How I make buttons! by ken.
I printed out orders in the beginning but
I haven't for years. Now orders only ever live on a computer.
No waste!
I hand-address each envelope and put little
stamps on them. Sometimes I put the kenkitty stamp on
upside down. If you get one of those, you get a prize!
You have to email me to claim it though.
addressing envelopes
Cutting out the buttons is a pain. I need
a robot.
cutting out the designs
Time to press the buttons!
You put one button part in the left die
and the other on the right...
parts in the dies
...then the design goes in with the mylar
on top. I use a can of air to blow the dust off. Dust
sucks! That bright light I made helps alot. It's a outdoor
light fixture with an Ikea flourcent bulb in it and a
metal hood I made. It doesn't get very hot, but it still
sorta gives off a holly-hobbie oven odor if you know what
I mean.
puff puff puff
Oh yeah, the air can. I use a refillable can of air called
"ReAir" ($20). You pump it up with a bicycle
pump. The fill doesn't last very long, but you just keep
pumping it up. It's good exercise I guess, and it's
less wasteful than buying cans of 'air'.
Update: Now I just use a little squeezable air blower that is made for blowing the dust off of camera lenses. Works great.
Now it's time to press the button. I rotate
the first die into place and push down... (I actually
use both hands normally, but in these pics my left hand
is holding the camera...)
this pushes the design around the top of the button
then I rotate around to the other die...
and pull the lever again...
and viola!
Elapsed time: I have no idea. Not long at
all. Next I examine the front and back of the button to
make sure it's a perfect little candy, and then I put
them in order on the desk (which again, is just a big
door cut in half).
sometimes the desk gets completely filled with buttons!
little bub chose this time to sit in my chair. Um,
excuse me little bub!
almost ready to go
I use my little tiny postal scale to determine
how much postage to affix...
I should have bought one of these right off...
this box gets really filled up!
And that's pretty much it. Then I'm off
to the post office to see the happy clerks.
-ken (email
me)
