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From left: Classic Stripe, Aunt Gertie, Night Moves, Desert Gertie, PDX Carpet
~ The Backstory ~
“I (Chrissy) am a self-taught seamstress, among other things. My husband, Mark, has been a fan of Benson amps for years. He owns amps and effects made by Chris and both are members of a Facebook group of like-minded musicians who connect and chat about the gear.
While Mark was waiting for his turn on the Benson amp build list, he purchased some Aunt Gertie fabric which he didn’t end up needing. He got a new pizza oven for Christmas and wanted to use the Aunt Gertie fabric for a new apron. I made him one. He posted a picture of it in the FB group and Chris commented saying he wanted one for the work kitchen. So, I made him one too.
Just before we dropped it in the mail, Mark said “Do you think you could make a guitar strap out of this fabric?” and I said “That sounds like the worst idea ever”, but I did the thing anyway, you know, just to prove it wouldn’t work... Welp… You guessed it, it was fantastic and they looked absolutely beautiful! Mark quickly got his hands on some Classic Stripe and PDX carpet fabric because “they’d look so cool as straps too.” I stitched them up, and we threw three straps in the box with his apron and sent it off to Portland, Oregon.
A couple of weeks later Chris reached out to Mark and said “The apron is awesome… but the straps are amazing!! If I post about this, she might get some crazy demand” – to which I said “Ha! Absolutely not. Life is too crazy right now.”
Five months later… I was cleaning out my sewing room scraps to donate to our local quilting group and found the Benson fabric remnants. I asked Mark if he wanted to check with the FB group because I had enough fabric for a few more guitar straps, if anyone wanted them. The first comment on that post was the one and only Chris Benson saying “I have them and they are great!” A low-key riot ensued. We found some more fabric locally and went on to sell out within 24 hours. Chris reached out again to say that they looked great, but “I thought she didn’t want a business?! I’d love to chat!” Life has a funny way of working out. A couple of phone calls later, here we are.
Chris is such a down-to-earth, genuinely nice guy who takes care of his employees. He will not sacrifice his values for business, and I admire that. It has been a delight to work with him and his team.
