Regina company provides pins for Team Canada in Paris

The Queen City is well represented at this year’s Paris Olympics, but not in the way that you would think.

The Pin People is a Regina-based company that has partnered with the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) to provide Olympic-themed pins for Team Canada.

Barry Taman has been with the company since 2005, and is now one of the co-owners.

“We’ve been involved with making pins since about 1976. And of course, our big claim to fame was the Calgary Olympics in ’88, where lapel pins really took off and our company was the spearhead of that program,” Taman said.

He said the company has made pins for the COC for every Olympic Games since 1988.

“At the time there really was not a really big licensing program with the Olympics, with the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and the Calgary host committee. Our founder Laurie Artiss approached the Calgary committee (about) becoming one of their licensees for the Olympics and the Canadian Olympic team. And they took us on, and we became the number one licensee of the program,” Taman said.

“We also have taken on CANOC, which is the Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees. So, we also look after a bunch of the Caribbean teams. At the 2010 Vancouver Olympics we were the official worldwide licensee for those games,” said Taman.

The pins are usually a steel base with gold or silver plating. (Submitted/Barry Taman)

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“It’s all done in working with the Canadian Olympic Committee for our designs for the Canadian Olympic Team. It’s usually a joint effort of our designers that come up with themes and things like that. And then we put it all together and get it all approved … That’s the same for a lot of the Caribbean teams,” he said.

Tauman said from starting the design process to receiving the physical 1 1/4-inch pins takes around six to eight weeks.

“It’s quite exciting when you look all over the world and you see the pins that have been designed and produced by a Regina company,” said Taman.

“We recognize that that’s our handiwork (when) you see the athletes walking around Paris with the pins on. It’s quite an exciting time,” he said.

Taman said the company makes pins for other events such as the Saskatchewan Summer Games.

“We’re a family-run Saskatchewan business with a footprint all around the globe … It’s quite a unique little process we have and a business model that we have here, and we’re proud to be a Regina, Saskatchewan, company.”

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