We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Taylor Velasco a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Taylor thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Death Rattle Co. started off as a very small pin business. I was 20 years old and had just moved to Colorado and was very big in the music festival scene. Hat pins were HUGE when I got to Colorado, I would go to Red Rocks an walk the “lots” and see people selling handmade jewelry, art, pins, and all sorts of things..it inspired me.

I have always considered myself an artist, but in High School I took a graphic design class and it really resonated with me. Once I saw others selling all their handmade items, It inspired me, & I said to myself..”I can do this”.

My father is an entrepreneur and I’ve always been the leader type and very business saavy, so growing up
seeing my dad work for himself, I knew I would more than likely follow his footsteps, just in a different way.

I started coming up with designs and ended up finding suppliers overseas and that was all she wrote. Just like that, I started a small custom merchandising company, selling most of my own designs, music related merchandise, etc. I would go to red rocks and make a pin for the event and stand out there with my little pinboard and sell them for $10 a pop. I remember selling out my first 100 pins and knew I could do more with this.

Taylor, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Once I started off selling my own pins at music festivals and online, I started offering custom orders. I had found a great supplier overseas and being able to do designs for others and have a direct connection to a metal supplier in China, I was able to completely cut out the middle man.

I was essentially the “pin plug”..and others started to notice. I really put myself out there, I was vending at every event I could. I was heavily involved in the medical marijuana Industry in Denver when recreational marijuana passed & that allowed me a lot of opportunities to work with dispensaries, cultivators and everything in between doing custom merchandise.

After a few years, I started getting more clients, started working with music festivals and bigger clients. I would email companies for hours, hoping to get a message back and eventually it paid off.

I really give credit to a brand called, Sketchy Tank ( You may have seen their clothing in Zumies, that’s where I first discovered them). I had seen them on Instagram and LOVED their style so, I sent them a message asking if they were looking for a new supplier. I really didn’t expect a reply, but sure enough… I got a response from the owner Jesse Dawber.

Jesse really took me under his wing. I think I got my first 500 pc order for a set of custom pins and after that really started working with him doing most of his enamel pins & keychain orders. Jesse (Sketchy Tank) was based out of California and heavily involved in the “alternative” art scene there. He was in town for a ski & snowboard expo and invited me to come and we hit it off immediately.

After working together for a while, he linked me with a lot of California based artist and really got me some of my larger clients. I owe a lot to him and have the utmost respect for Jesse & his brand. Not only did Jesse hook me up with some of my coolest clients, He helped me get my OWN brand into Zumiez. Zumiez carried Death Rattle Co. pins for a year or two, nationwide in many stores & I really thought that was cool and one of my biggest achievements to be in a “big box store”

Jesse linked me up with some big time artists and brands and lead me to doing merchandise
Kim Kardashian, Rip n Dip, Tyler the Creator, Odd Future, Doyle from Misfits ( Some of my cooler clients).

I’ve been doing custom merchandise since 2010 and over the years have kept up with a small clientele doing mostly custom stuff but here & there I do my own stuff but mainly stick to custom orders.

I branched out from pins to doing logos, stickers, keychains, lanyards, charms & all sorts of other promotional merchandise.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

Looking for suppliers can be really hard. I got lucky working overseas and developing relationships with my suppliers & honestly consider them family at this point.

It wasn’t as easy as it sounds, but through trial and elimination I ended up finding some of my permanent companies that help me supply all of my merchandise. Essentially, there are no USA suppliers here that manufacture pins.

You can easily look up “Custom enamel pins” and you will find tons of very professional looking brands claiming to manufacturer pins, but most of these companies are doing your artwork and sending off to a supplier just like I do.

Essentially, these companies are all “middle men” but working with an entire time. I consider myself kind of part time and really do this as a hobby. While it became a full time job for many years, I still work a full time job and
will always consider myself “The Plug”.

I will say, I think I just got lucky. For several years I worked with the same supplier and today still work with the same Metal factory & PVC Supplier. I’ve heard many horror stories of people submitting custom orders and either never getting their pins, or just getting complete trash quality goods.

I am HAPPY to say that I have never been burned money wise from a factory or any of my suppliers. Sending money overseas can be risky and a little scary, but without risks, how do you become successful?

I have had my fair share of errors and pins coming out the complete wrong color or having one post when it should have had two, but most suppliers will remake them for you and most clients are understanding when dealing with custom products, at the end of the day, these are HANDMADE, so errors are bound to happen.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

When I was living in Colorado the first few years, I was working in the medical marijuana industry and kind of just doing custom merchandise as a side hustle. Eventually, I got to a point after a few years that I was ready to take this to the next level. Denver was a very art fueled scene and lead me to a lot of opportunity allowing me to do my art full time. It wasn’t always easy but for a few years, Death Rattle Co. was my main source of income.

I do work a full time career ( I own a mini storage facility) but that’s a whole other story. I do still work for myself
and take pride in being my own boss, however, Death Rattle Co. will ALWAYS be a passion project for me and I don’t ever see myself not making custom merchandise.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.death-rattle.com
• Instagram: @DeathRattleCo

Image Credits
Sketchy Tank Kimoji Odd Future