Hello gang!
Today I want to share with you a little story about how I now am the proud owner of two pairs of wooden practice cymbals. My brother, Joe Devine, owner of Wicked Mojo Designs on Etsy, is a precision machinist by day, and an avid woodturner by night. He’s made me many beautiful wooden objects like candle holders and bud vases, to really plain and functional items like wooden storage boxes.
Seam Rippers
A few years ago my mum and I challenged him to make hand-turned seam rippers. We are both dressmakers and our older hands are always searching for tools that are more ergonomic and easy to hold. Jax the Seam Ripper was born!
My mum got the first one, I got the second, and we persuaded him to make more for other sewists who are interested in having a hand-crafted, ergonomic tool. Lately, he’s been offering a two-ended Jax with an awl option which adds another level of functionality. I finally got ahold of the awl attachment and I use it to guide finicky fabrics through the feed dogs.
Wooden Finger Cymbals
So, fast forward in time to December of 2019 when I was invited to be the monthly featured instructor over on the Belly Dance Business Academy. One of the co-owners of the BDBA is also one of my co-authors, Sara Shrapnell author of Teaching Belly Dance. So Sara and I had an absolute blast in our live talk “On Finger cymbals.” The talk is still available and is totally free, just “enroll” (that’s code for sign up for the mailing list.)
During this talk, a lightbulb went off in my head. If you watch this talk, you can spot the moment. When I thought, “Hey, I bet JOE could make wooden finger cymbals!” At that moment, I jokingly challenged him to make me a set. Honestly, I didn’t think he would ever SEE that talk, so I didn’t expect him to know that I threw down the gauntlet.
But someone on Facebook mentioned it in a post. Joe went and watched the talk with Sara, and next thing I know, he’s in his shop just whipping up a set of finger cymbals! So I got the first-ever Wicked Mojo Designs hand-crafted wooden finger cymbals! He wasn’t sure what “style” would be best, so I got the second pair too! After doing some research on the Saroyan Mastercrafts, makers of my favorite zills, Joe crafted a set with a curved bell, and a pair with more of a cone shape.
Hear the Sound
Joe was up for a visit over the weekend and we did a “quick” Facebook live video. At 45 minutes, this is NOT a short video, but we were having so much fun we lost track of time. So unless you have a beverage, a lot of time and like watching goofy people, Enjoy!
Aside: Could FB have chosen a worse image for me for the video cover? *laughs* The mind BOGGLES.
However, if you just want to hear the sound of these cymbals, check out my Instagram feed for some shorter sound clips.
Coming Soon!
After our Facebook Live video, my brother knows that others are interested in these wooden practice finger cymbals. so he’s now running some production studies, sourcing materials, and making his first batch.
Interested in picking up a set of these wooden practice cymbals? Visit the Wicked Mojo Designs Etsy store and like the store. Then when the zills are available, you will receive a notification directly via the Etsy store. You can also subscribe to my newsletter or follow me on Instagram or Facebook. I’m having so much fun playing with these. I now think of these two sets as prototypes for more to come!
What a way to start the year!
Talk to you again soon,
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
Feb 4, 2020