Project record
Three teams, one association, and a puzzle pin that had to be re-engineered
Three CCHA teams ordered separately in the same season — including a multi-piece puzzle set that needed rebuilding before it could be produced.
Chaska · MN
The brief
Three teams from one Minnesota association, three separate orders, two different families — and a puzzle-piece pin set that had to be re-engineered so it would survive production.
How the design got made
- Beat 1
Association with decentralised, team-by-team purchasing
proof round 1chaska-mn-hockey-proof-round-1.jpg - Beat 2
A three-piece puzzle ticket design pushed the limits of what metal can hold
proof round 1chaska-mn-hockey-proof-round-1-2.jpg - Beat 3
Production art direction: 'that right piece cant have all those little cuts on one side… it will never hold up in production'
final artworkchaska-mn-hockey-final-artwork.jpg - Beat 4
Gold glitter used on the state-shaped element
final artworkchaska-mn-hockey-final-artwork-2.jpg - Beat 5
Player numbers in white on a black puck for legibility
final artworkchaska-mn-hockey-final-artwork-3.jpg
The finished pin
The full account
The same association, buying three different ways
Three teams from one Minnesota association placed three separate orders in the same season: a 10U A team, a Squirt A team, and a Mite team. Two of the three were handled by the same parent; the third by a different family entirely.
Nobody coordinated it, and nothing about that is wrong — it's simply a different model from an association that buys once for everybody. It means three designs, three proof cycles and three sets of minimums, and a higher price per pin than a combined order would have reached. Some associations prefer the autonomy. It's worth knowing what it costs.
The puzzle set
One of these designs was a multi-piece pin — separate pins that lock together into a larger image. They trade extremely well, because a collector who has one piece wants the rest.
They are also the hardest thing to make. The first version came back from production with a problem:
"that right piece cant have all those little cuts on one side and little pieces on the right to connect the 2 it will never hold up in production"
The main element had to be split in two before it would survive stamping and handling. That is the constraint on every moving or interlocking design: thin bridges and fine protrusions fail, and they fail after tooling if nobody catches them before.
They got caught at proof stage, which is the cheap place to catch them.
Small details that carry the design
Gold glitter used only on the state-shaped element, rather than across the whole pin. Player numbers set in white on a black puck, because numbers at pin scale need contrast or they disappear.
Neither is expensive. Both are the difference between a design that reads at arm's length and one that doesn't.
Specification
| Team | Chaska Chanhassen Hockey Association (CCHA) |
|---|---|
| Sport | Hockey |
| City | Chaska |
| State | MN |
Reference material on file — logos and flat artwork, not steps in the story
The banner threshold
This order sat under the threshold, so no banner was included. At the time the line fell at 1,000 pins at 2.0 inches or larger: the size step cost $0.20 more per pin — $1.07 to $1.27 — and brought a free 3ft × 6ft banner plus 100 bonus gold-metal or blackout pins with it.
Worth checking before you commit to a quantity: the bigger pin is frequently the cheaper total order.
quoted for this order onlyAbout the prices on this page
Every figure here is taken from a real quote for a real order. That is the point of it — and also the reason it will not match what you are quoted.
- Quantity moves the price more than anything else
- Size and build are priced separately
- Turnaround changes the total
- Import tariffs apply and are disclosed on the quote
- These are historical
Questions this order answers
Glitter is a finish, so it applies to any pin type — standard, spinner or slider alike. It is mixed into the enamel of a chosen colour rather than applied on top, so it will not rub off.
It is specified per colour: one glitter colour, or several. Commonly it lands on a single accent area — the shape of a state, a star, a puck. A 1,500-pin association order ran one glitter colour across the whole run; another design used gold glitter only on the state-shaped element.
Sourced — Multiple 2025–26 orders
Some, yes. Very thin connecting bridges, lots of small cut-outs on one side, and delicate protrusions are the usual failures — they won't survive stamping or handling.
We flag it at proof stage rather than after tooling. On one multi-piece design the main element had to be split in two before it could be produced.
Sourced — Production art direction, 2025
Yes — puzzle sets where each pin is a piece of a larger image are made, and they trade extremely well because collectors chase the full set.
They need more engineering than a single pin. Pieces need enough metal at the joins to survive handling, which sometimes means splitting an element or simplifying an edge.
Sourced — Minnesota association three-piece design, 2025
Yes, and it's usually the better deal. One Minnesota association covered every team with a single 1,500-pin order on one invoice, which cleared the banner threshold and brought the per-pin price down for everyone.
The alternative — each team ordering separately — means separate designs, separate minimums, and separate proof cycles. Some associations prefer that autonomy; it just costs more per pin.
Sourced — Brainerd AHA 2025 vs CCHA 2025–26
No. Every figure in this library is what one team was quoted for one order, on the day they asked. It is published as a record, not as a price list.
Quantity and size move it most: the break runs about $0.20 per pin for every hundred pins, and the range here goes from a 1,500-pin corporate run at 1.25 inch to a 3 inch dangler with glitter. Pin type and finish are priced per pin on top of that — a spinner was $0.65 more per pin on one order, glitter is $0.10 per pin per glitter colour.
Timing is separate again. Six weeks ahead of your date carries no delivery or rush charge; four weeks adds a $40 delivery charge; three weeks adds $40 plus a $75 rush fee. The pins are manufactured in China and are subject to US import tariffs, disclosed on the quote rather than at invoice.
For a price that applies to your order, send your quantity, size and in-hands date and we will quote it.
Sourced — Quoted ladders and fee schedule across the AP Pope, Corona Avengers and Brainerd AHA threads, 2025–2026
Starting your team's pins?
Send us your quantity, your size and your in-hands date, and we will come back with a price.
Request a free quote