April 1st 2016

The story of the "I MAKE" license plate starts here—at the moment this photo was taken.

On April 1, 2016, at 5 p.m., a group of woodworkers walked out to find Jimmy and I posing with our matching "I MAKE" license plates. Months earlier, I had emailed Jimmy to ask if I could copy his plate. I couldn’t think of a better way to describe what I do than simply: "I Make"

As the crowd in front of us grew restless, Jimmy shouted, “Everyone buy the I MAKE license plate for your state, and we’ll start an I MAKE license plate club.” And they did. Phones came out—beep boop beep boop—and orders were placed.

A few months later, the #IMAKECARCLUB began filling up with photos of makers proudly sharing their new plates. That day in the parking lot, we also announced a milestone goal: to one day bring all 50 states together for a meetup.

We finally reached the goal of all 50 states with the I MAKE license plate—plus makers from other countries joining the club as well. As the I MAKE plates quickly sold out across the states, Jimmy added more plates to his own collection, including MAKER and MAKE NY. Even as the original I MAKE plates disappeared, the movement continues to grow, welcoming more makers into this ever-growing license plate club.