All the Enamel Pins We're Wearing This Week

A photo posted by @strikegentlyco on Jul 3, 2016 at 1:38pm PDT

As the founder of Strike Gently Co, I deal in pins and patches daily. 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. Every Wednesday, you can head to the bottom of this article for an exclusive discount code so you can keep your pin game sharp. 

This week we celebrated America’s birthday with gusto, and now we can get back to celebrating ironically disliking America despite it being all we know. I know you’re still hungover from the rainy BBQ you went to on America Day, and, bar sleeping, there’s nothing hungover people enjoy more besides e-commerce, so here are my favorite pins from this week. At the end of the post you’ll find a special discount code good for 20% off my store, Strike Gently Co.

A photo posted by  Wei Shao (@weiiishao) on Jun 26, 2016 at 8:36am PDT

I’ve spent a lot of time on Tumblr but I still haven’t mastered what many refer to as “the aesthetic.” I don’t really get it, since the word aesthetic itself isn’t really supposed to be used in that way, but teens on the internet always get their way, so The Aesthetic stands. In this case, Wei Shao nails it. This piece is one of those pins that stands alone as a tiny low-cost work of art. Despite this being an original, it’s one of the lower priced pins included this week, making it a great thing to buy.

$8.00 here.

A photo posted by Stupid Krap (@stupidkrap) on Jun 28, 2016 at 12:59am PDT

I recently included a Wu Tang Joy Division pin, which mixed Peter Saville's Unknown Pleasures art with the Wu logo. Easy enough, right? I like this one too, which appeals to a similar niché market of manchild hipsterdom. Simpsons pins are an anomaly at this point. There are so many of them that it seems as if they’re being birthed out of some divine rite. I don’t know how else people would keep coming up with ideas—maybe it’s just the power of popular culture and neo-mythologizing. Embrace it.

$10.00 here.

A photo posted by Pin Lord (@pinlord) on Jul 1, 2016 at 5:01pm PDT

Much like the Simpsons pin, the praying hands have been beaten to death by hipsters and graffiti artists alike. This one is the only one I’ve seen that I’ve liked. I don’t quite understand the genesis of the praying hands. I’m pretty sure Drake’s business development team paid a bunch of teenage bloggers to tell them what the coolest stick-and-poke iconography was, and then they proceeded to slap it on a record and call it a day (and make a cool $40 mil, or whatever Spotify makes on records these days). Nice work, fam.

$12.00 here.

A photo posted by King of the Pool (@kingofthepool) on Jun 23, 2016 at 7:25pm PDT

This year in particular, I recognized the power of tradition when I stood on a roof and ate a hotdog on America Day. Sure, it was raining. Sure, a bunch of drunk idiots were running around burning each other with sparklers. Sure, you couldn’t see the fireworks. But that’s the power of America, right? Even though nothing even goes right, we can still enjoy occasional indulgence in fast food and superficial nationalism.

$8.00 here.

A photo posted by @flabslab on Jun 21, 2016 at 5:33am PDT

I love this pin mostly because I hate fast food. If you’re going to eat Subway, just eat McDonald's. This is another important American lesson: do whatever you want, just don't expect it to make you lose weight.

$13.00 here.

Thanks for reading, kids. Head to Strike Gently Co for 20% off with the code MURRICA.

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