User:Deb Hollander/sandbox

Macraband is a handmade macramé watchband made in the USA, which came into existence when its founder and designer Alice wanted a macramé watchband for herself.

Alice and her late husband Chuck, both incredibly creative people, were involved in many artistic endeavors. Alice made beautiful pressed flower pictures and Chuck refinished and restored antique furniture and clocks, which they sold at antiques shows.

After attending a macramé exhibit at the American Folk Art Museum in NYC, Alice became captivated with this craft that dates back to ancient Egypt. She attended a workshop to learn the basic knotting techniques and experimented with all types of cords to make wall hangings and jewelry. After a time, she decided to take a chance selling her macramé pieces at craft shows in NYC.

When they saw how well their macramé watchbands sold, Alice and Chuck realized they had a product the public really liked and wanted, so in 1978 they turned it into a business. Chuck created the display they used to present their product to the public and Alice began to show her macramé watchbands at more and more craft shows.

Together, they traveled up and down the east coast and part of the Midwest, selling Macrabands at juried craft shows. They continued to do for many years until Chuck’s health began to decline. Slowly they reduced the number of craft shows they attended, eventually phasing them out.

After Chuck passed, Deb, Alice's Daughter-in-Law, approached her about building an e-commerce website to bring Macraband to a wider audience. Their website, macraband.com launched in 2017.

Currently, they have six different collections, each with numerous styles (color/bead combinations) available for traditional women's watches.

In late 2019, they added a new line to their catalog, Macraband for Apple Watch. Currently they have two collections available, a two-tone stripe and a solid chevron design, each containing multiple styles (color combinations).