R.I.P. Scout26
Two former bomb techs in California have started a jewelry line that is packing some serious fashion heat.Cole Evans and Erik Spalding are turning ammo into accessories in a fashion line called Bullets2Bandages, which is also helping the families of fallen soldiers.The two former Naval Academy grads, who both served as bomb technicians and platoon captains in the Middle East, said they came up with the idea after their Naval stint ended last year. They wanted to become entrepreneurs, but didn’t want a stuffy white-collar job.“We wanted freedom and we wanted creativity,” said Spalding, whose grandfather was Puerto Rican. “We knew if we sat in an office somewhere in corporate America we’d blow our brains out.”So the two somehow stumbled onto an industry with few men, and even fewer military vets: fashion jewelry. Their idea was to turn demilitarized bullets into “bullet jewelry.”“We came up with the idea when Cole was cleaning out his armored vest and a bullet fell out,” Spalding said. “It landed on the coffee table next to my dog tag. I took a picture of it… It struck us both. We knew we were on to something.”
