Top-notch top knots and wearable art, customized for Buccaneers fans

TAMPA, Fla. - As the clock ticked down during the Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFC Championship victory over the Green Bay Packers, Laura Paredes had a hunch.

"Let me just start ordering some materials," she said.

The main material was fabric. Paredes runs Peanut Gallery Art, which specializes in wearable art for the head. After the clock hit zero that Sunday, her hunch was proven right. Her phone, e-mail, and social media were flooded with requests for Buccaneers-themed bows and top-knot headbands.

"I just make them and send them out as fast as I can make them," Paredes said.

Paredes's workspace is a mix of raw materials and order forms. It takes about 30 minutes to complete a bow or headband, many of which will double as Gasparilla gear for her customers.

"I've always liked big bows, the bigger the better, and the more bling the better," she said. "I just kind of play with fabrics and play with ribbon and play with sparkles and just kind of make things."

Peanut Gallery Art started about 12 years ago, focusing on paintings. The shift came when she started making bows for her daughter.

The top-knot headbands are a recent addition to her catalog, partially brought about by the pandemic. She took her sewing machine out and just started to experiment at the beginning of the pandemic. After posting to social media, customers spoke with their orders.

"It never gets old to see something you made on somebody. It's beautiful to see it on a stranger," she said.

"It's even more beautiful to see them on your friends and their babies. People that have no obligation to wear what you're making and they want to, there's nothing better."

When asked how she'll react if she sees one of her bows or headbands at the Super Bowl, she simply says "I will freak out! I will scream and enjoy the moment."

For more, visit https://www.facebook.com/PeanutGalleryArt/.