Makers at Work
Madetag helps makers enhance every handmade item with digital depth - offering product care, storytelling, authenticity, reorders, and more. Whether you're selling online, at pop-ups, or through retail, your work deserves to be remembered, respected, and reconnected with - long after the sale.
Silvana is a seamstress with roots in Brazil and a loyal following in San Francisco. She handcrafts bags, purses and dolls using vibrant cottons and traditional techniques passed down from her mother. Each piece is unique - but as her products began reaching boutiques and gift buyers, she faced a challenge: how to stay connected to each customer.
With Madetag, Silvana stitches a discreet NFC tag into every item. A simple tap with a phone brings up her thank-you message, care instructions, and a short video of her sewing in her home studio. For dolls, each tag includes the doll's name and backstory - a small gesture that turns a toy into a keepsake. For returning customers, tags occasionally unlock special coupons or show matching accessories in her online shop.
She loves that Madetag helps carry her voice and personality beyond the sale. "Not everyone sees the work that goes into handmade things," she says. "Now they do - right from the product itself."
Silvana doesn't just sell items. She builds relationships - one stitch and one tap at a time.
Anna is a detail-obsessed jewelry designer who works with resin, beads, silver, and gold. Her pieces - from shimmering pendants to chunky beaded bracelets - blend organic textures with modern style. She sells at craft fairs, online, and through local boutiques, but often felt disconnected from customers after a piece was sold. "Jewelry is personal," she says. "I wanted a way to stay part of that connection."
With Madetag, Anna embeds a tiny tag behind her earring cards. A simple tap brings up her artist bio, a thank-you note, and care instructions for materials like sterling silver or gold-plated chains. She also links to styling tips and suggestions for matching pieces - helping turn one sale into several.
Madetag has become her virtual business card too. At fairs, she displays her logo and a tappable tag right on her table, letting shoppers save her site and follow her social media without needing paper or awkward conversations.
Best of all, her customers love the experience. "People are surprised - they tap the tag and it feels like magic," she says. "But really, it just helps me stay close to the people who wear my work."
James is a furniture maker who works out of a shared workshop in Oregon. His pieces - tables, shelves, and custom cutting boards - are built from reclaimed hardwoods and finished with natural oils. Each one is a labor of love, signed by hand. But as his business grew, James struggled with knockoffs and the loss of personal connection as his products changed hands through third-party retailers.
With Madetag, James now embeds a small flush-mounted NFC tag on the underside of each item. It's discrete, but meaningful. When a customer taps it, they see a photo of the exact piece being made, a care guide tailored to the wood type, and a message from James explaining the origin of the materials. For cutting boards, he includes seasoning tips and optional re-order links for his handmade oil blend.
For clients commissioning custom furniture, the tag becomes part of the story - a way to document and share the journey from raw plank to finished product. Madetag also lets James issue certificates of authenticity, which matter to collectors and interior designers alike.
"I don't just build furniture," James says. "I build trust. Madetag helps me prove the work is mine and lets my craftsmanship speak even when I'm not in the room."
Marcus is a leather artisan based in New Mexico, specializing in belts, wallets, and key holders. His workshop smells of tanned hide and beeswax, and his workbench tells the story of years spent shaping leather with hand tools and fire-polished edges. His pieces are rugged, minimal, and built for everyday use. But once a wallet left his hands, Marcus rarely heard from the customer again - unless something went wrong.
That changed with Madetag.
Marcus now tucks a small, screen-printed Madetag card into every product box and embosses a flush NFC tag inside his belts and larger goods. When tapped, it brings up a digital care guide, including tips for conditioning and weatherproofing. It also links to his reorder page, which many customers use when buying gifts. Some tags even unlock access to limited runs or free repairs.
More importantly, the tag becomes a lasting touchpoint. "A guy tapped his wallet after a year and reached out to say how well it aged," Marcus recalls. "That never used to happen."
Marcus has also used Madetag to verify authenticity as his pieces started showing up in high-end shops and pop-up events. "The craftsmanship speaks for itself," he says, "but it helps when the tag backs you up."
