines at:
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- the Portland Museum of Art (7 Congress Square. Portland, ME)
- PineCone + Chickadee (6 Free St. Portland, ME)
- Hello Hello (formerly Rock City Books – 316 Main St. Rockland, ME)
- The Oak + The Ax (140 Main St. Biddeford, ME)
We proudly use sweat shop free button parts from USA Buttons, made in West Bend, WI.
If you contributed to the pins project and would like to have your name (and website, if you have one) listed here, please let us know!
We are always accepting new pin designs to be added to the assortment. Deadlines that appear here for submissions are a way for you to make sure your pins get made and added to the machines before each First Friday, since that’s when the most pins are usually dispensed, but designs can be submitted at any time.
Need ideas or tips for creating your pins? Try printing your templates on different colors of paper, or using paint, crayons, colored pencils, or markers to color the background. Consider transparencies and mixed media. Collages are great, but be careful not to make the artwork too thick, or it may not be able to be made into a pin. If using heavy paper or cardstock, make sure it is at least as large as the outer circle on the template, and in that case materials with a heavier surface work better (they wouldn’t be covered with plastic – which can make for interesting textures).
Anyone can submit designs – professional artists, cubicle doodlers, witty quote scribblers, etc. In the end they will all be mixed together and dispensed at random. There is no limit to the number of pin designs you may submit – you can submit a template sheet with just one circle used, or multiple sheets that are completely filled in. Please make sure to include your name and email address on every template submitted so we know which work is yours (this will be key for the website).
*Designs made for our Pin Machines are not available for bulk orders or purchase without approval from the individual artist. These designs are scanned in for the website and only reproduced for the project but not sold individually/on demand. Enjoy the random art!
Please leave your finished designs in one of the drop boxes at SPACE Gallery (538 Congress St., Portland, ME) as well as anywhere we currently have a Portland Pins machine. You can also mail them to us directly at the following address:
Portland Pins
536 Congress St.
Portland, Maine 04101
If you are looking to get custom pins designed and/or produced, we can help you out. Check out or quotes for custom pins orders.
Please direct questions, concerns, requests, and all other correspondence to pinme@portlandpins.com.
Portland Pins was recently mentioned in Downeast, The Maine Mag, The Portland Daily Sun and the Maine College of Art Blog. We were also nominated for a League Of Young Voters Step Up To The Plate 2009 award. Thanks!
