Parent pride turns into multi-region event support!
We started off in competition robotics back in 2017 when our children started a Vex IQ team, back with the Ringmaster game. That first year was a wild ride. Learning about the Vex platform for the first time. Helping out at competitions as inspector, judge, referee, etc. whatever the event needed help with. Then when we got to the state championship, we saw they were livestreaming the event! With my background in IT, I knew that was something I could bring back to Northern Michigan to make our events even better. Fast forward 9 years and our kids have aged out of the program years ago but Deanna and I are still hosting Vex Robotics competitions and helping other event partners with their events. We do all kinds of stuff from just volunteering at events all the way up to bringing our livestreaming rig to run the entire AV experience at tournaments. Comments we've received range from "Awesome job with the livestream, my family back home really enjoyed watching" to "Best ran event we've ever been to" and "Totally worth the 6 hour drive each way to be here!" As you can imagine going to all these events isn't cheap between gas, hotel rooms for some events, to our 16 camera livestreaming setup.
Over the past couple of years I've been making earrings for my wife and daughter and a few friends as a fun way for them to show off their robotics pride at events. Before I knew it I had people asking how they could get their own, so around October 2025, we started this Etsy shop as a way to not only support Northern Michigan robotics events but to also share these creations with fellow robotics enthusiasts from all over the USA.
