______ STRAPWORKS

I think I caught Riley chimping!

2009-12-15T06:11:41Z

Riley and I had some time on our hands along with our spankin' new Polaroid 350, so we thought we might go to the park and run some film through that boy. The camera needed a dusting off too so it all worked out just fine. We have been hearing about people wanting to see more of the straps in action, so here's a few of our favorites with the burgundy and silver racer camera strap. I even caught Riley chimping at the camera back... kids these days!

Journey to the LA design district

2009-11-13T16:54:43Z

The world of cutting edge design is calling so we couldn't help but take a day and drive up to what is arguably the center of West Coast fashion. Yelena from Stylish Soiree showed us around and as we explored the expansive 90 blocks of fabric stores, wholesale shops, retail stores, designers, manufacturing and back-alley knock-offs. Riley had a blast from the start by chasing two chickens around our rooftop parking spot (what country are we in anyways?). Here are some of the highlights.

Upgrading grommets, leather and new labels!

2009-10-01T22:17:41Z

We are proud to announce we have discovered a great new grommet that we will be using on all our straps. The silver grommets are now Nickel plated and tarnish free. Additionally, we now have a black grommet that will be used on all of our Speed Racer straps. Black on black baby! We are finally growing up and will be sewing our labels onto the back of each strap. Many of the photogs sporting these straps have their own branding, so we want to be sure to be discreet, but present. Lastly, it might be old news by now; we have moved to a 100% pig suede for the backing of every camera strap. It is a little pricey, but this is the softest leather we could find. It also provides plenty of grip for those who prefer to wear their strap hanging off one shoulder. If anyone has any thoughts about all these changes, please don't hesitate to drop us a line. These straps are made for you, so speak up!

Looking great out there, especially on the Hassy!

2009-06-18T02:40:51Z

Kelly of Mountain Dog Photography emailed over a few fabulous shots of her new camera straps. We put together a special connector for her Hassy and she seems very happy with solution we came up with. I'll let Kelly tell you in her own words:

"I received your message tonight and wanted to write a quick note of thanks and send along a couple of pictures. I also left a glowing comment on your Facebook group. The straps arrived late last week while I was out of town so they were a very nice surprise when I got back. These straps are really amazing. They're exceptionally well crafted, comfortable, and the look is unbeatable. Having a strap made from an '80's Mercedes on an '80's Hassy is just too cool! And the retro Rockets suits my ol' Rapid Omega perfectly! I really appreciate your excellent communication and obvious dedication to your customers."

Hand strap prototypes are finished!

2009-05-23T06:39:35Z

We have been getting lots of interest in our new line of hand straps, so here is a sneak peak at one of our first prototypes. Our goal is to build a style foreword hand strap that is super comfy and easy to use. To accomplish this, we are integrating two key design aspects. First we are placing the plastic buckle at the bottom of the strap, away from all the action. For some reason, most hand straps have the adjustment at the top near the thumb and forefinger.... why? Also, we are routing the 3/8" webbing along two different paths along the back of the hand, distributing the weight of the camera over a wider area which will be the perfect comfy factor in hand with genuine lamb leather and a thin layer of foam. If you use hand straps, be sure to let us know what's on your wish list. Thoughts?

RileyG in the press!

2009-05-05T00:21:46Z

Well, the digital press, which can be just as good these days! I had the pleasure of meeting Don Chick at WPPI 2009 and ended up showing him a few of our newly-born camera straps. Don traveles the globe teaching lighting and writes for PPA. I sent a few straps his way and he ended up writing a little article about us in the online PPA magazine. Thanks Don!

FOUR new straps!

2009-03-10T08:09:57Z

I've finally had a chance to catch up on stitching together some new materials we picked up last week including a super-sweet red Porche seat and a textured crimson velvet. We have been getting orders in slowly, which is a good thing. We will be meeting up with a few local sewing contractors about getting a little help. I'll keep you posted. Meanwhile, here's a preview of the new additions as well as a few shots of Riley... enforcing some quality control.

Local vs. CHINA

2009-02-20T23:20:28Z

So up to this point, finding the right resources locally, has been pretty simple. Now that our volume has begun to creep up, I'm finding myself looking for a little help. I will probably always make the one-up and limited edition straps right here in the garage, however, I just don't have time to make all of them. So, what to do? After making a few calls, it looks painfully obvious why EVERYTHING is made in the Orient. The funny thing is, how do I know where that plastic clip came from? I bought it down at the local store, but I have a feeling, it didn't come from Encinitas, California! I don't want to start making excuses just yet, so I'm going to keep looking around and calling US based sewing contractors, see if there is a solution that will work for us. Meanwhile, here is a shot of Riley on an old chair we found outside Tony's shop. Riley and I both agree, this swanky, velvety, years-of-butt-sanding-soft material belongs on a RileyG camera strap... not in the dumpster!

RileyG debut's at WPPI 2009

2009-02-20T22:59:57Z

It was a bit of a push, but somehow we got everything together just in time for WPPI in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, Riley himself couldn't make it, so I had to represent: I flew in Monday morning and stayed a quick 36 hours, just enough time to catch up with all my photog peeps, pass out 1,000 RileyG post cards, two rides on that crazy N.Y. N.Y. roller coaster (Kat you ROCK!) and squeeze in one night of tearing up the dance floor. I met a TON of fabulous photogs and made some great connections. We gave away a "Bronica Lovin'" strap at Doug Gordon's seminar along with a ton of promo-cards to a sea of eager photogs (visual below). I'm thrilled at the feedback we got and charged up for the next round of challenges.

It's go time!

2009-02-14T10:15:50Z

I've got to give all the props to Mr. Melvin Campbell with Six17 Design for pulling out all the stops to finish up the logo, polish the website banner AND kick out a killer set of business cards plus the WPPI promo cards in a few short days. All, just in time for the WPPI convention starting... wow, this Sunday! On top of that, we are proud to announce we will be sponsoring a few platform speakers (stay posted)! To kick off the debut of the camera world's coolest straps, we are offering a rare %15 off discount for the month of February. Just head over to RileyG's rockin' new website and upon checkout enter the discount code: SALE15FEB