All About Pin Bowls

It all begins with an idea.

My oldest son worked at an automotive shop in high school. One day he came home with a shiny stainless steel magnetic parts bowl.

magnetic parts bowl from harbor freight

I was sitting at my sewing machine when he showed it to me. Instantly I had this thought and threw a few of my pins into the bowl. Then I asked him to get me one and he did.

Next thing I knew, I was painting my bowl red with white polka dots, and then my quilting friends saw it and they wanted one. So I painted a few for friends and then decided to list a few in my Etsy shop.

the first apple green polka dot pin bowl

Then life got crazy and spray painting bowls was not on my agenda. So I kind of forgot about them. Until one day I was reading a post from Camille Roskelley of Thimbleblossoms. Camille had posted a photo on IG and in the photo was one of my pin bowls. Everyone was commenting and asking her about them.

the “second edition” of aqua polka dot pin bowls

I thought… hmmmm… I could use a little extra money for Christmas.. Maybe I’ll make a few and see if they sell. Before I knew it, I was buying cases of magnetic parts bowls and painting all hours of the day and night.

I spent hours in our dining room, dotting bowls in December 2014

Pin bowls were selling and selling quickly. I was getting both happy emails and very unhappy emails. I was a one woman show at that time, and I couldn’t keep up with the demand. Quilters were not happy when they couldn’t snag one from Esty before they were sold out. So I just kept painting.

I spent days and days out in the garage, prepping and painting bowls. Then I would spend hours painting dots on said bowls at our kitchen table. I would list the bowls on Esty, listen to the cha ching over and over and sometimes all at once, then package and ship, and then start all over again.

Bowls being prepped for painting

Harbor Freight knew me by name. This store was ordering more bowls than any other harbor freight (they started giving me a discount I was buying so many bowls).

cases and cases of magnetic parts bowls filled our garage

I had just about ruined every surface of our garage. Even after taping everything off. The overspray was horrible. And even though I took precautions, I was covered in overspray too.

When the weather got nicer, I moved out to the back patio. We set up a tent, my husband built a spray “booth”, and we used an old non working fridge to hold all the spray paint. I wish I would have kept track of the number of cans I bought!

perfect place to keep the spray paint

I eventually found and rented a glorified storage unit in town and set up shop. Upstairs was for painting. Downstairs was dotting, drying, packaging and shipping. I even hired my sister, niece and a friend to paint dots and help with shipping.

our storage unit / pin bowl and ruler pal business 2016

I painted - a lot. So much so that no matter how hard I tried and all the systems we came up with for ventilation, I was starting to feel the affects of spray painting all day long every day. I wore safety glasses, but I was starting to have issues with my eyes. I knew I had to figure something else out. Also, the storage unit had leaks in the roof, and the winter weather was coming.

me painting pin bowls 2016

I was not only selling online on my own website, but also selling wholesale. Thousands and thousands of bowls came out of my home and storage unit. Three thousand bowls were made just in the storage unit alone.

bakers / bread racks with automotive drip pans were the perfect storage solution for magnetic pin bowls

I almost forgot to mention that ruler pals became a thing in the midst of all the pin bowl craziness! My husband had cut me some holders for my quilting rulers years before. One day while using my plain wood ruler holder, I had an idea… and as they say, the rest is history. I was already painting bowls, why not add ruler pals too!

ruler pals waiting to be packaged and shipped

I can’t tell you how much I appreciated everyone’s support and purchases during the pin bowl frenzy! It truly was a blessing for our family In so many different ways.

shipping day at Pleasant Home

Next thing I knew, my pin bowls were being manufactured and distributed all over the world in partnership with Riley Blake Designs. What a relief it was not having to paint anymore. I really missed quilting and I was so over painting. So I was very grateful to find someone who could manufacture them. And just a note; I’m still finding things in the garage that have overspray on them!

what a thrill to see that first packaged pin bowl and in gingham!

I still use my pin bowls! I can’t imagine sewing and quilting without them by my side. Unfortunately when I parted ways at the end of my contract with Riley Blake, pin bowls would no longer be manufactured. I wish they were as I’m asked for them regularly, but I don’t have the knowledge or means to have them manufactured at this time. But I never say never and maybe someday Pin Bowls will make a come back!