REEL EM' IN
07 Jan 2008 08:50:24 pm
Over the years Tinsel has been selling our
vintage metal thread to fly tyers from all
over the country. What's that you ask...
what's a fly tie… see this picture. You see the
3 inches of shiny thread wrapped around the
center, that's ours. Recently I found out that
there are trade shows for this type of thing.
Go figure!! So I did my homework & found
out that Nov 16 & 17 in Somerset N.J. is
THE retail show for fly tyers. Always one to
experiment in business, I signed the contract
& got a 10x10 booth and then convinced
Rosemary that life wouldn't be complete until she learned this world also.
Well I knew metal thread was the lure (yuck, yuck), so I loaded up thousands &
thousands of spools to take. Having no clue what this show would be like or what else to
bring we decided that since it was so close to xmas ,we'd bring other fish related
stuff ...fish xmas ornaments, fish pens, fish cards and even a fish bottle opener keeping
the cliche that all fishermen drink beer alive.
So we get to the place & set up. As always,
Rosemary made the booth look beautiful.
We had a xmas tree in the center & ornaments
& fish stuff all around it & of course the
thousands of spools of metal thread in
wonderful baskets & containers. We didn't
need to bother. These guys could have cared
less about the tree & fishing stuff.
They went right for the thread. I could have
dumped it all over the floor & they would
have just dropped to their knees to gather it
up (some did). I had never seen mature men
go gaga over thread before. Talk about
passion! They drooled & grabbed all at the
same time. I loved it!
What did we learn? TONS!!! Even though I had been selling metal thread to tyers for
years , I had never seen a finished one in person. I did not truly understand what it was all
about. Well...let me tell you, it's amazing! It seems that there are guidelines & rules & a
bunch of other "laws" governing this stuff. If you are salmon fishing you use the metal
thread, the reflection attracts them. And then there are the tyers who do it for the art of it.
And it is an art, an amazing art! It is quite a sight to see these big guys with huge hands
delicately tying a tiny hook using thread, feathers and string.
The designs ...the colors, absolutely beautiful!
We met so many interesting & talented people, like
Paul Rossman , Bud Guidry , Dick Talleur, Steve
Silverio, Charlie Chute and tons more.
Look for a new section on flytying in our website soon