HOOPER HEROES Come Alive!

Sufjan Stevens. As if I didn't already love you enough. 

Sufjan created a comic book called "Hooper Heroes" about "three extra-terrestrial superhero sisters and their use of hula-hoops to combat the "the Messiah of Civic Projects," Captain Moses. The comic book is written by Stevens and gorgeously drawn, colored, and inked by longtime friend and collaborator Stephen Halker."  I posted about it months and months ago and am stoked that, thanks to hiptronic hoops I just saw all of this sweet new Hooper Heros merch on the Asthmatic Kitty Records site.

Sufjan Stevens is proud to present The BQE, a cinematic suite inspired by the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and the Hula-Hoop. Commissioned by Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), The BQE was originally performed in the Howard Gilman Opera House in celebration of the 25th anniversary Next Wave Festival in October of 2007.

The BQE is an experiment in multi-media. Sufjan wanted to present it in as many forms and methods as we could muster, which ended up being quite a lot. We made this page to keep track of it all. To read more about the release of The BQE click here

Pretty. Sweet. 

You can also get hooper hero shirts and posters. Which, judging by this one - I don't think I even need to know what's going on to want one... 

Hoopers here to SAVE THE DAAAAY! That is all. 

Super Hooper Accessories from Etsy!

 Ah, I love to to think about  how to dress-up, stand out and show mah hoop 

love with rad hoop internet finds. (My fave.) 

Etsy is the best for random finds of hoop-inspired wear!

Glass Hoop Ring (or Necklace) 

by WhirledPeaceHoops

Hula Hoop Rear View Mirror Dangles

by HoopNation

Hoop Spoon Pendant by

sunshynesilverwear

Hoop Girl Ziegfeld Follies Earrings

by FireGrog

Orange Sherbet Hula Hoop Earring

by luniacstyle

HOOPA FREAK necklace

by jiminhwang

Glass Hoop Necklace

by WhirledPeaceHoops

Micro Mini Hoops Now FOR SALE!

Remember this:

Well the online shop selling these and many other mini hoops is now OPEN! Wahoo! They are adding glittered minis and other varieties of gaffer's tape as well. Seriously, I want like 10. Some for earrings... some for bracelets... some for wall hangings and some for the car. Seems appropriate to me!

Check out the store: here!

SuperHooper: NEON Poly pro

This is almost too well timed with the calvalcade of colors already happening on the blog today - but, it's too wonderous not to be shared. Super Hooper now has pink purple and orange polypro hoops! 

Here is a picture of  a child sitting in them. Sure, why not?

Yes, I love them all. I can't lie though, I love my clear and simple poly pro best of all. Superhooper.org should have them on sale by this evening - sooooo if you are still buying your poly pro premade check it out!

Super Hooper: Colored Poly Pro Hoops

Check out these awesome new additions to the poly pro family! Since I just purchased my regular poly pro, I will probably wait to add to the collection - but I am really digging these. The red calls to me...

All images and hoops from superhooper.org

(What's a poly pro hoop?) 

The Breakdown: Poly Pro

The hoop world has been buzzing about poly pro for awhile now and I am, admittedly, a late adopter. But! I finally got mine yesterday and am happy to review my thoughts.

My first impression was that there just wasn't much to this hoop. Not necessarily a bad thing, except when you account for the cost. Be prepared to spend $50+ (including shipping) for a hoop that has none of the 'wow' factor of opening a beautifully taped and sparkly hoop. It is very plain, and looks almost used when you get it because of the sanding. I know that they are coming out with colored PPE hoops soon, so if you are looking for more 'umph' I would wait and get one of the colorful ones.

I happen to love plain jane hoops and excitedly began to play. I had a lot of questions before getting my hoop that I was happy to finally answer.

What is different? 
As everyone says, speed. I have to react faster, because the hoop moves faster around me. The smallest touch will launch it. I made this video to show the difference in speed between comparable hoops. Watch the rotation of the hoop around my waist for each and the speed of the vortex to see how quickly and fluidly the PPE hoop moves without any added effort from me:


 

The hoops used in this were: 

(blue hoop) 33" 125psi, 2 grip tapes

(black hoop) 33" 123psi, inner tape only

(clear hoop) 32" PPE hoop, sanded inside, no tape 

(the PPE hoop is 30", but I didn't close it completely so it 

would stay a comparable size to the other hoops)

Can I still do all the same stuff? 
Yep. I was afraid that the speediness of the hoop would mean I was back to square one with some moves, but I was able to do everything I could do before, only it looks prettier! There are even a few things that are less scary with this hoop. Back and chest rolls with such a light hoop don't seem nearly as dangerous if they catch you in the face. (so fun.)

Polypro Has Arrived!

WOO HOO! Lookie here! I was so pumped that my new PPE hoop arrived today!

I nerded out with it in the yard even though it was WAY too cold to hoop outside

I have lots to say about this awesome hoop. Full review tomorrow!