MikeDie Interview | Respect The Pin Maker
What is your artist name?
MikeDie
Tell us the story behind your artist name
Back when I was in high school I just started writing graffiti. I kicked around a few names, Lobo, dragon... Die. So I’ve been using it since then. No Die is not my “real” last name...
Where are you from?
SINY all day!! In 2015 I moved out to Long Island to live with my gorgeous wife till this day.
How did you get into pins?
What made you want to start creating pins?
For years I painted urban vinyl figures, and casting my own toys. After the Toy Game got watered down by everyone thinking they are an artist by splashing paint on a toy, the price to sell toys didn’t make up for the time spent on making them. So I switched to a new hustle to move my art work, enamel pins. I first started making pins of my original robotics and spaceships then eventually releasing well now characters in my style.
What was your first pin purchase? / What were the first pins to really spark your pin collecting?
True story and don’t tell him but Isawadino was the very first person i bought a pin off of. It was his Jerkzilla pin, I believe at the time I bought one of his last ones.
Where do you draw inspiration from?I draw inspiration from my childhood!! Growing up my brother and the kids in the neighborhood use to hang outside and play with our “action figures” for hours!! Then after years of collecting toys as an adult it hit me, why buy collectibles when I can make my own?!
What was your first pin release?
My first pin release was my OBM-1, named after the group of kids I grew up with Oakwood Beach Militia
What pin release are you most proud of? (Send us a picture) The pin I’m most proud of is my TrapBot(Trapjaw) pin. I took the chance on doing a character that already had a name for himself, threw it together with some MikeDie flavor and it did well. Which let me open so many more doors!!
How many pins do you have in your collection? / What are your favorite kinds of pins to collect?
I slimmed my collection down and now only collect artists that I know and He-Man pins
What pin release are you most proud of?
The pin I’m most proud of is my TrapBot(Trapjaw) pin. I took the chance on doing a character that already had a name for himself, threw it together with some MikeDie flavor and it did well. Which let me open so many more doors!!
What advice would you give you someone that wants to create pins?
Don’t be afraid to do your own thing!!!
What advice would you give you someone that wants to create pins?
Don’t be afraid to do your own thing!!!
Hard or Soft enamel?
Soft, love those clear details!
What else do you do art wise?
I love some urban vinyls, but drawing and making pins is my thing... for now!!
Where can people find you?
www.etsy.com/shop/MikeDieRWK