Artisan Keycap History
Artisan keycaps have evolved significantly as both an art form and collectible hobby, belying its niche status within the mechanical keyboard market. The dynamic interplay between a rapidly growing community of makers and collectors continues to fuel this evolution. This section chronicles the development of the artisan keycap hobby, will expand as history is uncovered or new milestones are achieved, and is not expected to satisfy any particular standards for completeness. You can help by proving suggestions for the timeline via our feedback form.
Note: You can drill into each milestone through the header, to read more or follow links to source information. Orange highlighted maker milestones include links to the maker profile.






First QWERTY Layout

Typewriter with QWERTY layout first developed and patented in 1868 by Christopher Sholes, Carlos Glidden, and Samuel W. Soule. The first keyboard with a Shift key..Read More
First MX Switch Patent Filed

ZF Electronics UK Ltd. files the first patent for MX switches, titled “Mechanical keyboard with membrane switch array“, with the European Patent Association.
Geekhack Founded

iMav creates geekhack.org (domain registered), the first major community where artisan makers and collectors gathered. The logo was created by aggiejy and Krogenar.
EliteKeyboards Founded

EliteKeyboards (EK) was one of the early mech keyboard online sellers, and later became the exclusive vendor to sell Clack Factory artisans. EK was the US..Read More
ClickClack Runs Giveaway for Skull Prototype

ClickClack’s earliest post on Geekhack was about his impressive keyboard collection (250+) and how he likes to disassemble them to examine various switch types. He then..Read More
Clack Factory Launches

Clickclack of Clack Factory creates account on Geekhack and begins selling the first known hand-sculpted, resin-cast artisans for Topre and Cherry MX switches. Whether he knew..Read More
Deskthority Founded

Deskthority.net domain registered to launch a keyboard-focused discussion forum. Creates the Deskthority Awards, to eventually include “Best Artisan Keycap” category.
Ishtob Blanks and Zergling Artisans

Ishtob was an early hobbyist who made some cherry blanks and a sculpted DSA blank called a Zergling.
Niqmods Airbrushed Keycaps

Nascent artisan efforts often took the form of painted blanks. Niqmods are one of the earliest examples of this style, with automotive spray paint on OEM..Read More
Boost Posts Superhero Artisan

Early artisan maker Boost posts a prototype version of his Superhero keycap to Geekhack, and runs a few small sales later that year.
Massdrop Founded

Steve El-Hage and Nelson Wu, originally from Toronto, move to Sillcon Valley and launch Massdrop. The site enabled group buys for enthusiast communities, including mechanical keyboards..Read More
Korean Maker GirlDC Casts Metal Keycaps

Korean maker GirlDC starts series of posts on Geekhack showing metal artisan keycaps. This is one of the earliest Asian makers with high quality metal keycaps,..Read More
Techkeys.us Launches

Techkeys is an early US vendor that sold mech keyboard accessories and artisans. Like EK, they sold some artisans, including early work from makers such as..Read More
Gas Mask Keycaps

Gas Mask Keycaps, based in Hong Kong, one of the first larger scale artisan makers, releases their first keycap, the Gas Mask.
Bro Caps Launched

Bro Caps launched his first cap (Brobot v1) at some point in 2012, sold initially via email sales. Bro would go on to become a highly..Read More
Alessandro Painted Artisan Blanks

Alessandro used nail polish to paint OEM keycaps styled after sweets or candy. A few low production sales were hosted on Geekhack with caps starting at..Read More
DIPCAPS: Custom Dipped Keycaps

Jeroplane and his significant other in Australia offer a group buy for painted blanks on Geekhack. They employ a process called “dip painting” – where a..Read More
Reddit /MechanicalKeyboards founded

r/mechanicalkeyboards sub is created by Ripster (following some Geekhack drama), and becomes one of the largest mechanical keyboard and artisan communities.
Nail Polish Painted Keycaps from akuJIWA

Another Australian Geekhack user, akuJIWA, and his wife do an interest check for nail polish painted keycaps on Geekhack, after receiving inquires from the community.
Reddit /MechMarket Founded

r/mechmarket sub founded, and gains traction as one of the most active trading platforms for artisans. Makers start to post sales on the platform.
3D Printed Keycap Models on Shapeways

The first 3D printed artisan keycap models start to appear on Shapeways, heralding what would eventually become an important medium for keycap making. (Photo by Liang Kong)
CtrlAlt Launches to Sell Artisans and Keysets

CtrlAlt was an active early vendor in the community for many years, who ran several artisan sales for Bro Caps and KWK, and also ran several..Read More
Nubbinator Debuts

Nubbinator posts to Geekhack about his casting adventures and begins to share photos of his initial caps. He later follows this up with sale sculpts and..Read More
Bunnylake Painted Keycaps

Bunnylake releases a series of nail polish painted blanks with confetti and glitter effects. The caps came as single Esc, WASD, and arrow sets in a..Read More
Binge Caps Launches

Binge shares his initial artisan keycap prototyping and casting journey on Geekhack, and starts to release his first sculpts. He notes his inspiration from predecessors such..Read More
First Annual Keycon – 2013

About 30 hobbyists attend the first annual Keycon on August 17, 2013 at the University of Illinois campus in Chicago. Organized by i3oilermaker from Techkeys, the..Read More
Hypnocaps Painted Keycaps

Geeekhack user do_Og@n shares initial painted keycaps he made for friends, and subsequently runs a few sales under the Hypnocaps brand.
HipsterPunks – Killed by Kaps

HipsterPunks starts sculpting and casting early versions of Mummies and Death Lives in late 2013, and sends them to various folks within the community. In early..Read More
Dodgy Keycaps

Geekhack user Dodgy is inspired by Binge and Nubbinator’s threads on keycap making and decides to try his hand at it. His initial sculpts are a..Read More
Hammer HELLBOY and Skull

Imsto runs a group buy on Geekhack for Hellboy and Skull sculpts, OEM height resin keycaps in MX and Topre stem. Initial colorways are transparent red..Read More
Gasmask Keycap Rebrands to Hot Keys Project

Martin of Gasmask Keycaps notifies the community that he is rebranding to Hot Keys Project (HKP), featuring a larger variety of new products, and shares prototypes..Read More
SSIPAK’s Bootlegcaps

Geekhack user SSIPAK posts his experiments with keycap making and sculpts Necrocap, based on the Necronomicon book in the Evil Dead series. He follows up with..Read More
Krytone’s KRAP Keycaps

Krytone shares his first attempts at sculpting and casting with great detail and progression photos, which is characteristic of early makers starting out. He continues the..Read More
KatzenKinder Capworks

KatzenKinder posts about his efforts at “amateur cap-crafting to sort of rejuvenate the creative mindset”. He sculpts various organic and robotic faces on stock PBT caps..Read More
Elsea Keys

Connorelsea and some friends make painted key caps using a hydrographic printing technique, and offer made-to-order custom keycaps starting at $15 each. They thank Nubbinator for..Read More
Mandolin Artkeycaps

Brief artisan maker Mandolin launches his first sale with Demon Cat and El Chihuahua.
CG Keycaps / Shadowcaps

Geekhack member SavvyBird posts about her artisan making, with sculpts of a cat, nose, and ouija planchette on top of Poker keycaps. She would later cast..Read More
Killed by Kaps (KBK) Returns as Kult Worship Kaps (KWK)

After KBK abruptly ended, Punksdead returns a year later under the Kult Worship Kaps (KWK) brand, with a variety of micro sales (1 – 4 kaps)..Read More
V0idtek 3D Printed Skull Cap

Voidward posts high resolution pics of his 3D printed V0idtek Skull Cap on the Reddit Mechanical Keyboards sub. The prototypes were made using a Craftbot printer..Read More
Fendent of Polymer Salon Early Casting

Fedent was a long-time member of Geekhack by the time he decided to share his initial sculpting experiments in February 2015. He would spend nearly two..Read More
War of Betrayal Artisans by HiddenPower

HiddenPower launches a story-driven series of futuristic masked soldier keycaps, with blanks and a key-puller based on a rifle, using 3d modeling, casting, and painting.
WinterWinds / Defect Artisans

WinterWinds posts a photo of a watermelon style artisan blank on Reddit, that he plans to make available for sale. Later that year, in August, he..Read More
KeyKollectiv Launches

Kudos makes an introductory post on Geekhack after some initial casting efforts with his partner Koala (now spouses). Their initial focus is on Topre and MX..Read More
Lootkeys Keycap Project

Lootkeys starts posting his various hand sculpted and cast artisan keycaps on Geekhack, and runs a few sales. He also institutes a loyalty program called “lootscore”,..Read More
Adamski Artisans

Adamski, an early hobbyist that was heavily into DIY, posts on Geekhack about his attempts at keycap making. He shows pictures of his prototype hooded Skull..Read More
DOOMCAPS Launches

ImpendingxDoom launches DOOMCAPS on Geekhack with Topre and MX Esc and Function blank sets and several sculpted blanks. He would continue to refine his work over..Read More
RoastPotatoes Keycaps and Blog

RoastPotatoes was a Geekhack member who ventured into sculpted artisans and eventually held a few sales on Geekhack. He was also published his own blog covering..Read More
R.A.G Caps

Australian reddit user flehrad, who now runs a mk-related podcast called The Board, posts his first casts of sculpted Sakura blank. Later that year he sells..Read More
Zazie’s Keycaps

Aspiring beekeeper and mead maker shares their efforts on Geekhack at making Cherry MX custom keycaps. Inspired by the warm tones and colors, zazie_rx casts their..Read More
KappaKapps 3D Artisan Keycaps

KappaKapps was an early vendor run by two community members, /u/KappaKappsLogistics and /u/KappaKappsKeyboards, who made 3D printed artisan caps and sold keyboard related accessories on their..Read More
Retrocaps by Retrochick

Retrocaps had an unorthodox start by today’s standards. Retrochick, the maker, cast for 1.5 years before her first public sale. During this time, she documented the..Read More
Gen.s Artisan Caps

Gen.s from China posts photos of his Gem keycaps on Geekhack. He used a CNC to make the prototype, and then cast caps using silica gel...Read More
ZorbCaps Launches

Zorb sells his first sculpt on Geekhack, a medieval Templar made with a combination of casting and hand painting. He goes on to become one of..Read More
Keypress Graphics Artisan Painting Services

Keypress Graphics lists an assortment of artisans for sale on Geekhack, made by other makers that he painted. He offers the first professional keycap painting services,..Read More
Gloyz Artisans

Gloyz introduces himself to Geekhack as a “family of glass blowers that took on the challenge of making keycaps”, which was not an easy transition despite..Read More
Binge Caps Rebrands as Hunger Work Studio

Binge and WidgiePidge rebrand Binge Caps to Hunger Work Studio, continue to release new sculpts, launch a web site, and develop various products under this brand...Read More
BCBRNR Caps

Bcredbottle runs giveaways on Geekhack for his multi-shot Cherry profile artisan blanks. He would later experiment with Alps stems.
Omniclectic by Booper

Booper started casting in late 2014, gave out some initial caps in 2015, and had her first Omniclectic sale on Geekhack in Oct 2015. The first..Read More
First Artisan Collaboration on Massdrop

Binge collaborates with Massdrop on a Deal with it Jack (DWI) Topre Artisan for a Realforce Numpad drop. This event marked the first time a major..Read More
Tinymakesthings Clay Artisans

Inspired by artisan keycap makers on Geekhack, Tinymakesthings explores how methods used to make jewelry, keychains, and other items with polymer clay can be applied to..Read More
Widdlekitty Caps

Widdlekitty posts his keycap making progress on the Geekhack Making Stuff Together forum, and has a debut sale for some beautiful artisan blanks a couple months..Read More
:~$ynth Tool Released

The first commercial tool to help artisan keycap makers called “:~$ynth” is released. Binge describes the solution on Geekhack as, “a new opportunity for artisans and..Read More
Suited Up Keycaps (SUK) Launches

Bambino posts his initial sculpts for feedback: the tall Spartan helmet, a bulldog named Duke, and one of his most popular, the samurai mask Keybuto. The..Read More
Badnewscaps / Key Cap Dungeon

Badnewscaps starts sculpting in late 2015, and in Jan 2016 releases several artisan keycaps for sale in MX and Alps stems. Early sculpts include Ent, Lucky..Read More
Nightcaps Keycaps Debut

Eat_the_food was a fan of artisans before being a maker, and after a series of frustrating raffle losses (especially KeyKollectiv), decided to embark on his own..Read More
Rama Aluminum Artisan

Australian maker Rama debuts with an aluminum milled keycap blank, with vacuum sealed packaging. Rama would go on to become a popular manufacturer of keyboards, keycaps,..Read More
Ramage Makes CNC’d Wooden Artisans

After posting details of how he used a CNC machine to build a CNC router (how meta), and making wooden blanks, Ramage has his first sale..Read More
Coz Caps Debuts from Down Under

Australian picture framer Cozmosis holds his debut sale on Reddit with No Esc Keys, BucketHeads, Volkeynoes, MOBA Sets and blanks. He would go on to be..Read More
Solidnitrogen Artisans (and drama)

Solidnitrogen introduces himself and his first artisan, Admiral Clackbar, on Geekhack. After a sale of another StarWars themed Rancor artisan on Reddit, several users complain of..Read More
Jelly Key Debut

Jelly Key is a Vietnamese brand that was created by Trần Mạnh Hùng in late 2015 to make artisan keycaps. This was the keycap product line..Read More
Keyforge Unveils Initial Sculpts

In March 2016, SneakyPotato starts sharing his sculpting progress under the KeyForge brand on Geekhack. His initial sculpts are the Sabre v1 and Mulder v1, decent..Read More
Ericaps Artisans

Ericaps has a debut sale on Reddit of their artisan blanks. They describe themselves on Instagram as having a “background in design and former crafters and..Read More
Artisan Livestream – March 2016
Geekhack user Bcredbottle organizes an artisan livestream with Binge (from HungerWorkStudio), KatzenKinder, Bambino (from Suited up Keycaps), and Eat_The_Food (from Nightcaps).
DCcaps Enters the Scene

Kenda, a student in Vietnam, shares his initial artisan casting on Geekhack, with several sculpts from ogres to owls to skulls. Latee that year in September,..Read More
Aconic’s First Artisans

Juahenza, a Malaysian community member, posts photos of his initial artisan sculpts on keycaps: the Screamer, Kappa, Goo, and Lil Tim. The Goo would go on..Read More
Navacaps Artisans

Nocturalowl made a Navcaps post on Geekhack, in May 2016, saying that he started making caps exactly one year earlier. He mentioned that his family owns..Read More
JTM Sea Caps Initial Sale

After sharing detailed progress of his initial sculpting and casting efforts on Geekhack, JT Sea (u/jtm_sea) runs his first public sale for his Bonk R1 sculpt,..Read More
MFCAPS Initial Sale

Dgneo runs his first “Alpha” sale of his Zev sculpt, based on the Mf Doom mask. His initial sale was mx pre-synth caps. In subsequent sales,..Read More
Aero Keys Artisans

Raenbo posts his artisan keycap making progress on Geekhack’s Making Stuff Together forum, sharing photos of Topre blanks and Aero Keys’ initial released sculpts, the Mechashark..Read More
Just Another Keymaker (JAK) Debut

Reddit user RocketGruntJake starts sharing his initial sculpting and casting experiments in April 2016, and after getting a Synth, debuts his Gramps sculpt and has his..Read More
BrewCaps Launches

BrewCaps shares his debut Ogre-themed sculpt on Geekhack, and launches a sale shortly thereafter on his Esty store (this might be one of the earliest known..Read More
Switzcaps Debut Sale

Switzcaps shows off his Octo v1 sculpt in June 2016, and holds a debut sale on r/mm in August that year, for the Octo, Skullface, and..Read More
BadMojo Caps

Canadian members Baddy126 and /u/MojoM1ke release photos of their Pyro sculpt on Reddit and Geekhack, and run their several sales shortly thereafter. They take a hiatus,..Read More
Lost Keys Artisans

Mattc777 introduces Lost Keys and his first artisan sculpt. In his words, “this sculpt started as a fox, turned into a dino, and then began to..Read More
Caps Simulacra Debuts from Indonesia

Indonesian craftsman, gadzkun, shares a “skeletor artisan” that he made on Nubbinator’s GMK skeletor Geekhack thread. He proceeds to have a sale of the sculpt, officially..Read More
ipee9932cd (BRIZ) Previews First Sale Artisan

Avid artisan collector ipee9932cd shares a preview of Step the Ceph, his own debut sale cap, with colorful multi-shot designs. His earlier sculpting and casting efforts..Read More
2016 Deskthority Awards Includes Artisan Category

Deskthority was running annual awards since 2011, nominating products, vendors, or members across various keyboard categories, with winners chosen by popular vote by the DT community...Read More