On making hoops

(You know, for the kids!)

Kenny finally got me to watch the Hudsucker Proxy a few nights ago, and I loved its early Cohen Bros. style. So many of the things I love about Raising Arizona were present in Hudsucker Proxy, too.

So, it seems that buying a hoop costs way more than making one does, if you are only factoring in the cost for making one. The materials that go into one single hoop are pretty inexpensive, but you can only buy the right kind of pvc tubing in a large bundle-- large enough, say, to make 8-10 hoops depending on size. Since the kids at school line up to use my hoop, I figured why not go into a wee business and make them custom ordered?



I got 12 orders on the first day (yesterday). Boy, was I ambitious. Doing just eight of them took me 5 hours. And I priced them whimsically, without much thought, at $10/hoop. Then Kenny helped me crunch the numbers, and... it turns out that with startup costs (I ordered some purple mirror tape online; I had to buy the pvc cutters, etc) I'm turning the tiniest of profits. And they are easy to piece together but a bit laborious to tape up. I think maybe $15 would be better, but you know, I needed the practice. Who in their right mind, before having made any hoops at all, would try to make bank?



So I got into a rhythm last night, with Kenny's help, of "cut the pipe, blowdry the ends, insert the connector, duct tape the seam. Repeat." Then watch 30 Rock, the Office, and Dollhouse while taping, taping, taping them up. I have to say, they feel great! So solid, so round, such a nice weight.

This morning I took them out to be documented and played with:


The biggest one...


And the smallest one.


Can I do both at once?


How about ALL of them at once?!


Nope. But three is fine.

I am officially almost out of mirror tape (and I will be by the time I finish one order this morning, thankfully the last one that wanted purple) and completely out of 100psi tubing, the lighter kind. I guess instead of thinking about the little profits, I can think, hey, I got my cutters for free. And I can now make myself any kind of hoop I want, which is fan-freaking-tastic.

I can't wait to bring all these hoops to school today-- it's Santa Hoop!!