Port Chester Company's App Lets Users Create Custom Wristbands

From your neighbor down the street wearing a pink wristband to show support for breast cancer research, to Jeremy Lin driving the lane with his twin orange wristbands proclaiming his faith, nowadays people are literally wearing their passions on their sleeves.

There's a story behind every wristband, and Russell Epstein realized people love sharing those stories.

"I noticed when you ask somebody about what's on their wristband, people are very passionate about what it is," Epstein said. "Whether it's from an event, or in support of a cause, or even if they've made it out of duct tape, they're excited to share the story behind it."

That was part of the inspiration behind BandAbout, a web/Facebook app from a Port Chester company that gives users the tools to create full-color, custom wristbands through an easy and intuitive process. It's as simple as drag-and-drop: an instructional video features Epstein's dog Ollie, a Beagle-Bijon Friese mix who becomes the star of a demonstration showing users how to add their own photos, colors, patterns and text to their designs.

The other major stroke of inspiration came when Epstein was watching his kids play Nintendo's Wii. The 42-year-old father watched with interest as his kids customized their digital avatars, or "Mii" as they're called on Nintendo's network.

"They spent almost as much time creating their avatar as they did playing the games," Epstein said. "It just hit me that people love customizing things and the ability to customize endlessly. Up to now you really couldn't do that on a wristband unless you made one yourself."

BandAbout differs from other custom wristband services in a few key ways: Instead of using printed rubber or silicone, BandAbout wristbands use a lightweight polyester material, which serves as a canvass for high-resolution graphics.

Customers can create wristbands covered in photographs; they can select colors and patterns and intersperse favorite photos with those designs; and they can add custom messages in three languages (English, Spanish and Hebrew), with more on the way soon.

Notably, customers don't have to buy in bulk. They can design and order a single wristband for $4.99; once a pattern's been created, additional copies are $2.99.

Offering that kind of customization on such a small scale meant there were technical and logistical hurdles to overcome, Epstein said, but "no one else is doing this."

The goal, Epstein said, was to make a family-friendly experience that could work for a single person designing a wristband from Facebook, a group of 20 kids collaborating on a wristband at a birthday party, or a non-profit ordering thousands of wristbands for an event or fundraiser.

Epstein, 42, had the technical and business background to launch his start-up, Social Produx, thanks to job experience: In 1995 he helped launch Fox News as part of a five-person team tasked with creating the channel's business plan. More recently, he was director of finance for White Plains-based AboveNet Communications.

The main reason for choosing offices in Port Chester? A short commute from his home in Mamaroneck, allowing him more time to spend with his family, and perhaps pick up a few more new ideas from his kids.

"Children should really enjoy this, and the site is totally family-friendly," Epstein said. "There's nothing else like it out there, so our challenge is to introduce this brand new product to the world."

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