Glitter Obsessed

Magpies don’t actually like shiny things.

The myth is that magpies love shiny things and will steal them for their nest. Science says that magpies are not actually interested in shiny things at all. I like shiny things, in fact, I really like glitter! Especially glittery kayaks. The very first kayak I built with glitter was the first kayak I built for myself. It is dark blue with bright copper glitter. The person helping train me through this process was using a tongue depressor to scoop the glitter into the cup. He did 2 scoops and looked at me. I looked into the cup and said, “more.” He did 2 more scoops and looked at me. I looked again and again said, “more.” He raised his eyebrows and said, “that’s a lot of glitter!”. This continued for several more scoops until I was pretty sure I was cut off.

No two glitter kayaks are the same.

Over the years I have discovered the wide and wonderful world of glitter. There are matte glitters (pretty sure that’s a misnomer), holographic glitters (that sparkle with miniature rainbows of color), pearlescent glitters (similar to the holographic but somehow subtler), and color shift (which often don’t play well with something in the gel coat). Then there are shapes! Stars, sticks, squares, octagons, and pentagons. All shine in their own special way. They come in myriad sizes and I can include just a touch of glitter or a bunch. With all of those variations, every glitter kayak is as unique as the person who buys it.

Glitter draws attention

At a paddling festival (pre-Covid), I expected the glitter kayaks to attract some attention. I was surprised at how much attention they drew. People waited to take a turn paddling one of the glitter kayaks. In some cases, even when I had the exact same kayak model without glitter sitting on the beach. One person even paid to get a wristband just so that he could get his picture taken in the glitter kayak.

One thing you will never be short of paddling a glittery kayak is attention. Many times paddling near the shore, I will hear someone asking “Is that glitter on that kayak?” Or while launching, people will come by to take a look, and ask about it. I often feel like glittery kayaks stun many people. It’s as if they just discovered that some mythical creature was real, and there were people who knew all along.

New Possibilities

I did not used to like it when my wife wanted stop into a craft store while we were running errands (again, pre-COVID). I would stifle my protests and hope that we could get through before the boredom became too much. Once I discovered the joys of creating kayaks with glitter, I was much more excited to join her. She’ll tell you that I stopped shopping with her in craft stores. Instead, I would beeline to the glitter section and see if there might be anything new or different to try.

In recent months, I have discovered some new suppliers and been able to do a couple of tests with new-to-me glitters that are designed for use in gel coat. I am excited about the additional opportunities this opens for designing sparkly kayaks. Not only does glitter add sparkle, it can change the entire look and feel of the kayak design. Glitter can add an accent color or completely transform the colors you see. It interacts differently with different backing colors and adds depth to any color story.

Valentine’s Day Sparkle

It is tradition to give sparkly gifts for Valentine’s Day. We think kayaks make great gifts, so we’ll add complimentary glitter to any kayak purchased now through February 14, 2021… to help you keep with tradition. And if you are both the giver and the recipient, well… we won’t tell anyone.