Unique camera straps from Riley G Designworks

I am not one to push products but every once in a while one comes along that just grabs my attention. I received a perk request on our meetup.com site from a company called Riley G Designworks. A perk is an offer from a vendor for our members and it is usually a win/win situation. The vendor has a ready made audience and our members get a sweet deal in savings.

The offer presented is a 10% savings on all their custom camera straps. As with any offer that comes across my screen I have a responsibility to my members to check it out first. To say the least, I was really taken in by this company's story.

Riley G Designworks is the brainchild of California wedding photographer Aaron Willcox. While shopping in a guitar store with his young son, Riley, he noticed the colorful assortment of guitar straps available. Realizing that photographers are artists in their own right he decided that camera straps should have the same artistic flare he saw in the guitar straps. But where to start?

In his search for source materials, Aaron stumbled upon the unique idea of up-cycling old car upholstery. He found the 10, 20 or 30 year old worn out leather from  such classics as the Cadillac and Mercedes Benz to be ideal and full of character. As his search expanded so did his line of products. Today he makes his straps from old jeans, designer purses, leather jackets and more. Since the raw material is up-cycled many of his straps are limited editions of just a few pieces. So if you see something you like on their web site get it quick because it is likely that once they are gone that will be the last of them. Another selling point I appreciated was that all the straps are hand made. Talk about quality. Because of the above mentioned unique features no two straps will ever truly be alike. They are priced comparable to other top line straps but you get what you pay for and with these straps it looks like you're getting a lot.

While there are other manufacturers making decorative straps at cheaper prices, none match the uniqueness and quality of these beauties. Quality and uniqueness aside, what really caught my attention was Riley G Designworks business philosophy. They are a 100% American Made business with manufacturing and material sourcing kept locally. Aaron supports local businesses by outsourcing such things as packaging and materials locally. In today's eco-conscious society, repurposing old but still useable materials is a great big bonus. With so many photography equipment manufacturers coming from China, Japan, Taiwan and Mexico it is a breath of fresh air to see a company like Riley G Designworks come along.

To take advantage of the 10% savings offered to us from Riley G Designworks simply use the coupon code photomeetup10 on their web site. On checkout, click on the box that says, "Have a coupon? Click here to enter your code" Type in the code and save some money. And if you really enjoy the strap, let Aaron know. I'm sure he'd appreciate the feedback.