How Love Locks Are Made: The Art of Laser Engraving
From Your Screen to Your Hands
Every love lock starts as an idea — a name, a date, a feeling you want to make permanent. But how does a digital design become a physical keepsake you can hold in your hand? Here's a look behind the scenes at how MakeLoveLocks creates each custom-engraved lock, from design to delivery.
It Starts With Your Design
The process begins in our online designer, where you build your lock from scratch or start with one of our curated templates. You choose the lock color, add text in your preferred font, select from over 400 pieces of artwork, and arrange everything exactly the way you want it — front and back.
Once you're happy with the design and place your order, your artwork is prepared for engraving. Every design is reviewed to ensure clean lines and proper formatting before it goes to the laser.
The Laser Engraving Process
Our locks are engraved using a high-intensity laser that precisely removes the anodized color layer from the aluminum surface, revealing the bare metal beneath. This creates a striking contrast — your text and artwork appear in bright, silvery metal against the vibrant colored background of the lock.
The laser operates with extraordinary precision, capable of reproducing fine details in text, intricate clipart, and even uploaded images. Every line, curve, and letter is etched directly into the metal — not printed on, not stickered, not painted. The engraving is part of the lock itself.
This process means your design is permanent. It won't fade in sunlight, wash away in rain, or peel off over time. The engraving is as durable as the metal it's cut into.
Why Anodized Aluminum?
We chose anodized aluminum for our locks deliberately, and for good reasons:
Durability. Anodizing is an electrochemical process that converts the aluminum surface into a thick, hard oxide layer. This layer is integrated into the metal — it doesn't chip or peel like paint. Anodized aluminum resists corrosion, scratches, and weathering far better than raw metal or painted finishes.
Weather resistance. Love locks often live outdoors — on bridges, fences, garden gates. Anodized aluminum handles rain, snow, humidity, and UV exposure without degrading. Your lock will look as vivid years from now as the day it arrived.
Vibrant color. The anodizing process allows for rich, saturated colors that go deep into the metal surface. Our locks are available in eight colors — Black, Blue, Gold, Green, Orange, Pink, Purple, and Red — each with a smooth, consistent finish.
Lightweight. Aluminum is significantly lighter than brass or steel, making our locks easy to travel with and comfortable to handle. You can toss one in a carry-on bag without thinking twice.
Quality That Lasts
Because the engraving removes the anodized layer rather than adding material on top, there's nothing to wear off. The contrast between the colored surface and the exposed metal is permanent. Rain won't wash it away. Sun won't bleach it. Time won't diminish it.
Each lock is individually inspected after engraving. We check for clean lines, accurate reproduction of your design, and consistent finish quality. Locks that don't meet our standards don't ship.
Handcrafted in Brooklyn, NY
Every MakeLoveLocks order is produced in our Brooklyn workshop. We're not a dropshipper sending orders to an overseas factory — your lock is engraved, inspected, and packaged by our team, in New York City. That proximity to the process is what lets us maintain the quality and attention to detail that a keepsake like this deserves.
From the moment you finish your design to the moment you hold the finished lock, every step is handled with care. Ready to create yours? Open the designer and start building something permanent.