We are making Anchor and Whale Tail Bracelets

Mystic Knotwork is known for three things.

• Stubborn Tradition
• Real Authentic Coastal, no pretenses
• Resistance to chase trends

Nautical traditions date back thousands of years, new traditions are hundreds of years old. These anchor bracelet things are only a couple decades old. In the world of nautical, that's barely out of diapers while in the world of fashion, that's about 25 different trends that have come and gone. My daughter has wanted an anchor bracelet since she was 7.

It took Beaudoin's Rope Locker (Mystic Knotwork's original name) only 51 years to dye cotton cord for our first time. Now, our research and development team only took 20 to jump into the new fangled anchor bracelet. This Gentleman's Gazette Style Guide sort of spurred us on

My argument:

Seriously, what grizzled old sailor would take the roughest, heaviest, most hateful bit of gear on the boat, his ground tackle, and put a mini one on his wrist? Seriously, do chefs put their carrot peelers on as a necklace, does a coal miner hang a shovel from his arm any time he doesn't need to? An anchor bracelet? really..... have you ever kicked a 35 pound CQR in the middle of the night while unfouling a jib sheet? It's a true test of vocabulary, but in spite of such well considered arguments and wear down: 

Christa won.

But of course, I can't do it like a jeweler. I'm a stubborn sailor who's family hasn't moved out of town since the 1640's. I looked around the boat, looking for metal bits I'd carve into an anchor. I found a snatch block that I could carve one out, but I didn't of course. Instead, I sketched out with a sharpie, had a friend 3d print, then carved the plastic, sent it back and forth.

During the shaping process, I noticed that anchors on your arm do, in small scale, what they do in the eelgrass and seabed. They snag. We worked on the design, and took away all the sharp bits

We streamlined a curve into the anchor so it smoothly lays against almost any wrist. The goal is to NOT destroy a nice Irish Wool sweater, get it caught in the gear, or do any more than be a beautiful and subtle call back to the boats.

I'm really proud of the work and workmanship.  I suppose keeping up with history is understanding that new traditions form, but still it's not something we rush into.

Please enjoy our work and continue spreading the word.