Remember the plastic, itchy, scratchy wristbands you wear for concerts, events or just getting into an exclusive bar/club on the weekends? Remember how annoying it is to scrape them off, or pick at them till they tear apart or just simply cut them off the next morning? It completely dismisses the option of keeping a memento from a special night--and produces unnecessary waste.
When approached with the opportunity to design artist bracelets for Masala Mixtape this year, I wanted to address these little annoyances. Having the resources, capability and space that I do as a brand owner, I wanted to put my own spin on this cheap feeling and especially scratchy piece of paper.
I first had to switch out the material. No plastic, no flimsy-ness, no fuss. Simple, easy, durable material. Material that felt like it lived through the same experience as you, and held the weight of the fond memories you made the night before. Something you could look back to the next morning and smile in content- not something you see and immediately want to cut off. Our solution was a plant based cactus leather, with incredibly crisp print quality and color pay off since we were working with a very sharp edged serif font. Soft edges and a smooth brushed leather finish that gives the feel of a high quality bracelet, not a sweaty one inch strip of paper around your wrist.
Next, I wanted to work on the closure. No tearing, cutting, or chewing-it-off-till-it-falls-off nonsense. A nice clean, clasp. Sterling Silver, long lasting and efficient. Then came the ribbon end clamp, a very sleek way to finish (or rather hide) the cut edge of your fabric. And lastly of course, extender chain links because not everyone has small 6 inch wrists like I do.
The print has its own special place in the process. It was an unused printed from a previous collection. Something I absolutely was not proud of, or wanted to use anywhere. I honestly hated it. During the initial design process though, I was constricted to classic florals, and this was the only floral I had in my repertoire surprisingly. Through an accidental push of a button on Pro Create, I came across Gradient Maps, where I could easily alter the pattern to create various color-ways within seconds. Gamechanger. I started to love the print, and got a bit obsessed with finding the best combination of colors as possible. What we ended up with was a completely unintentional click of a button solution that turned heads at the Festival.
These Tiffany blue-ish colored bracelets were featured on 25 artists at the Masala Mixtape Festival in New York City. All the Artists: Sooraj Saxena, Aneesa Sheikh, Shakesprod, Abhi the Nomad, Anik Khan, Raghav, Anjali Taneja, HYDR, PDNY, RMS, AJ wavy, DJ Amsal, No Komment, Shishi, SANJ, Memba, Cezr, Firungi, Spitty, Anusha Savi, Sheherzaad, DJ Sharad, Avanti Nagral, Archana & The Rajakumari were all in attendance and wore our custom handmade bracelets!
