Crux Crafts: Hold me closer, tiny climber
Meet my friend Anna. Photo cred to Eric Gessner
Anna met me online this summer, and in August she flew down to climb with me! I know you’re not supposed to hang out with strangers from the internet, but I guess we both crossed our fingers and it turned out great. The international climbing community is wonderful and continues to strengthen my belief that most people are awesome — especially climbers.
Anna is a geologist, so she knows a lot about rocks and volcanoes — two things that dominate Ecuador's landscape. Her science-y perspective on Ecua-climbing got me even more psyched on andesite, and it was mega-fun climbing with another lady for a couple of weeks. Since then, she's been exploring seaside cliffs in Tasmania, shimmying up chimneys in Moab, and generally living her dirtbag dama dreams.
In addition to being an intrepid geologist-adventurer, Anna is an artist. She creates climbing-themed jewelry items like dainty cam earrings and descender bracelets. She’s even made wedding cake toppers for rock-loving lovebirds.
But my favorites of Anna’s creations are her mini-me magnets. She customizes tiny climbers to look like you (or Sasha, or whomever) — right down to your shoes and hairstyle. She’ll make pretty much any type of climber, and each figurine comes with a few magnetic gym holds so you can set an epic fridge proj for your tiny climber self.
Anna molds you with love and psych from Sculpey polymer clay, which is apparently the ~*premiere*~ clay for shaping little climbers. Your twiggy wire limbs are bendy but sturdy, with pseudo-suede harnesses and itty bitty beaded gear. It’s all super personal and friggin’ cute.
The dank is in the details: Anna gave mini-me the proper hair, shirt, shoes, and quickdraws.
Like any excellent millennial businesswoman, Anna sells her products on Etsy. Prices range from $8 for gym-sloper earrings to $85 for an ice climbing belaytionship.
Even if you’re not looking to add polymer whimsy to your life right now, you should follow along with Anna’s adventures in art and climbing on her Facebook and Instagram pages.