Lapel pins, coins and recognition emblems from Elk Grove Village, Illinois since 1999
✅ American Manufacturing
Where PinMart products are made
Elk Grove Village, Illinois
PinMart operates from 180 Martin Lane in Elk Grove Village, outside Chicago. It runs in-house production capability alongside overseas factories, and states the combination is what gives it flexibility on volume and turnaround.
Union-made military line
PinMart’s officially licensed U.S. Army pin is die-struck from solid brass, hand-filled with epoxy enamel, gold plated and hand polished. Its listing names the source directly: made in the USA, union made by American labor union craftsmen, with the IAM union bug stamped on the back.
Where to check
PinMart lists a Source field in the specifications on products it makes domestically. On much of the stock enamel catalog that field is simply absent — which is the practical way to tell the American-made items from the imported ones.
Origin, stated precisely. PinMart states its own position without being asked: “We manufacture products both in the USA and overseas. Our in-house production capabilities combined with our overseas factories allow us the flexibility” to meet different orders. Its Made in the USA landing page adds a further qualifier — it offers pins and ornaments that are “Made in the USA with imported parts.” In practice, the domestic items identify themselves: the officially licensed military pins carry a Source line reading made in the USA and union made by American labor union craftsmen, and the US-grown wood emblems are domestic. Most of the 2,500-design stock enamel catalog carries no origin field at all, which on PinMart’s own convention indicates imported production. This is a genuine manufacturer with real American production, not an importer — but it is a mixed catalog, so check the Source field on the specific item.
The story
PinMart’s lineage starts earlier than the brand. Its parent, Creative House Promotions, Inc., dates to 1964 and has a curious footnote in American pop culture: it produced the 1966 Marvel Mini Books and the World’s Smallest Book that turned up in Cracker Jack boxes in the 1970s.
In 1999, Creative House branded PinMart, and the emblematic jewelry side of the business became a company in its own name. The premise was straightforward — stock designs available immediately, custom work for anyone who needed it, and enough in-house capacity to control quality on both.
That inventory model is now the identifiable thing about the company: more than 2,500 stock designs across roughly fifty categories, with millions of units on the shelf. A fire department, a school, a union local or a Fortune 500 recognition program can all order from the same catalog at very different volumes.
The custom side runs the full range — die-struck and soft enamel pins, challenge coins, patches, wood and acrylic emblems, service and recognition jewelry. Facilities are ISO 9001-audited and products are lead-free.
Why they matter
Lapel pins are almost entirely an import category. The economics are brutal — small metal objects, high labor content, low unit price — and it is the kind of product that left the United States early and quietly.
PinMart matters because it kept real domestic production inside a mixed model, and because it publishes the mix rather than hiding it. The union-made military line in particular is a genuine American manufacturing operation: die-struck brass, hand-filled enamel, hand polishing, an IAM union bug on the back.
It also makes the buyer’s job possible. A company that puts a Source field on the products it makes here, and leaves it off the ones it does not, is giving customers a way to choose. That transparency is worth more than a blanket claim, and it is rarer in this category than it should be.
Featured products
Browse PinMart lapel pins, patriotic emblems and recognition products available now in the Buy American Campaign store.
Frequently asked questions
Are PinMart products made in the USA?
Some are. PinMart states directly that it manufactures both in the USA and overseas. Its officially licensed military pins are made in the USA and union made by American craftsmen; much of the stock enamel catalog is produced overseas. Check the Source field in a product’s specifications.
How old is PinMart?
PinMart was branded in 1999 by Creative House Promotions, Inc. The parent company’s origins date back to 1964.
Where is PinMart located?
Elk Grove Village, Illinois, at 180 Martin Lane, outside Chicago.
What does PinMart make?
Lapel and enamel pins, challenge coins, patches, wood and acrylic emblems, and service and recognition jewelry — over 2,500 stock designs across about fifty categories, plus custom work.