Artisan Keycap History

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

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 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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

Brief artisan maker Mandolin launches his first sale with Demon Cat and El Chihuahua.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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