Make your Own Wine or Beer Sling for Festivals

I'm a self-proclaimed food festival veteran now.  After attending food events day in and day out, I've learned a few things that I'd like to share.

1. Wear comfortable shoes.
2. Bring a portable charger for your phone or other electronic equipment.
3. Sunblock.
4. Baby wipes.
5. Bring your own silverware.  Most people know by now that I carry a set of chopsticks, fork, and spoon on my persons.
6. Sunblock, yes, again.

 

My Wine Sling.  Or Beer Holder.  The name is not important. 

Another big design issue at festivals is that most human have two hands.  When you add a plate, glass, and silverware (not to mention camera), your hands get a little full.  Humans would be more efficient if we had several extra hands.

An item that can alleviate is the glass sling, appropriate for beer or wine events.  I already have a smaller beer sling for the Great American Beer Festival, but I didn't have a larger one for LIVE FIRE or the Austin Food and Wine Festival this weekend.  Here's instructions on how to make one in less than 30 seconds with items you probably have in your house.


Tools:
1. Koozie.  Any kind.  I have dozens of these left over from previous events.
2. A lanyard.  The kind with two clips are more stable, however, a single connection point is fine as well. I had tons of these from previous festivals and conferences. 
3. Sharp scissors.


































Instructions:
1. Flatten out the koozie so that it is fairly flat.
2. Use scissors to cut a slit about 3/4 to 1 inch from the top end of the koozie on one side.  If you have a laynard with two clips (two connection points), repeat this process on the other side. 
3. Pop open your koozie, and attach the lanyard by clipping or threading through the slits.
4. Insert wine or beer glass. TADA!








*If you dislike the look of your koozie (the one in this picture was ugly), turn it inside out.

*For more stability with wine glasses, pull the stem through the bottom of the koozie.  Standard koozie sizes fit most wine glasses fairly snug.  It would take quite a bit of force for your wine glass to fall out the bottom.