Bits of string all tied up in knots, no loose ends
WhatKnotShop is an experimental enterprise all about design, special colors, high quality handmade craftsmanship, and top notch service. It's easy to buy from my in-stock items or order something special as a gift or for yourself. I make things that are unique and special just like my customers.
I’ve always been fascinated with the making of turks head knots. The design is an ancient pattern appearing on carvings and artwork going back centuries. The apparent complexity turns out to be a well ordered expression of physical mathematics. Each knot has a predictable structure. I started out making the smaller simpler three part patterns and just kept working on more complex designs. There are a lot more patterns possible beyond what you see in the shop. If you would like something more unusual please feel free to ask.
There are other fun things here including a new series of handmade rope multi-wrap bracelets. The rope is made on a rope machine out of cotton yarns with custom buttons one at a time. The thin string grommet bracelets are available in white and multiple colors. The leather cord necklaces and wrapped bracelets are off-shoots of the traditional marine craft of coach-whipping. Free form multi loop cord bracelets with whipping details in a variety of colors and gauges and collections of thinner herringbone bracelets just right for layering.
What "handmade" means:
I buy materials from various suppliers including cord, dye, tools, packaging supplies, and other things. I buy some of the beads used in the designs and make some of the beads myself. I design and make all the products listed in the shop, write all the listings, shoot all the photos, handle all the transactions, and package and ship everything to you. Occasionally I enlist others to help me package and ship orders when I'm out of town or unavailable. Each item you buy has actually been handmade one-at-a-time by me.
I use cord from a variety of sources, the listings provide details of what is used to make each item. The variation in size and texture of different cord materials always has me wondering how this would come out in a nice knot bracelet. Once when I was in San Francisco we stopped in a kite shop in Chinatown. There was a 1000’ spool of lovely 2 mm white nylon braided cord which I just had to buy and drag around the city all day. This thin bright white cord has made several custom pieces and is one of my favorite materials for making smaller bracelets.
The white cotton bracelets are traditional and popular. They are made from 100% American made undyed cord. The colored bracelets are made from the same cord that has been cooked in my kitchen using a variety of dye colors. Stovetop dye color is an inherently inexact process so my colors can vary from batch to batch although I can consistently make a few of the blues, greens, and reds. When you buy a colored bracelet is is one of a very few that share the exact same dye bath.
Details on how the dye process works are posted on my blog:
http://whatknotnow.blogspot.com/2013/07/hand-dye-process-overview-and-process.html
I sometimes create unique colors by mixing dye baths on the fly. The results are unique as are the bracelets made from these batches. In the fall I harvest black walnuts from a neighborhood tree and make a small batch of cord from this special dye bath.
The laundry room is cluttered with milk jugs filed with dye solutions. My scrap box is filled with cut off ends of cord from building the knot bracelets which leads to another opportunity: The fiber+design series...
I have a lot of things around the house that Alice Dunbar my high school art teacher used to call “culch”. (some call it junk...) The creative process needs plenty of inputs and “culch piles” are essential sources of inspiration. Playing directly with "stuff" leads to all kinds of interesting ideas that come to life as new designs.
The design series bracelets are more free-form assemblies of cord and sometimes other materials. They are inspired by traditional designs from indigenous cultures. I use some high-tech nylon thread to assemble them so they are rugged and sturdy. Each is truly one-of-a-kind although you may notice similarities to others in the same series. They take more time to complete and are a bit more costly but they are all unique. Special orders for these are available too.
My customer service approach is simple: Super fast shipping on in-stock items and no hassle returns. Made-to-order items need a few days. Special orders have some special requirements so please ask if you are interested.
If you are a B+M shop owner and would like to carry some of my work please make an inquiry. I can offer some small discounts. I'm not a mass producer so don't expect me to match prices with imported products of mysterious origin. I can put together a price quite based on designs you see in the shop or we can work out a special order to meet your requirements.
