Those Must Be Really Little Sheep!

One of the highlights of Lollapalooza this year was meeting the head carver for Coco Loco earrings, from Bali, Indonesia. Coco Loco uses all recycled and reclaimed materials like wood and horn. He bowed and said, "Thank you for feeding my family." We bowed back and said, "Thank YOU for the cool earrings."

We had lots of questions for him, like what type of animal horn do you use and how do you do the intricate design work? He explained how they make the inlaid work by carving the water buffalo horn, then filling in with crushed bone mixed with glue. He smiled shyly and excused himself for not knowing the translated words a few times, but his English was excellent.

Last year, I'd bought a great pair of spiral, black, wooden earrings from Coco Loco at The Chicago Green Festival. Then Sagezilla and I both bought spiral horn earrings from them at Summer Camp music festival, this past Memorial Day weekend.

They have a post in the middle and pull apart on the front and back of the ear, to look gauged without stretching the piercing. It's amazing to me that a hand full of strangers have made nasty comments about Zillas spirals. They erroneously assume I'm responsible for stretching my preschoolers earlobes. As if someone appointed them "official, uninformed, busybody guardians of the children of strangers"! Far more people have been complimentary and love her funky earrings.My all time favorite comment, however, was from our 4 year old friend, Gabby. She was fascinated and obsessed with my spirals, asking to touch them and curiously checking them out for days. Finally she asked what they were made of.
When I said, "They're carved horn." I could see the wheels turning in her brain.

She paused a few beats, then remarked, "Those must be really little sheep."

Indeed!