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  • Shop All
    • Hand Dyed Aerial Fabric
    • Equipment
    • Tops
    • Bottoms
    • Leotards & Bodysuits
    • Accessories & Essentials
    • Shoes
    • Rhinestones
  • Blog
  • Performances
  • About
    • Contact >
      • Alterations & Costuming
  • Bibs, Bandanas, & Bows
    • All Bandanas
    • Dog/Cat Specific
    • Autumn & Halloween
    • Winter, Christmas, & Hanukkah
    • Valentines Day
    • Spring & Summer
    • St. Patrick's Day
    • Easter
    • Red, White, & Blue
  • CirqueFatale
  • Rising Tides
  • Flow-Up Challenge
  • Cura Vida
  • The Craft
    • Custom Orders
    • Just for Fun
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4/21/2020 2 Comments

What Pole Finish is Right for Me?

 As a pole dancer, you may or may not be aware that poles come in many different finishes. So, how do you decide which finish is right for you?

Chrome - Chrome is your industry standard for pole finish. It's most likely what you have at your pole studio. 

Stainless Steel - This pole is great for people with nickel allergies and/or high use poles. It's polished to a mirror finish and able to withstand heavy use. If you studio doesn't have chrome poles- it probably has stainless steel.

Brass- Brass poles are great in hotter climates because the grip factor increases as the temperature rises. Another option for individuals with nickel allergies. 

Titanium Gold - These poles are coated with the titanium gold finish for and even more enhanced grip. Great for individuals with grip issues that still want to be able to slide up and down the pole with relative ease.  

Powder Coated - The powder coat enhances grip even further. Great for individuals with grip issues and you are still able to slide up and down the pole. Note that as the grip factor increases, discomfort on the skin will also increase. As with most aerial things - you'll build up a tolerance to it. 

Silicone - This is the ultimate easy to grip pole. When you give it a squeeze it is actually squishy! Makes poling in leggings possible - great for practicing inverts, climbs, and static poses. You will NOT be able to slide up and down the pole with this finish. 

Keep in mind, if you choose a finish other than chrome or stainless steel, you'll likely be able to do some tricks at home that you're still unable to do at your studio. Don't let that frustrate you! As you continue to practice your grip strength will increase until you're finally able to do that trick on any finish. 

If you're practicing for a competition, I'd recommend sticking with the chrome or stainless steel finish. Once you're on stage you'll be facing bright lights, adrenaline, an audience, and nerves - you probably don't also want to be working on a different finish pole than you're used to! 

Have more questions? Leave a comment! 
​Want to know more about grip aid options? 
Grip Aids
2 Comments

4/6/2020 3 Comments

Get a Grip!

     There are many different grip aids on the market, so knowing which is right for you to use can feel a bit overwhelming! Here's a quick guide to the most commonly used grip aids, what apparatus they're good for, and what grip issue they'll help you with. 
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     Dry Hands is one of the most commonly used grip aids. It's a liquid chalk substance that you can put on your hands and body to add a little bit of tack to your grip and to help with minor sweating issues.
​     Dry Hands can be used while doing pole, lyra, silks, hammock, trapeze.... even golf and tennis! 

Dry Hands
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     Tite Grip is unlike other grip aids because it is actually an antiperspirant. Tite Grip is for people who have very sweaty hands or feet.
​     For best results, this product should be applied 20-30 minutes before your activity. Usually, you can apply it at the very beginning of your class and by the time the warm up is complete, it's had enough time to kick-in.
     Tite Grip can be used with any apparatus where sweaty hands are hindering your ability to grip. Usually that includes pole and lyra since sweaty hands don't impact grip on fabrics as much. 

Tite Grip
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     Dew Point is a moisturizer for dry skin. This product is commonly used on legs, especially shins. Regular moisturizers leave your skin too slick to grip the pole. Dew Point will add moisture without making you too slippery. 
     Dew Point is primarily used in pole, but if dry skin is an issue for you on other apparatuses, it can be used. 

Dew Point
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     iTac adds a very tacky layer to your skin and shouldn't be used on your hands. Rather, it's used on parts of your body that need to grip the pole. It's most commonly used on the inner thighs or at your waist. 
    iTac is for pole or an un-taped lyra. This product shouldn't be used on fabrics. 

iTac
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Firm Grip is an aerosol rosin spray. It will make your hands and body very sticky. 
     Many people use Firm Grip on the fabrics (silks and sling) as well as on a taped lyra. It can also be used for pole and un-taped lyras but be warned - the residue left behind is very difficult to remove. Out of respect for your studio, don't use Firm Grip on studio poles or lyras. 
Firm Grip
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     Powdered Rosin is great for aerial silks and sling. Pat onto your hands and/or feet for added tack without feeling sticky. 

Rosin
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     Aerial Gloves are specifically designed to increase your grip on the pole or lyra. They may look like weight lifting gloves but they differ in the material they are made of. These have a neoprene backing for a very snug fit and a palm material that will stick to metal surfaces. 
     Aerial Gloves are a great item to have in everyone's grip aid bags. I don't recommend wearing them every time you train, because you want to increase your grip tolerance and strength. However, once you start to fatigue, sweat too much, or develop blisters you can slip these gloves on to finish your training session. 

Aerial Gloves
3 Comments

3/30/2020 4 Comments

Flying Through the Quarantine

Suspendulum Aerial Rig
Aerial Fabric
30KN Aerial Swivel
25KN Locking D-Shaped Carabiner
50KN Rescue-8
Spanset

I know we are all itching to get back into our studios to fly. So, what can you do in the meantime? 

First, orders for the Suspendulum Aerial Rig are still open. As are orders for aerial fabric and hardware. 

Here are a few other options for flying at home.* Please note that all of these flying options are meant for body weight exercises or aerial yoga, NOT aerial arts. Use these to keep up your strength. Do not treat them like full aerial arts equipment. These are not intended to be used for swinging or for drops. 

*Practicing aerial at home is dangerous. Proceed at your own risk.
You are responsible for determining the structural integrity of anything you rig from.
Rigging from trees is very dangerous, I recommend never rigging from a tree limb. 
Never practice anything you haven't been previously taught. Never practice alone. Use proper spotting practices and always use a mat!
4 Comments

3/30/2020 3 Comments

How Much Fabric Do I Need?

Aerial Silks:

Measure the height from the ground to your rigging point in feet. 
Multiply that measurement by 2.
Divide that total by 3 to convert your feet to yards. 
Add 2 or 3 yards for your tail. 


Aerial Hammock/Sling (Rigging with a Rescue-8)

Measure the height from the ground to your rigging point in feet. 
Subtract however many feet you want your hammock off of the ground. (Usually 2-3 since many of us aren't rigging from great heights. If you're lucky enough to have a tall rigging point, you can subtract 2-5 feet)
Multiply that amount by 2. 
Divide your total by 3 to convert to yards. 
Add two yards to create a safe knot through the Rescue-8. 
Aerial Fabric
Equipment
3 Comments

5/29/2019 5 Comments

The Rhinestone Rundown

So, you want to add some sparkle to your costume. You run to the craft store and search for rhinestones. Where are they? The kids craft aisle? With the jewelry-making supplies? In the aisle with the other costuming items?
​Yes. 
What?
Yes. You'll find rhinestones in all of those places - and more! Don't forget the scrapbooking aisle, the wedding section, and with the stickers. They're probably hiding in more places around the store too! 
So where do you start??

If you're anything like me - you're completely overwhelmed and have no idea what the difference between all of these rhinestone varieties are! Some come in enormous packaging and some in tiny bags. Some seem fairly inexpensive and others are very pricey! So what do you do?

Well, you've come to the right place. I'll give you the rhinestone rundown

Quality
The biggest determining factor on price is the quality of the rhinestone. There are two factors that play into quality. 
1. Material
2. Cuts

Material 
Crystal rhinestones are top-of-the-line. The most popular crystal brand is Swavorski. You've heard of that one, right? Yeah, they have their own jewelry store in malls. So, as you can imagine, they also are usually the most expensive. Don't be fooled by products using the Swavorski keyword. Lots of knock-offs use this in their search terms to get you to buy!
Glass rhinestones have great shine and light reflection. They're similar to crystal rhinestones, but without as big of a price tag. 
Plastic rhinestones will not reflect light nearly as well as glass or crystal. These are the kinds of rhinestones you find in the kids aisle or mixed in with costume materials. 

Cuts
The industry term for this is facets. The number of facets a rhinestone has increases how well it reflects light. More facets (cuts) means more angles for light to hit and bounce off the stone. Swavorski's newest rhinestone has 16 facets. 

Finish
Rhinestones marked "AB" have an aurora borealis finish on them. These reflect multiple colors rather than just the color of the rhinestone. 

Size
The size of the rhinestone will affect the price as well. Rhinestones are usually sized by "SS" which stands for "Stone Size". Sometimes you'll see "PP", which is "Pearl Size". Both the PP and the SS sizes are included on the attached chart, along with an image to let you see the size of the rhinestone. 

Quantity
Rhinestones are sold by the gross. One gross = 144 rhinestones. 

How-To Attach
There are four main ways to attach rhinestones to items. 

1. Glue-on. Exactly what it sounds like. You use glue to attach the rhinestone to the material.
2. Hotfix. These have a special compound on the back that will adhere to material when heat is applied. Some are low-heat hotfix and others require a special heat press to use. 
3. Sew-on. These have tiny holes you can thread a needle through to attach to clothing.
4. Adhesive. These rhinestones are not meant for clothing. These are stickers which can be used on paper or hard surfaces. 
​
So that's the need-to-know about rhinestones to get you started! For comparison purposes, I've included a few links to different quality rhinestones. All price examples listed are equivalent 1-gross. 

Swavorski - 16 facets - around $29.95
https://www.joann.com/search?q=rhinestone

Glass - around $7.50
https://www.michaels.com/tulip-glam-it-up-hot-fix-glass-crystals/10458307.html#q=glass%20rhinestone&start=15

Plastic - around 4.99
https://www.joann.com/shopping/?q=rhinestone&prefn1=content&prefn2=prod_type&prefv1=Plastic&prefv2=Product&addShipToHomeConditions=false

Crave Glam has size SS20 glass rhinestones in 12-facet and 16-facet cuts. 
1 gross of the 12- facet rhinestones is only $2.97
1 gross of the 16-facet rhinestones is only $4.97
Rhinestones


I did a side-by-side comparison, and Crave's 16-facet rhinestone is indistinguishable from the Swavorski rhinestone. As the owner, I'm sure my word doesn't mean as much as a customer review - so I'm looking forward to getting some feedback to post as well! Keep an eye out for a special promotion!

For shipping, a 4-gross minimum order is required, but you can mix and match! If you're ordering any other item from Crave, you can add on a single gross of rhinestones. 

8248-rhinestone-conversion-chart.pdf
File Size: 106 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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5 Comments

5/7/2019 1 Comment

Crave Aerial would love to vend at your next event!

Have a recital, student showcase, or performance coming up? Live in the Ohio/Kentucky/Indiana area? Reach out to Crave to have us vend at your event! 

Top five reasons you should host Crave as a vendor:

5. You'll be supporting a local small business! We need to stick together!

4. Building a relationship with Crave opens opportunities to create partnerships in the future. We currently have two in-studio mini-stores set up. These stores provide a service to your students at no risk to you or your business! You don't pay a dime for the inventory. Crave provides you with a selling platform (i-pad or similar) and will switch out and update inventory frequently. Other opportunities include performance opportunities, professional costume design services, custom apparel, and much more! 

3. You can count on Crave to show up on-time, set up a beautiful vending space and have friendly and genuine interactions with your guests. 

2. Having a vendor at your event takes the event to the next level. An event featuring vendors shows an added level of professionalism and planning. Your guests will be impressed by YOU.

1. The single best reason to host us as a vendor is as a convenience to your students and guests. Crave has a large inventory of pole, fitness, dance, and aerial apparel and accessories that aren't usually able to be seen, touched, tried-on and sampled in-person.  Your students and guests will appreciate having the opportunity to stock-up on much needed grip aids, cute fitness wear .

Contact Crave today to get your event scheduled!
​
craveaerialapparel@gmail.com
www.craveaerial.com
https://www.facebook.com/craveaerialapparel/
https://www.instagram.com/crave_merchandise/


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1 Comment

4/28/2019 2 Comments

Crave Style

2 Comments

    Author

    Sabrina here again - of course.  You know, since all my other employees are dogs. 

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