DoodleCanes

Canes aren't fun.

Wanna bet?

When I'm done with them, they are brightly-colored objects of art that you take with you every day. Walk around with one of my Doodle Canes and show the world that you are an optimist and love life. Since you need to use a cane anyway, why not make it amazing? And it's a great conversation starter. For instance, I was walking through Pike's Market in Seattle and a street musician stopped his song and yelled out, "Hey! I love your cane!" How irresistible is that?

“And why are you painting canes?”

Thus spake my family when I told them I was going to hand-paint canes--on top of my day-job of writing two novels a year. My profound answer? “Uh. I don’t know. Because it’s kinda cool.”

I wish I could come up with a better story about how Doodle Canes came about, but the gist of it is, my leg started acting hinky and I needed a cane, and my husband said that it made me look like an old lady so he wanted me to walk ten paces behind him. I could either whap him with the cane or do something about it.

So I decided if I had to use a cane (and since for some reason I prefer walking beside my hubby) I would make it funky and fun. I painted one, used it, and people started asking for them. Voila. Doodle Canes.

To tell you the truth, each one takes a lot of hours to paint, so I’m making diddly squat on them per hourly wage, but I can say the same for the time it takes to write a book so, it is what it is. Each one is totally unique—and signed (which will make it worth at least a penny more.)

The canes are good-quality metal canes with a black foam padded grip. They are height adjustable. I top my painting with three coats of clear varnish, so it's waterproof and pretty-much scratch proof unless you work really hard at destroying it, and if that's the case, you've got problems far beyond scratched paint.

And think of this: A Doodle Cane is a wonderful gift of encouragement for someone newly facing life with a cane. Such a gift from a spouse is an invitation to keep walking together, side by side. Or from a child, an acknowledgement of the cane-bearer's spunk and spirit. Or from a friend, a wink that the cane-user's feistiness is appreciated. The best is yet to be . . . yes? A bright and fashionable cane is one way to show the world you've got it handled.

Want one? Look at the ones on this site and choose the color scheme you like. Order it and I'll paint you one special.

Truth is, I love doing this. Go figure.