how zox created the reversible elastic bracelet

Since 2011, we've been selling the original Elastic Fabric Bracelets. 13 years and almost 10,000,000 bracelets later, ZOX has become a worldwide phenomenon.

From our parent's kitchen table to the international community it's become today, my brothers and I never would have guessed what these little reversible bracelets would turn into.

If you're looking for reversible bracelets, you've come to the right place.

How We Created The First Elastic Bracelet

In 2010, my brothers and I gathered at our parents' kitchen table for an arts and crafts night. My older brother Jason had an idea for a new type of bracelet that we could make to match our shoes. We loved collecting vibrant sneakers as a way to add a pop of color to our otherwise plain outfits. These bracelets were a new way to add a bit of color that no one else had.

We painted on stretchy fabric. Our mom sewed them into bracelets. Our dad suggested we turn it into a business called "Zox Straps". We laughed at first, but that night planted a seed.

I was planning on going to school for psychology in hopes of becoming a therapist. After taking more high school classes on that subject, I was feeling lost. I knew it wasn't going to be my passion in life and I wasn't sure where to start for finding a new path.

Reversible Bracelets and More

Over the past few months, I had been thinking about "Zox Straps" and if it was a business we could create. Thankfully, I had taken a graphic design class in school and knew my way around Photoshop.

One February evening, I found a spark of inspiration. The movie "The Social Network" motivated me to act and pursue my goals, despite it being a common theme. I felt inspired to move forward and make things happen. It encouraged me to not let cliches hold me back.

For the next few weeks, I spent my free time after school and work figuring out how to get ZOX made. The more research I did, the more I realized that no one else had made any kind of elastic bracelet or elastic wristband.

As a high schooler, figuring out how to do this was hard. As soon as I told Jason I was looking into it, he was insanely excited. In his mind, this was something that Jordan or I needed to take the first step on. He knew it would fail if he didn't think we were motivated enough.

As soon as I started getting help from Jason, things progressed faster. We started figuring out how to print on elastic with vibrant designs instead of knitting a pattern in just a few colors.

After that, we started to come up with details that made ZOX unique. What were things that would get us excited about an elastic bracelet?

We decided to individually number each bracelet with a serial number to make sure each wristband was unique. We decided to create limited edition designs that would sell out and never be restocked. We realized we could make our bracelets reversible because who would want a boring inside?

We created an online community to bring together all of the people who loved what we were doing. We focused on partnering with artists from around the world to help us create beautiful designs.

I love ideas, but what trumps and idea is seeing it brought to life. Holding that idea in your hand. And most importantly, seeing other people love your idea and the efforts you bring it to life.

Elastic Bracelets

Before ZOX, elastic bracelets didn't exist in the way that they do today. We've sold almost 10,000,000 elastic bracelets here at ZOX and that number is growing every single day.

It's amazing to see how something that started as a simple idea has grown into a worldwide phenomenon. Even if we're constantly seeing people copy what we've created, I think the full quote from Wilde says it best, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.”