If you’ve watched our videos from around the globe, you know that a trip to the Hard Rock Cafe is a tradition for us. Whether it’s for a bubblegum shot or to snag a souvenir, it’s a must. But this time, we headed to Hard Rock Cafe Piccadilly in London with a specific mission: to finally get that elusive London pin for The Cabin.
After missing out on the London pin during our last visit, we finally secured it. It’s now officially taking its place on the shelves in The Cabin. But as it turns out, the trip became about much more than just one pin.
We’ve always collected pins to remember our travels, but the bar staff at Piccadilly introduced us to the fascinating world of Hard Rock Pin Trading. There is an entire “swap culture” out there—complete with conventions where collectors from all over the world meet to trade their unique finds.
We decided to stock up on some extra London pins to take with us on our future travels, so we can trade with people we meet at Hard Rocks in other countries.
The experience was made even better by the legends working at the Piccadilly branch. Huge shout-out to:
The Bartenders: The lad with the Batman and Joker tattoo sleeve and the bar manager (the man with the legendary pin collection on his lanyard)—thanks for the great service and the tipsy vibes!
Jonah: The fantastic young man in the shop who spent time talking us through the trading world.
Kenny (Retail Manager): A true gentleman. He gave us some incredible information about how the pins are designed.
It turns out that staff members actually help design some of the pins! Kenny even had a hand in designing two specific London pins that are packed with local detail. He was kind enough to gift us a few pins for The Cabin once he heard about our collection.
We are officially hooked on the trading game now. Our shelf in The Cabin is looking better than ever, but this is just the beginning. Every pin tells a story of a place we’ve been or a person we’ve met.