NOTE: This article is Part 1 of 2 about the Harding family here in Costa Mesa. You can check out Part 2 here.
One day, not long ago, we began noticing a steady stream of small, wooden disks – etched with love, life and laughter – marching their way through our Instagram feed. Upon further investigation, the disks proved to be little, delicate, laser-cut pins emblazoned with big, cheeky, audacious messages.
‘What wonderfulness is this?’ we asked ourselves, and were pleased to uncover the purveyor of said pins, Tiny Riot Designs, came with a name (and creator) as bold-yet-adorable as the accessories themselves.
Behind the brand is longtime Costa Mesan, Nicole Harding, a born-and-raised local with an eye for design, an ear for live music, a heart for dogs and a thirst for microbrews.
Nicole Harding – Artist and Owner of Tiny Riot Designs – at Her Office in Costa Mesa, California.
Photos: Brandy Young
“The very first pin I ever made was a ‘Milo’ from Descendents,” said Harding, referencing an iconic, line-drawn caricature of Milo Aukerman, lead singer of the Southern California punk-rock band Descendents. “I just started testing them out, making pins around things I liked. Posting them. I would do special orders for friends and it just sort of grew from there.”
Harding has unique access to lasers and other industrial-grade etching equipment because her family owns and operates both S.S. Metal Fabricators and Aqua Tech Waterjet & Laser here in Westside Costa Mesa. Harding’s father heads up the former while her brother runs the latter – so she was looking to find her own, unique way to make a mark.
Prior to pins, she first explored the idea of selling laser-cut wall art. While fun, it proved too labor-intensive for a one-woman operation.
“I was making these engraved things you hang on a wall, cut with the laser,” said Harding. “But I got a little burnt-out. No one wanted to buy the art I had already made. Everyone seemed to want customization. Like, ‘Could you make it look like this, but I want it to say this other thing, instead.’
“I was doing the whole process, start to finish, one at a time and eventually I got to a point where I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this is so time-consuming.’ I mean, when the work day is done I just wanna bounce. I gotta get to yoga. I gotta walk my dog. I gotta start dinner. So the wall art just wasn’t sustainable for me.”
That’s when she started brainstorming fresh ideas.
“I wanted to come up with something that I could make a lot of, very easily,” said Harding. “Something I could do from home, too. So when I got the idea for wooden lapel pins, it was perfect! I can quick-cut them at work, then take them home with me to glue them, assemble packaging and all the rest. It was a much better fit.”
So she set up her Etsy shop and soon the pins were selling like crazy. The shop name, ‘Tiny Riot Designs,’ is homage to a beloved childhood pet.
“It’s named after a Boston Terrier I had for 12 years,” said Harding. “I was a 15-year old punk rocker at the time I got her and thought to myself, ‘I’m gonna get a dog named Riot!’ But then she was so little and cute and I was like, ‘Awwww…” So after a couple of days, she became ‘Tiny Riot’ and it stuck.”
While the original Tiny Riot may have crossed her rainbow bridge, the current dog culture is still alive and well at Harding’s shop. Family dogs came and went during our interview – with Sammy most closely supervising our shenanigans.
Dog’s life: Sammy spends his days chasing compressed air and supervising the shop.
Photos: Brandy Young
When we weren’t chatting to Harding – or playing around with Sammy – we were fingering the smooth, etched surfaces of a myriad of pin designs. Each was like a little, wearable slice of fandom, for fun topics like Star Wars, rock bands, girl power and sci-fi.
It seemed an understated and somehow ‘grown up’ way to let that freak-flag fly, lapel-side.
Harding’s shop bustles around the holidays, which makes sense: saucy buttons make excellent stocking stuffers. So if you want yours, be sure to get the order in early here. (And if you’re keen to wear or gift a Tiny-Riot-made I Heart Costa Mesa pin, you can get one here.)
We asked about her future plans for Tiny Riot Designs and Harding didn’t miss a beat.
“To be a millionaire pin mogul,” she deadpanned. “But seriously, I need to get more into wholesale – larger-scale production. Merchandise companies with their own pins. I mean, Etsy’s nice and all, but it’s a lot of work, and those fees, man – killer!
“So I guess what I really want people to know is that I’m totally open to new ideas and creative endeavors. If a local business or group or person has an idea in their minds – reach out! I’m open to exploring it with you.”
Photo: Brandy Young
Harding grew up in Costa Mesa, so we asked her for her favorite memory.
“Taking the 55 bus down to the beach all summer long,” she said. “It was just really fun as a kid. I felt really independent and free, going down to the beach on the bus with my friends.”
These days, it’s less ‘bus’ and more ‘microbrew’ for this Costa Mesa native.
“My boyfriend and I love sour beers,” said Harding. “They’re tart with a lot of fruit, just really yummy. Barley Forge and Gunwhale both have a couple – but no one’s really specializing in them, locally. It’d be cool to get some local brewers doing sour beer.”
And her favorite local pastime?
“I do a lot of walking at Fairview Park,” she shared. “And I only just rode the Goathill Junction train for the first time this year! I thought it was great. I wished I had brought a picnic to enjoy afterwards. Fairview is just a beautiful place to get outside – never disappoints.” ♥
