Rings and Things

The word “thong” has a funny recent history.  When I was a kid in the ’70s, we wore thongs on our feet.  Times changed, thongs migrated upwards a bit, and now we wear flip-flops. Or “foot thongs”.

Always on the go, thongs have also moved along to the world of bookmarks.  Beautiful book thongs have been a trend lately, but you may have seen something like them before.  Think of those fancy ribbons built into old, important books to help readers keep their place.

This trend has a couple of nice side effects:

• Expanding your product line of beaded bookmarks beyond metallic findings.
• Multi-purposing (re-branding) a piece of jewelry that could also function as wrist wear.

The basic component is a length of cording, for example the flat suede lace that Liz at The Crimson Moon uses.  Other approaches to book-thong cording include beading (necklace-style) on Beadalon or other stringing material.  Finish the suede cord with a leather crimp end; other stringing materials can be finished effectively like a necklace but leaving off the clasp.  The important thing is to have loops at the ends, because…

Your creativity really comes out in decorating the ends, attaching a dangle to each.  This can be a focal piece like a lampwork art bead, a seed-bead creation, a pendant, a crystal, some charms…  It’s a good idea to make the weight on the two ends pretty equal, so the thong doesn’t fly out of the book like Wile E. Coyote on a pulley.

Why not display your book thongs for sale “in action” in an artful stack of books?  Or, because the thongs are long, wrap them around a paper card with your business information on it.  If you make handcrafted paper products like diaries, or know someone who does, you could offer a package deal with a bookthong.

Have more book thong or bookmark ideas?  Share them by leaving a Reply!       ☻☺

Exciting news: every month, we’re going to hold a lottery right here on the Rings & Things blog. Here’s how it will work:
*At the beginning of each month, I’ll announce a new lottery.
*You enter by leaving Replies, also known as blog comments.  Comment on any post(s) this month.
*At the end of the month, I’ll randomly draw 2 names to receive surprise goodie packs!

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 4th, 2009 at 8:53 am and is filed under designing, Trendspotting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.