Pin Design Contest
About the 2026 Pin Design Contest
The 2026 Pin Design Contest opens on April 1 and closes on July 1. Scroll down this page to read more about the contest. Click here for detailed rules. Please note this new rule for 2026:
- Each artist is limited to three entries.
For each MOS convention, a pin is selected and given to each participant. Convention pins illustrate the time of year and a bird species appropriate to the location. Pin designs are selected by competition and are highly treasured convention souvenirs. Many convention attendees proudly display their colorful collection of pins going back many years. The pin design contest is open to MOS members. To join MOS, please click here.
Entering and submitting artwork for the pin design contest is easy. Artists simply create their original designs and then take a photograph of them. For the pin contest, photos of birds are not considered original artwork. Once the photographs are completed, artists will upload them onto the MOS website. Please note that each artist is limited to three entries.
The final design will be made in the cloisonné process. The pins are stamped in metal and then given a shiny gold finish. The colors, in the form of liquid enamel, are injected into pockets in the design and the pins are then baked to harden the enamel. As each pocket (and therefore each color) is separated from surrounding pockets by a metal ridge, it is difficult to have tiny details and tiny areas of color in the pin. Also, shading within areas of color will be accomplished by color blocks, as you can see below how the red shading in the cardinal was implemented in the final design using two shades of red:
The final size of the pin will be 1 1/8th inch in the largest dimension. Pins can be made in any shape so the final shape will be the shape of the winning design. Generally, the pins will be printed in 6 colors. See below for photos of the winning design from previous convention contests.
MOS Convention Pins, 2000 – 2025
