My brooch? It's a roach!

We always say that it’s not just about the stuff you sell in your store, it’s about the experience. In this retailer’s case the experience IS the stuff he sells.

Stop in at the Black Chandelier, a retail store located in Salt Lake City, and pick up a one-of-a-kind brooch made from a living Madagascar hissing cockroach. Your new not-so-little friend will come all dolled up with colored Swarovski crystals in a neat little pattern on its back. Each roach brooch also comes with a hook on a chain – a leash designed to keep your roach from leaving you for someone more fashionable.

Yikes.

Designer Jared Gold has been making his living jewelry since 1999. And apparently there’s a market because seven years later he’s still making the brooches and making news.

They sell for $40 to $80 a piece and Gold says they're selling like hotcakes. So, if you’re interested in owning your own live roach brooch visit http://www.jaredgold.com . Your new friend will come with care and feeding instructions. And get ready to bond because your Madagascar hissing cockroach has an expected lifespan of up to a year. This isn’t fashion – it’s a commitment!

Having spent the night with thousands of living cockroaches ourselves* we’re not too keen on this idea, but we do have to admit it’s creative. Will we begin to see "Create Your Own Cockroach" jewelry kits and classes popping up in craft stores nationwide? Will scrapbookers find ways to include tiny embellished cages in their scrapbook pages? And will we see the things hawked late at night on QVC?

What do you think?

* Click on this link to read about our run-in with roaches
http://www.kizerandbender.com/pdf/Antennae.pdf