Local musician sells handmade bolo ties as side hustle during COVID pandemic

Local musician sells handmade bolo ties as side hustle during COVID pandemic

Website.

Some folks have been turning to side hustles during the covid-19 pandemic.

For one local musician, he's using his skills to make bolo ties.

Nats lon eldridge has been a full-time musician for around 14 years, but when the covid-19 pandemic hit, he turned to a side job to get some cash.

Lon eldridge: "i wasn't playing gigs so i needed a way to make money.

Necessity is the mother of invention."

I talked with eldridge over zoom.

He tells me that he decided to create and sell bolo ties.

Those ties that are commonly associated with cowboys.

Lon eldridge: "the bolo tie originally came from the gaucho the cowboys of argentina.

They have a tool called boleadora which is kind of like three strings with weights on the end.

They wouldn't do lassos they would take those off the neck and throw them at the legs of an animal that they were trying to capture and it would tangle up their legs.

So bolos kind of came out of that."

Lon eldridge: "i can make anything from a scorpion to different like custom metal and like recycled materials and stones.

The sky's really the limit."

The unique ties are fashion pieces he sells and are worn as neckties or necklaces.

Lon eldridge: "if i was making one for a lady, she might like one that has a longer cord that might hang down closer to your waistline and then wear the slide down more where a necklace pendant might sit.

Or you can wear them up under a collar with a pearl snap shirt like you can buy lon's ties on our website,