Music festivals that allow patrons to move in and out of the festival grounds need to keep tabs on who has a ticket and who doesn’t. Because actual paper tickets can get lost and can also be used to get non-ticket holders inside the venue, most festivals (and many clubs and concert venues) use non-removable bracelets or wristbands to identify ticketholders. But if you’ve ever had one of those plastic or Tyvek bracelets around your wrist for three or four days, you know how annoying they can become — especially if they are too tight or too loose. Then, two or three years ago, a breakthrough in event bracelets started popping up at festivals that felt good around your wrist even after days of being strapped to it.

These new woven bracelets are a huge improvement over the other options. And since I like to keep ticket stubs from the shows I see, I also wanted to find a way to keep these wristbands–each with a unique design from the event–and find some other fun use for them besides keeping them on my wrists like old ski lift tickets. Then the idea came to me when I was walking the mile round-trip to my mailbox the other day and my keys were banging around in my shorts like a bag of tiny bricks  — Keychains!

I use these as satellite keychains that don’t have to be attached to my car and house keys. They’re light, easy to slip onto your wrist, and the two I have going so far are brightly colored – which makes finding them in easier!