Once the style trademark of the hippie/boho set, the reinvented woven friendship bracelet has taken the tween toy market worldwide by storm.
On e-commerce site www.amazon.com, the Rainbow Loom kit is consistently one of the top sellers. Locally, the same kit is one of the best-selling items in a popular toy store chain.
This hot fad can be seen on the arms of boys, girls and quite a few popular adults, including One Direction’s Harry Styles, David Beckham and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. It has also become a popular accessory among the fashion and business set.
The concept is pretty simple—two plastic boards, a crochet hook, and as many colored rubber bands as you would want. You can make bracelets, necklaces, earrings and even keychains and figurines in a variety of color combinations.
The simple woven multicolored bracelet has made engineer Cheong Choon Ng, a Malaysian immigrant to the US, a millionaire.
Prototype
He invented the “Rainbow Loom” after observing his daughters making bracelets with rubber bands. Unable to duplicate their deft movements because his fingers were too big, he made a prototype wooden board with push pins, and soon the whole family was trying its hand on his makeshift loom.
Ng invested his savings of $10,000 to have the looms made in China. He also made and uploaded several instructional videos on YouTube showing what you could make with the kit.
Some children have even become entrepreneurial enough to sell them to friends and family. Now they are gaining favor among adults who can’t say no to a handmade gift from their kids, grandchildren or nephews and nieces.
Mix and match
It might seem out of character, but a lot of these “suits” say they have grown comfortable wearing these tokens in the workplace and even mix and match them with the color of their tie or suit.
Jenny Teves, a CRM marketing manager at Robinsons Inc., regularly wears hers because aside from being pretty, they were gifts from family and friends.
Ruby Gan, COO of ShopManila Inc., started wearing them when her niece made her one. Since then, they have worked together on new patterns. She swaps her colorful ones with the darker camouflage print depending on her mood. “There are more intricate weaves now, which prove to be challenging and at the same time therapeutic somehow,” Gan said.
Astrud Adriano, a design consultant, also got into it because her goddaughter gifted her with a bracelet. She now makes them regularly for friends, family, helpers and even her cats.
Margs and Junjun Lopez like to wear theirs because aside from being gifts from kids Mio and Nicola, the looms add a nice and casual touch to their daily outfits.
Some bracelets, like those made and sold by Quirky Looms on Facebook, mix cute metal charms with the rubber bands. Some users incorporate the colorful bracelets with their current arm candy like a watch, Jawbone band and other bangles.