There he is!
The Bling King.
And by now....you already know there's a story for the telling, there.
The year was 1993. The Bling King's Mama was busy peddling her wares, banging her head trying to get noticed in the big old bad old wholesale world, not paying enough attention to school pictures, school clothes.....what the King was doing in school.
Not a great thing, that. At the same time, Blingy had learned from Mama a bit about how to peddle wares. He had a big bushel basket full of old chains and doofus culled from all Mom's vintage jewelry buys. Here and there, he'd take a little pin or two to school and sell it to the little girls who drooled when he regaled them with tales of the things in his loot box. His pals were jealous of his stash of goodies , and even more about the fact that he could make money from them to buy....of all things....POGS.
POGS were hot stuff in 1993. Pogs were actually milk bottle caps with advertising on them, but somehow they got turned into a trendy collecting hobby/game among kids when the Bling King was in third grade. Of course, the one with the most pogs wins, so....... Blingy was determined to be THAT guy.
He realized that calculated raids on his pirate's chest of old jewelry would fund the Pog thing.
In order to develop more buzz for his stash of vintage goodies, Blingeroo decided that the best thing would be to have his picture taken, wearing this amazing 1960's go-go girl belt as a neck chain.
LOOK AT THAT FACE!! Calculating. Sly. Savvy.....
After the photo, Blingy Boy determinedly searched out every big fat chain in his stash and anyone else's because NOW....all of his pals wanted them, boys and girls alike.
On the back of the Pogs craze, a sweet little vintage jewelry chain business was born: one to support the other.
The lesson in that? Bling-o didn't break up the chain, didn't rework it into something else, although, it would have been okay to do that in most cases. Instead, he saw the wisdom in creating buzz and value in the item he had at hand....and I have to tell you, the kid was funded.
He still has the pogs to prove it.
The end-story is that he didn't count on reaction when the photo was handed back to Mama.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" she cried. "I can't give this to your grandmother, I can't give this to your aunt or our friends!!! Didn't the school photographer say ANYTHING to you about that chain?"
The Bling King replied, "Yeah, Mom. He said, hey dude, cool chain."
I rest my case.
That is an adorable story. Long Live the Bling King!
Posted by: Brassy Steamington | April 17, 2012 at 11:11 AM
Way to go, Bling King! And now Mom has changed her tune and is showing the whole WORLD that same school picture...LOL
Posted by: Cathie | April 17, 2012 at 11:55 AM
AWESOME story!
Posted by: Robin Delargy / LooLoo's Box Handcrafted Jewelry | April 17, 2012 at 12:24 PM
Great story, adorable picture. Go Bling King!!
Posted by: gerry | April 17, 2012 at 12:36 PM
Great story, and what a picture! Love the look on his face :)
Posted by: Rose | April 17, 2012 at 12:55 PM
Adorable! Hey, are Pogs worth anything yet? I think my kid's stash of them might still be around!
Posted by: Joan | April 17, 2012 at 01:10 PM
ROFL! That's about the same reaction my Mom had when she saw my school picture with the hippie bead choker on. Too funny.
Posted by: Tami | April 17, 2012 at 03:31 PM
I sold my kids pogs on ebay lol
Posted by: Beetique | April 17, 2012 at 05:48 PM
Great story, and a perfect school picture!!!
Posted by: Terry | April 17, 2012 at 07:00 PM
I love it! Absolutely ingenious! It's fantastic when kids can be their own person, set trends instead of just following them! Long Live the Bling King ;)
Posted by: Candy W. | April 17, 2012 at 10:29 PM
Love his creative funding!!! Way to go! =) And such a cutie!!!
Posted by: Kelli Jacobson | April 17, 2012 at 11:05 PM
Love this story!!! And I remember the POGs craze LOL!! Looks as though the apple didn't fall far from the tree!
Posted by: Ellen Wodoslawsky Gonchar | April 17, 2012 at 11:35 PM
That is the cutest story! Cute kid too :) I remember the Pogs thing. My girls liked them and in fact I found a few when cleaning out a closet not too long ago. I never knew what they were for or why they were so crazy about them.
Posted by: Connie F | April 18, 2012 at 09:07 PM
Great story! Awesome young man! Don't know what a Pog is (my "boys" are in their late 30's), so I missed that trend. I would not be surprised if we hear more about this young entrepreneur in the future.
Posted by: kate | April 19, 2012 at 06:46 AM
Is this your son, Sue? I suspect he is as he has your eye for what wanted!
Posted by: Maddy | April 20, 2012 at 08:41 AM
That is a hoot! Loved the story. What a great entrepreneurial spirit!
Posted by: Stacy Walden | April 23, 2012 at 10:35 AM