Thursday Spotlight: Pinpoint—Pins, Punk Rock and Friendship

Bold will hold. This phrase, most commonly associated with the tattooing style of early traditional artists, signifies designing tattoos with a bold, thick line style that holds up beautifully over the years. Guys like Norman Collins (commonly known as Sailor Jerry) or his predecessor Amund Dietzel, preferred this style as smaller and more intricate designs tended to fade and wear away.

To the women who co-founded the breakout Greenpoint pin and patch company Pinpoint, the phrase applies in a different way. It not only drives their stylistic choices, but also serves as a metaphor for what it means to be young in New York and to begin a somewhat risky project with a lifelong friend.

Not surprisingly, Samantha Freeman and Emily June met during a high school art class in their home town of Cornwall, New York. As something that now seems like a predecessor to their future business together, they bonded over making stuffed animals outside of class. A few years later the two parted ways for college. Emily stayed in New York to study design and Samantha headed down to Florida to get her degree in dentistry. Years later they reconnected, and armed with new sets of skills and business savvy, they managed to found Pinpoint in the midst of navigating their lives in New York City.

Their historical knowledge of that traditional tattooing style allows them both to concept new designs. From there, the ideas are taken to Emily’s computer where she brings them to life. Utilizing her skills in website design, she also manages their online storefront. Samantha manages their inventory and sales as well as customer feedback and interaction. Though they already have a fairly expansive range of products, their whole shop can be packed into a relatively small case. Their business goes where they go.

As people who start projects with friends will most certainly tell you, the biggest challenge is maintaining the separation of work and fun. With Emily and Samantha, it seems like they’ve found the perfect combination of the two, merging their love of traditional tattooing style, punk rock and just the right dose of sarcasm to keep things from ever getting too serious. Their aesthetic is echoed in the tattoos on their bodies—the addition of a fresh one being an experience that the two share whenever they can.

Although they’re fun and lighthearted about their work, that doesn’t mean they’re not committed to quality. Their devotion to perfection has opened a new door for their business that they never initially intended. After shopping around for different companies to help them turn their designs from digital into reality, the pair created an unintentional catalog of factories and manufacturers to call upon to complete jobs for clients who want custom pins made. Playing on their different strengths, they’ve facilitated pin creation for the likes of Vice Media, Adult Swim and several local artists looking to create runs of promotional items.

While the company remains in its infancy at just under a year old, the two have already established themselves as major players in the pin and patch scene. Their account, managed by Emily, has garnered over ten thousand followers on Instagram in their first few months in the game, social media has played massively into their success. Their bold designs have captured the attention of major fashion media outlets like Hypebeast and Inked Magazine, have been featured by bloggers (a point of major pride was being featured by @jaglever), and has earned them invitations to showcase their collection at craft shows across the country.

Having an artist collaboration with British illustrator Matt Wilkins under their belt already, their sights are set not only on continuing to engage their existing fans, but move into creating custom apparel as well.

The online community has even connected them to the Girl Pin Gang with whom they are hosting an event this weekend at Tender Trap here in Greenpoint (66 Greenpoint Ave.). The event will bringing together 18 female-owned pin and patch companies from across the country—their ability to draw this sort of talent to one place only solidifies the pair’s bold ambition for big things.

Make sure you check them out this weekend with all their pals at the Pin and Patch Pop Up — 1-6pm Sunday, December 11th at Tender Trap.