#BuzzFeedFamous

Friday afternoon, I noticed a big spike in our Etsy shop views and checked my stats to see what was up.  Imagine my goggle-eyed-shock when I saw that the source was BuzzFeed!  I asked the Google what was going on, and discovered that Erin Larosa had published an Etsy Guide for Gingers, and our Soulless Ginger cuff had made the list.  I'm kind of a BF junkie, so this particular mention had me giddy with delight.

No Day But Today

Some of my friends are pretty damned talented.  One of my high school buds, Tony Gilkinson, is directing of M.A.D. Theatre of Tampa's production of RENT, and we were lucky enough to have the opportunity to make some commemorative cuffs for his incredible cast and crew.

photo credit: Nicolas Francisco Burgos

 Even cooler, midway through  La Vie Boheme I noticed one cast member---then another, and another---wearing a shiny, silvery band on their wrists.  It was (embarrassingly) exciting to see our cuffs in action!
 

If you're in Tampa, make sure you get to see this one.  They've sold out all except the Valentine's Day show, so hurry and get your tickets!

And if you ---or your Valentine---are an as-yet-unadorned RENThead, you can get a cuff like the ones we made for the cast here.

Or this one, inspired by the flat-out gorgeous performance we attended on Friday evening.

#ThatAwkwardMoment

...when you set up at a show and realize that you've forgotten a critical piece of cuff-making gear.

Like a bracelet bender, or a bench block.  And you weep hot tears of maker-ly frustration because you know that now you'll have to take orders for all of your customs instead of making them on-site, and that means eating the shipping fees and people not having instant gratification and it's all your fault.

Yeah, it's happened to us a time or two, and would you like to know why?  Because, until yesterday, there was only one Bang-Bang Kit.  The Bang-Bang Kit---or the BBK, as I've just dubbed it, having typed it twice and not liked messing around with that hyphen and those nasty capitals this early in the morning---consists of a plastic tote that holds all of the essentials for cuff-crafting.  Aluminum blanks, metal stamps, bench block, brick, bracelet bender---what an alliterative craft I practice!--- steel wool, polishing cloths, and a selection of sharpies.  I schlepp it back and forth with our gear, and it comes inside when I need it between shows, to build inventory or fill online orders.  And therein lies the rub; entirely too often a piece of much-needed equipment is left languishing on the workshop table when I unpack my gear at the next event.

Sean talked me into ordering a second bracelet bender and bench block a few weeks back.  I finally got around to making that esteemed purchase late last week, and they landed in my mailbox last night.  And there was much rejoicing.