handmade swag / signature items in the UK?

[+The Chaos Crew]

From reading the general forums, it seems that there is quite a lot of appreciation for handmade / handcrafted swag or signature items over in the USA

 

But I’ve not yet come across anything of this nature in any of the UK caches we have found (around 200), and other than the Family Bu and their fantastic little Bu Babies, I haven’t seen any other UK based forum users claiming to do this kind of thing

 

I was thinking of spending some time over the dark winter evenings making some items up – like maybe jewellery or keyrings or bookmarks for swag, or little phone charms as sig items – but I don’t know if people are used to finding handmade stuff in this country and would appreciate them or not….what do you think?

 

I’d package them up nice in patterned ziplocks and add a little card inside to explain what they were and who they were left by….

 

What do you reckon? Is it worth putting the time in and making them? (time is a precious commodity for me) or would they not be appreciated in this corner of the geocaching universe? If the latter I’d rather just buy swag that would be more appreciated. So feel free to be brutally honest

 

Also – apologies if this all reads like déjà vu – I was convinced I had started this exact same thread a few months back, but I can’t find it if I did, so either I just thought about it but didn’t actually do it (most likely), or it was considered so inflammatory that the mods nuked it

 

Sarah of the Chaos Crew

[+mongoose39uk]

I have occasionally come across hand made sig items but not for some time. Always appreciated them when I did.

 

At one time I was putting Elongated Pennies in caches I found and put out. Not done so for some time and obviously not handmade by me.

 

I personally like the idea

[+thekennelat79]

Tim & June (amongst the first UK approvers/reviewers of caches), are well known for their bears.........

 

http://www.geocaching-bears.co.uk/

[+abanazar]

It's a shame that you haven't come across any sig items in the UK. We've come across some one or two nice items and #1 Son in particular likes to trade for them. We've picked up a couple of personalised poker chips, a trolley coin, two or three pathtags, a nicely machined metal nametag, and maybe one or two other items. For us, Mrs Abanazar has made quite a lot of "scoubi" keyrings to which we normally attach a trinket and a nametag. (I have also got a "Whittling" book with the intention of whittling a few sig-twigs, but I'm afraid I've been lax at learning that skill so far!)

 

So please do make some stuff and feel free to scatter liberally over Wiltshire and surrounding areas for us

[+The Chaos Crew]

It's a shame that you haven't come across any sig items in the UK. We've come across some one or two nice items and #1 Son in particular likes to trade for them. We've picked up a couple of personalised poker chips, a trolley coin, two or three pathtags, a nicely machined metal nametag, and maybe one or two other items. For us, Mrs Abanazar has made quite a lot of "scoubi" keyrings to which we normally attach a trinket and a nametag. (I have also got a "Whittling" book with the intention of whittling a few sig-twigs, but I'm afraid I've been lax at learning that skill so far!)

 

So please do make some stuff and feel free to scatter liberally over Wiltshire and surrounding areas for us

 

oh we have indeed found some sig items - laser engraved wooden nickels, an engraved guitar plectrum, and a couple of pathtags too - my son snatches them up and I have made him a collector's album with coin collecting inserts from WHSmith for him to keep them in...... but not any hand crafted ones, only machine tooled

 

It’s more a case of whether people would consider hand-crafted to have added value, or somewhat lesser than purchased/machine made

 

For example, I sometimes make greetings cards, but I only use them for people who I know will appreciate that I have taken time to make them a card. My mum, for example, used to be less than impressed, and I think in her mind I was just being stingy not buying her a “real” card (leaving aside the fact that the craft materials used probably cost me more than a “real” card!)

 

I think I’ll make a few items up, take pics, put them on here, and see what you guys think, before I go into mass production mode

 

Mr Abanazar - I hope you get the hang of that whittling, I would LOVE to find a hand whittled item in a cache

 

Aww those geocaching teddy bears are cute, I hope I find one one day

[+BAMM!!]

We are fairly new to caching...and usually just find the typical swag...kid stuff and all. However, we were catching a couple caches that were on a mountain trail. In one of them was this really cool "coin". It was a wooden "medalion" and had been painted. Hubby was so impressed that he is thinking of making woodburned "coins" for swag...

 

Glad to hear that this is something that other cachers enjoy.

[+jenandberry]

I make up phone charms and add them to caches I particularly like - see picture on my profile page. I guess I must have put about 40 out and I did once get an e-mail from a cacher who had found one (in a cache in wiltshire actually) thanking me and saying it was a nice find. I've just made up some more so I hope to leave them in caches soon.

[+The Chaos Crew]

I make up phone charms and add them to caches I particularly like - see picture on my profile page. I guess I must have put about 40 out and I did once get an e-mail from a cacher who had found one (in a cache in wiltshire actually) thanking me and saying it was a nice find. I've just made up some more so I hope to leave them in caches soon.

 

oh they are cute, and I love the little fish on the card too

 

my phone charms would be similar, but with a chain mailled moebius ball rather than the beaded element

[+Pharisee]

Tim & June (amongst the first UK approvers/reviewers of caches), are well known for their bears.........

 

http://www.geocaching-bears.co.uk/

And much sought after they were, too.... but not handmade, I'm afraid.

I have a beautifully handmade notebook, hand stitched and bound in green leather that was crafted by a Scottish cacher, Evil Rooster. I don't know if she's still putting them in caches but if she is, they are well worth fighting for

[Izzy and the Lizard King]

Lime Candy makes scoubies to put in caches which we always like to see. The Boat People used to recycle things by decorating them with traditional barge painting flowers. I have a lovely painted tin which I use to keep my duplicate TB dog tags.

Go for it.......they WILL be appreciated. Let us know when you start placing them.......I would love to find one

[+The Chaos Crew]

Tim & June (amongst the first UK approvers/reviewers of caches), are well known for their bears.........

 

http://www.geocaching-bears.co.uk/

And much sought after they were, too.... but not handmade, I'm afraid.

I have a beautifully handmade notebook, hand stitched and bound in green leather that was crafted by a Scottish cacher, Evil Rooster. I don't know if she's still putting them in caches but if she is, they are well worth fighting for

 

Sounds wonderful!

 

I have done a bit of bookbinding by hand in my time, it’s a slow and hard-on-the-fingers process. I don’t think I would be putting a hand-bound book in a cache in a hurry! (maybe as the log book on a very special cache….but not as swag)

[+The Chaos Crew]

The Boat People used to recycle things by decorating them with traditional barge painting flowers. I have a lovely painted tin which I use to keep my duplicate TB dog tags.

 

this also sounds wonderful, I love folk art like barge painting (not one of my skills, I'm definitely more of a crafter than an artist!)

[+Jacaru & Wemnog]

When we first started caching, we put keyrings in with photographs that we had taken. We did this for the first 100 or so caches that we visited. Since then though I have to admit we have resorted to the usual swaps.

[+The Blorenges]

This is a link to a (much) previous topic about UK signature items - You may like to have a browse through it for interest...

 

"Named" signature items in the UK.

 

MrsB

[+The Chaos Crew]

This is a link to a (much) previous topic about UK signature items - You may like to have a browse through it for interest...

 

"Named" signature items in the UK.

 

MrsB

 

thanks for sharing, Mrs B, that's a fab thread

[+jenandberry]

Tim & June (amongst the first UK approvers/reviewers of caches), are well known for their bears.........

 

http://www.geocaching-bears.co.uk/

 

I have a Tim and June bear, he's lovely, although I was given it by another cacher who found it before I started caching myself.

 

oh they are cute, and I love the little fish on the card too

 

my phone charms would be similar, but with a chain mailled moebius ball rather than the beaded element

 

They sound great - I'll keep an eye out for them. Will you say on the log if you've left one?

 

Somewhere in this thread or the one linked to further up, someone mentioned making fimo animals and I just wanted to say thank-you, although I can't find the post now to know the caching name (it was related to pigs I think, the fimo animals were pigs). I have just used up the last of my stash of goldfish beads and haven't been able to find any more I like and that aren't far too expensive, so I think I might give fimo a go to make some beads for the next batch.

[+The Chaos Crew]

An evening of trial and error later, and here's my sig item prototype, what do you think?

 

 

it's a moebius ball phone charm, pretty dinky small (should fit in a film tub if necessary), and nice and light because I've made it with aluminium rings

 

excuse my wonky stapling, I only have a very tiny stapler at home and I had to kind of squish it in from the side as it wouldn't reach over the top will have to borrow a full sized one from work...

 

It took all of 10 mins to make, once I'd figured out how best to do it, so I should be able to knock quite a few up in lunch breaks or in front of the telly.

 

eventually once we've built up a stock, it would be good to leave one in all solus caches we find , and in a handful of caches along a series.

 

I hope people like them....

[+mollyjak]

I would be happy to pick up one of those

 

Must have a think about this

[+jenandberry]

An evening of trial and error later, and here's my sig item prototype, what do you think?

 

I hope people like them....

 

That looks great, can't wait to find one.

[+Border Caz]

Those are really nice, Sarah, I'd love to find one.

 

I love signature items, and collect them whenever I see them. Most are the cards, sometimes laminated, which cachers leave, and I keep them pasted in a notebook.

 

Apart from them I only have a few - my favourite is one of Mrs Blorenge's Oranges - I'd read about them on here and was so chuffed when I found one!

 

I've left about a hundred or so laminated cards in caches I really liked, but have often thought I'd like to make something better.

Edited November 16, 2010 by Border Caz

[+SaltercreaseRangers]

Great work !

 

We enjoyed finding a Cornish Pasty made from Fimo clay, complete with Cornish flag ribbon

[+Lime Candy]

Lime Candy makes scoubies to put in caches which we always like to see.

 

There are lots of these knocking around now! I've even found them lurking in caches that I haven't visited before, so other cachers are moving them around too

 

I also made named Scoubies for every attendee at The Art Of Geocaching event (held in Oct 09). And I have put special "First To Find" Scoubies in my own caches.

[+Pharisee]

Lime Candy makes scoubies to put in caches which we always like to see.

Go on... tell me. What on Earth is a "scoubie" ?

[+Lime Candy]

Lime Candy makes scoubies to put in caches which we always like to see.

Go on... tell me. What on Earth is a "scoubie" ?

 

 

Plastic strings that can be woven into long strips with/without decorative beads, using various macrame knots. There are some pics on my profile, my TB's Lime Candy One/Duo/Three/Four/Five and Dave Gilman/Julie Gilman are all scoubies.

[+redsox_mark]

An evening of trial and error later, and here's my sig item prototype, what do you think?

 

I hope people like them....

 

Great job - I'll need to make sure I have some good swaps with me so I can trade for one if I find it.

[+The Chaos Crew]

 

Plastic strings that can be woven into long strips with/without decorative beads, using various macrame knots. There are some pics on my profile, my TB's Lime Candy One/Duo/Three/Four/Five and Dave Gilman/Julie Gilman are all scoubies.

 

These are cool - I'd seen the strings, but was never quite sure what people did with them.

 

The patterns look a little like the friendship bracelets we used to make in school out of embroidery thread.

 

I hope I find one one day

[+redsox_mark]

Plastic strings that can be woven into long strips with/without decorative beads, using various macrame knots.

 

Scoubidou Link

 

As I kid I did this, and we called it "gimp". (That was in the US).

[+FantasyRaider]

[quote0

 

The patterns look a little like the friendship bracelets we used to make in school out of embroidery thread.

 

I hope I find one one day

 

I used to make friendship bracelets and sold them on the beaches in Spain when I was a hippy traveler!

I have loads left over from those far away days .... but they would get pretty manky left in a cache?

I might have to take up this scoubi-thingy-bob hobby.

[+The Chaos Crew]

I used to make friendship bracelets and sold them on the beaches in Spain when I was a hippy traveler!

I have loads left over from those far away days .... but they would get pretty manky left in a cache?

I might have to take up this scoubi-thingy-bob hobby. [/b]

 

Put them in ziplock bags, I would love to find a friendship bracelet in a cache

Edited November 19, 2010 by The Chaos Crew

[+FantasyRaider]

I used to make friendship bracelets and sold them on the beaches in Spain when I was a hippy traveler!

I have loads left over from those far away days .... but they would get pretty manky left in a cache?

I might have to take up this scoubi-thingy-bob hobby. [/b]

 

Put them in ziplock bags, I would love to find a friendship bracelet in a cache

 

As soon as I read this reply I dug out all my friendship bracelets (54 of them) and will now start bagging them up to leave in caches.

Thank you for giving me a great idea for items to leave.

[+jenandberry]

 

As soon as I read this reply I dug out all my friendship bracelets (54 of them) and will now start bagging them up to leave in caches.

Thank you for giving me a great idea for items to leave.

 

Put something with your caching name on in the bag too - its much more fun to find a swap/sig item and know who left it in my opnion, I also then look out for them in other caches and think 'ah, .... has been here too'