Building a base
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Build your base then make it better. As with most weekends, I spent most of it dying rope. I’m getting close to “done” where done is meeting a semi-arbitrary goal I set to be ready for vending at my first major event. I expected to be here two months from now but because of some process tweaking, I was able to nearly half the time spent at certain stages of my process.
And this is even with a bunch of dye color experiments which have been going well - well enough that I’ll be adding another standard character to the options at Bunnyrope.com. Just as soon as a get the hero shot for the product record.
So, now that I’ve gotten my basics in order, I’ve stated playing. Over the last two years where I’ve been testing and testing and testing my stuff, I’ve generated a pile if To Do’s that I’m starting to try. Things like hojo bundles (which I’ve posted a little about here), Bunny Rope marketing materials, chemistry tweaks, and knew tasked styles.
Pictured above are a few tassels I tried yesterday and I like most of them. They’re actually all different knots I picked out of the Ashley Book of Knots, which is the best knot book you can buy. I think one of these is going to become my new tassel; though I have to do some dye and wash testing first to see if they slip.
One of the first problems I encountered in my process testing a few years ago was timing of tying the tassel. If you did it too early in the process they would slip and show dye splotches which is unacceptable. These knots don’t seem move at all when tightened, when used as lengthening points for additional rope. They also tie smaller than my current tassels.
It’s been neat seeing everything evolve. Especially these last few months since I’ve been dedicating so much time to getting everything perfect.
Well, maybe not perfect. @Alyska has been good at prodding me to not spin on a problem that isn’t actually as terrible as it seems. You can always come back and try again when what you’re doing now is working, it could just be better.
The most important thing:
Focus on your base first.
Once you have that down and consistent, experimentation is joyful and illuminating.
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The Bunny Rope Warren