Going on 5 years of making theme park inspired art.

Going on 5 years of making theme park inspired art.

It's hard to believe that we're already going into the 5th year of running the shop. It's pretty crazy to think that my "sustainable hobby" is not only still kickin', but growing beyond anything that I'd ever thought it could be.

I probably sound like a broken record year after year, but this year, 2019, was our biggest ever. It's both fun and frightening to see things evolve as I continue to express my weird romance with roller coasters, theme parks, and '70s retro futurism, through my original artwork.

We outgrew our previous setup, moving from a spare bedroom in our house to a brand new studio and warehouse to hold more inventory, hopes and dreams than ever before.

We were granted approval by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. And "Made to Thrill" is now a registered trademark, that little "Circle R" thingy.

We released our first official park collaboration with Holiday World - a limited run typographic t-shirt celebrating The Voyage roller coaster. Many more pieces are already in the works for next season.

We partnered with one of our favorite coaster simulation games, NoLimits, to release a special set of prints based off of the 10 winners of their latest roundup of custom coaster designs.

We released a slew of new work including new travel posters, our most ambitious pin design, Williamsburg 1984, and our 9th original collection, Fuel.

We said farewell to the overly masculine lightning bolt and star branding representing Made to Thrill that I hastily designed, and welcomed the gnarly blend of urban transit and retro futurism to shine as the new icon of the brand that I designed in slightly less haste.

And we restocked almost all of our inventory in time for our biggest holiday season that we've ever experienced.

That's a lot of stuff, and I'm incredibly thankful that we've gotten to this point. I could wrap this up now by saying how excited we are about the coming year and all the dope stuff I'm gonna make for myself and whoever else wants it...and I guess I just did.

But to be more realistic, I didn't think I'd keep Made to Thrill up for as long as I have, and to be honest, the challenges of constantly scaling are what frighten me the most. This isn't a full-time job for me, and if I have it my way, it never will be. But I'm consistently amazed and humbled by the support our small community has given over the past 4 years. I'm looking forward to what we'll bring into the future- "...An adventure we'll take, and make, together."

Happy 2020, Thrill family!

- Josh