Reel Love

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Bait. Casting a line. Banded. Nibble. Keeper.

All the above terms sound like they’ve been pulled from tales around a fishing hole. But in this case, they’re part of a dating-scene lexicon Sue Bonzey has developed to use with her new line of jewelry for singles, Hooked on a Feeling.

Bonzey’s hook-shaped pins, pendants and tie tacks are meant to be subtle bait indicating availability. Her motto is “If you see the Hook, it’s OK to look.”

Bonzey is married, but she comes in contact with many older single women through her job in Eastern Maine Medical Center’s mammography department. She said that many women’s biggest complaint is the difficulty involved with meeting other singles, which probably is a result of tangled lines of communication. She decided what was needed was some kind of symbol that indicated availability and could be worn by both men and women.

Why a hook? The idea came to her in a dream.

About three years ago, Bonzey and her husband, Jim, were taking fly-tying lessons. “The problem [in fly tying] is how to cover a hook in such a way that it would attract this perfect keeper,” she recalled.

Around that same period, she went out to a nightspot with a 40ish, attractive single friend and saw the difficulties that friend had in hooking up with single males.

Her subconscious reeled in the two dissimilar problems, with the result being a hook emerging as a symbol for available singles.

She first tried making fishing-hook pins, but decided against that (try wearing one of those with your power suit). She then turned to sterling silver, taking silversmithing lessons and coming up with her sleek final design. (Two of the hooks put together form a heart. Aaahhh!) At first, she painstakingly cut, filed, soldered and polished each by hand. Now she has the jewelry cut by tool at a Rhode Island firm, and she finishes each by attaching the pin backs and polishing.

Then came the hardest part, deciding what to call the resulting jewelry line. After fishing around for a concept, the answer again to came her out of the blue, this time in the form of the song “Hooked on a Feeling,” a No. 1 hit for Blue Swede in 1974.

Bonzey sees her customers as being older, second-time-around singles, who aren’t trawling the bar scene for Mr. or Ms. Right. Instead, they’re fishing, often fruitlessly, for a keeper through anonymous singles ads or chat rooms.

“They’re interested in meeting somebody and hooking up,” she said.

Each of the pieces comes with a tongue-in-cheek fishing license. It reads, in part, “The user of this license agrees to follow catch and release practices until such time that the user decides upon a keeper. At that time, the license to fish in open waters becomes null and void.”

Bonzey’s goal has been to develop jewelry for any occasion. She writes, “The Hook is elegant enough to wear with your dressiest outfit or on a tie and casual enough to wear on a collar, baseball cap or just on your favorite chain.”

Customer Randa Shirland said she likes fishing and she likes silver jewelry.

“I also like the concept, because it’s ingenious and kind of fun,” Shirland said. “It’s easier than a dating service. If you see someone with the pin on, you can approach or not. Also, it gives you an opening [for conversation], when people ask about it.”

Bonzey has developed an extensive list of dating-fishing terms, and posted them on her Web site, www.iamhooked.com.

Bonzey made her first sale on Halloween. The jewelry is available at Ampersand in Orono and the EMMC gift shop. Her Web site also has been getting quite a few bites.

“It’s catching on in small groups,” she said. “It shows you have something in common with someone else, and it’s a chance to connect with somebody else who is single.”

For more information, access the Web site or call 941-9604.

Sue Bonzey?s ?Fishing Lines?

? Keeper: Catching exactly what you are looking for. Once you decide to keep this one, your license to fish becomes void.

? Nibble: An unexpected show of attention from a previously unknown person.

? Hook Up: To connect, attach.

? Catch and Release: The moment you realize you didn?t land a keeper, you release your catch so it can live, grow and mature. Later, someone else will be glad you did.

? Overfished: A location where you?ve heard that the fishing is good, only to find out that all the keepers are gone. Most of the nibbles you get here are from what someone else threw back the day before.

? Legal Limit: How many keepers you are allowed. In most states, this is one.

? Casting a Line: An opening remark.

? The one that got away: The story of a past relationship.

? Fishing without a license: Acting available when you aren?t.

? Banded: Having already been caught and wearing a band to indicate that this catch is no longer available.