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About Us

Badges And Medals was founded in the 70s by the Larsen family, out of a love for good craftmanship. We spent a short time as a jewellery shop in small-town New Zealand before our focus sharped in on custom awards. 

By the time Hamish Larsen and his father, Arnie, took over in 2018, they saw that the awards industry had not kept pace with people’s needs. Making awards often took too long and hurt the environment. Complicated ordering processes also meant people didn’t know what they could design, resulting in plain and similar-looking awards. 

Badges And Medals’ vision became clear: to challenge the status quo. People needed their custom awards to be faster, easier, and more affordable, with better designs and less impact on the planet. Determined to set a new standard, we began revolutionising the way awards were designed and made.

We invested in our design team so we could offer people high-quality designs for free. We expanded our supply chain beyond New Zealand to give people more options and choose suppliers that cared about people and the planet. 

It wasn’t long before people took notice. National sporting bodies started coming on board, then international. Today, more than 5000 organisations a year use Badges And Medals to quickly and easily order stunning custom awards.

Why pick Badges And Medals?

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PRODUCTS MADE USING INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNISED ETHICS

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50+ years of award industry experience

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ACCESS TO fast, free custom award designs

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COUNTLESS CUSTOMISATION OPTIONS TO SUIT YOUR BRAND, EVENT OR VALUES

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Competitive prices without reducing on product quality

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A DEDICATED ACCOUNT MANAGER TO GUIDE YOU THROUGH YOUR ORDER

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FREE SAMPLE PACKS SHIPPED directly TO YOU

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clear production timelines and frequent updates on your order

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FREE OPTIONAL ACCESS TO PERSONALISED PRODUCT MARKETING MATERIALS

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worldwide deliveries

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awards packed by size, colour and event to help with distribution

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quick, friendly customer service

Get a free Quote today

Who will you be working with?

Hamish
Larsen

Managing Director

Fun fact about you: I have no appendix (donated it).

Favourite song: Depends on the mood.

Secret specialist subject: Anything cricket!

What did you want to be when you grew up? A pro surfer. (Can’t be long now!).

What do you do at Badges And Medals? Live and breathe the Badges and Medals vision to “revolutionise an antiquated insignia industry”.

Ayden
Hamilton

Business Development (Australiasia)

Fun fact about you: My birthday is on April 1st. A bad option for an April Fools’ joke!

Favourite song: Hard to choose a favourite. Anything by the Eagles.

Secret specialist subject: Not much of a specialist… but I love dissecting a cricket game.

What did you want to be when you grew up? I never had a concrete idea of what I wanted to be, but being a business owner was always on my mind. I’ve always been drawn to entrepreneurship.

What do you do at Badges And Medals? I focus on building new partnerships with clients to ensure our awards make celebrations awesome!

Brodie
Hamilton

Operations Manager

Fun fact about you: I’ve had more fishing licenses than I have caught fish.

Favourite song: ‘Comfortably Numb’ by Pink Floyd.

Secret specialist subject: Residential landscaping.

What did you want to be when you grew up? A builder but I still haven’t built my shed.

What do you do at Badges And Medals? I help clients take their events to the next level.

Amanda
Parker

Business Development (New Zealand)

Fun fact about you: I love people and especially people watching.

Favourite song: ‘Mamma Mia’ by ABBA.

Secret specialist subject: I’m a gym junkie and self-proclaimed dietitian.

What did you want to be when you grew up? A nurse but my daughter is one!

What do you do at Badges And Medals? I’m in charge of business development.

Shaun
White

Business Development (Australia)

Fun fact about you: While my family is devoted to supporting Liverpool Football Club, I decided to pledge my allegiance to Manchester United. The last few years haven’t gone very well for me…

Favourite song: ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ by Queen

Secret specialist subject: Sports aficionado extraordinaire! In short, if it involves a ball, a team, or an unusual set of rules, consider me your go-to guru for all things sports-related!

What did you want to be when you grew up? A game ranger or international food blogger.

What do you do at Badges And Medals? I’m the Chief Smiler Officer (CSO), responsible for spreading joy and laughter in the workplace! That and I do some new business development on the side.

Robyn
Dartnall

Global Marketing/Digital

Fun fact about you: I’ve been the photographer at over 50 of my friends’ weddings!

Favourite song: Impossible choice! I’m a country fan.

Secret specialist subject: Film photography.

What did you want to be when you grew up? Rich and famous… still working on both!

What do you do at Badges And Medals? I make sure every interaction is a medal-worthy experience!

Hannah
Yoingco

Procurement

Fun fact about you: I can’t swim but I can hold my breath really long while rapping ‘Lose Yourself’ by Eminem.

Favourite song: ‘Top Of The World’ by The Carpenters.

Secret specialist subject: Penguins.

What did you want to be when you grew up? A famous figure skater and be on the front of the Milo cereal box to get free lifetime supply of Milo cereal.

What do you do at Badges And Medals? I order goods from our suppliers.

Teagan
How

Production

Fun fact about you: I’ve never done a cartwheel.

Favourite song: ‘New Kid in Town’ by The Eagles (at the moment!).

Secret specialist subject: Seasons and tides.

What did you want to be when you grew up? A scientist.

What do you do at Badges And Medals? Oversee the design phase.

Chloe
Ranford

Global Marketing/Content

Fun fact about you: My brother and I share a birthday, two years apart.

Favourite song: ‘More Than A Woman’ by the Bee Gees.

Secret specialist subject: The ‘Harry Potter’ universe.

What did you want to be when you grew up? A cat. It hasn’t worked out.

What do you do at Badges And Medals? I write content. Sometimes I even do it well!

Angel
Jumaquio

Production Manager

Fun fact about you: I have a fear of heights.

Favourite song: ‘Here, There And Everywhere’ by The Beatles.

Secret specialist subject: Guitars and effect pedals.

What did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be a rockstar!

What do you do at Badges And Medals? I engrave stuff using a laser machine.

Ian
Mercado

Production

Fun fact about you: I hate gummy bears or any other sorts of gummies.

Favourite song: ‘The Sound of Silence’ by Simon & Garfunkel.

Secret specialist subject: Ask me about Basketball Sneakers.

What did you want to be when you grew up? I just wanted to grow up tall but it suddenly stopped! I also wanted to become a chef but the kitchen didn’t wanted me to be.

What do you do at Badges And Medals? I make coffees for everyone! I’m also in charge of all presswork and die-cast (aka metal) mould maintenance.

Alfie
Aying

Production

Fun fact about you: I’m the tallest in my family (I’m not very tall!).

Favourite song: ‘Always’ by Bon Jovi.

Secret specialist subject: Mythology, especially Greek Mythology.

What did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be a chicken farmer.

What do you do at Badges And Medals? I run the ultraviolet printer and protect products with resin.

Martin
Jarlega

Production

Fun fact about you: I have a great hair style.

Favourite song: ‘Just Once’ by James Ingram.

Secret specialist subject: ‘The Blacklist’. I want to be Raymond Reddington!

What did you want to be when you grew up? An astronaut.

What do you do at Badges And Medals? I do bespoke laser work and timber creations.

Ben
Halsey

Chief Financial Officer

Fun fact about you: I’m a mediocre golfer, biker, and snowboarder.

Favourite song: ‘Money’ by Pink Floyd.

Secret specialist subject: The New Zealand Warriors and the NRL.

What did you want to be when you grew up? A cook.

What do you do at Badges And Medals? I’m a part-time number cruncher. I keep everyone financially balanced!

Maria
Yegunova

Award Designer

Fun fact about you: I used to be a part of a music group and travelled a lot before the university.

Favourite song: A new one every week! This week it’s ‘Buyan’ by Shono, last week it was ‘Telephone’ by Martynas.

Secret specialist subject: European and Arabic medieval cuisine.

What did you want to be when you grew up? An archaeologist (but I got close through the hobby).

What do you do at Badges And Medals? I am an award designer. I catch ideas that are flying around and make them visible.

Monica
Sanchez

Client Relations

Fun fact about you: I’m a big Hallyu fan! K-Pop and Korean dramas are my go-to escape.

Favourite song: ‘You’ by The Carpenters. It forever holds a special place in my heart.

Secret specialist subject: EI taught myself Korean out of my love for K-Pop and Korean dramas! 하지만 연습이 더 필요해요 (Meaning, “But I still need more practice.”)

What did you want to be when you grew up? I once dreamed of being a veterinarian, surrounded by furry friends and saving the day one paw at a time.

What do you do at Badges And Medals? I’m a client relations specialist. In other words, I’m the Sherlock Holmes of client research.

Lida
Banos

Award Designer

Fun fact about you: I am 150cm in height.

Favourite song: ‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams.

Secret specialist subject: I create etchings (and I even have a machine for this)!

What did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be a painter.

What do you do at Badges And Medals? I create designs for medals and ribbons.

Is Badges And Medals sustainable?

We have embedded sustainability into every facet of our operations, from how our awards are produced to how they’re packaged. To discover more about our commitment to sustainable and ethical practices, click on the links provided. You can also explore our partnerships below to see how we are working towards a greener future.

What people have to say