All about Buttons

"An honest man, close-buttoned to the chin,

Broadcloth without, and a warm heart within."

- William Cowper (1731-1800), famous English poet.

For centuries, the button has been an integral part of human civilization. While it started out as a contrivance to hold clothes together, in Victorian England it transcended into high fashion with buttons being made of expensive materials like gold and diamonds.

Even nowadays, when people no longer use gold and diamonds to adorn their clothes (except for the very rich and very eccentric), buttons hold a special place in the sartorial scheme of things because of their varieties and ability to be personalized. Combine these with the fact that they are easy and cheap to make, and you have a winner.

Speaking of winners, one of the most popular uses of buttons is in election campaigns. I am sure that all of us have come across buttons with messages like “XX for President!” or “Vote YY!” any time there is an election forthcoming.

Other than election candidatures, buttons also find use in more mundane activities like promoting a product or service. When traveling on the subway, you can often come across people sporting buttons on their jackets cajoling you to ask them “how to lose weight” or “make money in a recession.”

Personalized buttons also make great gifts. When you gift someone a button that conveys a personal event or relation, it shows the receiver that you care. All these opportunities make buttons a very popular item, and button-making a very lucrative business.

If you want to know how to start a button-making business, here are some basic steps you will need to follow:

1. Invest in a button-making machine – In this decision, you are literally spoiled for choice. There are machines which can make only certain sizes of buttons while there are more expensive models that can produce buttons of multiple sizes. Also, there is a wide variety of manufacturers, both American and international. Although Chinese models may come cheap, you are better off buying from a reputed American manufacturer – it will work out cheaper in the long run, besides the obvious quality advantages.

2. Invest in graphics software – Although you can do a decent job with free software, it’s better to work with specialized software like Adobe Photoshop. There are loads of tutorials online that can show you how to navigate the menus and use the in-built tools to create breathtaking designs for your buttons. Now, print out the designs to be used in buttons.

3. Invest in a rotary cutter – This is required to cut out perfect circles of the printed graphics. An adjustable rotary cutter can cut circles of different diameters, something that is useful if you are planning to make buttons of multiple sizes.

4. Make your button – Of course, you won’t be manufacturing the basic structure of the button, also known as die. You can buy them wholesale to make your personalized buttons. Insert the die and design as depicted in the button-making machine’s instruction manual, operate the machine and you’re ready to go into business!

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