Image: AvaFusion via Etsy. Like a simpler version of the '90s tattoo choker , the slap bracelet had two faces. It wasn't just a toy that could be extended and reformed, it was a serious fashion statement — perfect for kids on the cusp of childhood and adulthood, standing between the pre- and post-Internet eras.
Image: EnchantedFuture via Instagram. Unfortunately, where childhood crazes go, the worried parents follow. When a four-year-old girl cut her finger on the sharp metal edges inside a cheap imitation slap bracelet , the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection recalled all knock-off Slap Wraps. After more reports of slap bracelets gone wild came pouring in, the bracelets were also banned by schools in the state of New York.
Apparently the knock-off versions, which were coming over from Asia, were made of cheaper fabric and low-grade steel with sharp edges that could rust and wear through the fabric.
Since snap-wrap addicted kids were also snapping the bracelets around their friends' ankles, necks, and anywhere with a prominent vein, it seemed prudent to call a halt to the craze.
Bart and Anders moved to terminate the licensing agreement. Murtha sued, and the legal dispute went to arbitration in Main Street Toy Company was all but insolvent, however, and no payment would be forthcoming.
Murtha went on to positions at Mattel and Gund and later reconciled with Anders, who had more success with inventing a tool socket holder he sold to Sears. Different manufacturers have tackled the slap bracelet phenomenon over the years, but nagging safety problems still remain.
In , bracelets adorned with Troll dolls and packaged with a storybook were recalled due to a risk of laceration from exposed edges. So were bracelets made by Yumark Industries and sold at Target in BY Jake Rossen. Slap Wraps bracelets swept the nation in the fall of Bart was sold. Now he just needed to sell someone else. Subscribe to our Newsletter! It was while he was working in this capacity that, by chance, he met toy industry veteran Phil Bart.
Bart and Anders ended up cutting a deal with the Main Street Toy Company, a recently launched toy company run by Eugene Murtha who, like Bart, was a veteran of the industry. Meanwhile, Bart and Anders would receive royalties. Slap Wraps debuted to great fanfare in February of at the North American International Toy Fair—the massive toy industry trade show which has been held annually in New York since KB Toys, then a giant within the retail market, placed an order for , bracelets soon after their debut.
In March, another agreement was struck between Bart, Anders, and Murtha for Bart to take over manufacturing the bracelets, the hope being that they could be brought to market by April.
But here is where things started to get messy. For one thing, the original Slap Wraps were beaten to market by knock-offs. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Peacock ». Slap bracelets were once a popular teen fashion statement. A slap bracelet is a somewhat flat strip, that when slapped on a cylindrical object, curls and wraps around the object. Slap bracelets were invented in the United States, in by the American Stuart Anders, a high school teacher at the time, after fiddling with a metal strip.
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