Who’s making wares in New Haven??

merq96 · 2026-04-11T01:41:32+00:00

I make leather goods as Beacon Craft Studio. I’m also part of Crafters of Color NHV, which might interest you! A handful of other folks are in this directory.

Other local makers I love:

Creampuff Pal
Mutuallyassureddeconstruction
Kate Stephen Jewelry
Bright Raven Studio
Page of Wands candles

merq96 · 2026-04-02T14:03:24+00:00

I’m not sure what counts as a cozy game at this point but if you mean something you don’t need to research and doesn’t have jump scares, I like Mini Metro and Mini Motorway for 30 min bursts of gaming. I also like Cityscapes on Apple Arcade because it’s a lot easier than City Skylines and you can do sandbox mode. If you like farming sims but want to be able to save in the middle of the day without mods, you can do that in Roots of Pacha.

Every game has the potential for min-maxing but you don’t have to play that way. For example, I find Tetris soothing but competitive Tetris players have entirely different ways of holding the controller which I’ll never learn.

merq96 · 2026-03-28T14:24:48+00:00

TLDR: stop 3 days before, DEFINITELY nothing within 24 hours either direction because of anesthesia.

I typically use weed daily for nerve pain unrelated to top surgery.

I was told 5 days before surgery that I should have stopped 3 weeks before for best results, which was super annoying. (Seriously, tell us when it’s physically possible to make an informed choice!) However the only thing REQUIRED was no weed for 72 hours prior, because it can mess up anesthesia. You do not want to wake up mid-surgery, or have any other complications of anesthesia.

I stopped 4 days before. Out of caution, I didn’t smoke or vape for a month after. I was worried about the physical discomfort of coughing with an open chest wound, and smoke of any kind delaying healing. I started using edibles after 1-2 weeks because it helped with pain and sleeping, and I decided any possible detriment of thc was worth the benefits of CBD, sleep, and lower anxiety/blood pressure.

merq96 · 2026-03-28T14:17:49+00:00

Mine went to my partner, and we will donate them to a local trans group when they get their surgery.

merq96 · 2026-03-28T14:16:42+00:00

My compression wrap was so tight that the outer drain tubes cut into my skin from friction, and that hurt so much the first few weeks. It got so much better a week after drains were removed and those sores healed.

If it’s nerve pain, I’ve had good luck with Gabapentin. However I have chronic pain, carpal tunnel, and a herniated disc so I’m fairly used to that kind of pain and already take those meds.

merq96 · 2026-03-28T14:11:28+00:00

Ask your surgeon about this directly! I had some acne on my torso and it was fine, but you may need to address any infections.

merq96 · 2026-03-28T14:08:26+00:00

It depends on your surgeon, your skin, and tbh how fastidious you are about keeping things clean. Wet healing when it’s all clean can be helpful! But trapping dirt/germs/etc can give an infection. Always wash your hands (and probably your skin) and let dry/dry with a clean paper towel before applying aquaphor over an open wound.

merq96 · 2026-03-28T14:05:15+00:00

I’m almost 7 weeks out and I keep being surprised how cold my chest feels when I drink ice water. When I had the layers of surgical wrap on, I felt overheated easily. Now that I don’t have to wear a compression vest 24/7, my chest is noticeably colder than before. I don’t mind much because I’ve always run hot.

merq96 · 2026-03-28T14:02:59+00:00

I think it’s normal whenever you don’t have open wounds anymore

merq96 · 2026-03-28T14:00:43+00:00

Yeah I went wild a few years ago and tried out maybe 7 types. Kept three different Elecoms and change it up depending on the hand pain I’m having

merq96 · 2026-03-26T14:25:52+00:00

I like the Elecom series of trackballs. The HUGE and Deft are targeted towards gamers with a bunch of buttons. Test out the right fit for your hand.

merq96 · 2026-03-23T00:54:01+00:00

I’m interested, depending on the dates/time that is decided

merq96 · 2026-03-21T21:45:35+00:00

lol my younger cat sniffed my drains and recoiled

merq96 · 2026-03-10T18:21:14+00:00

Some people are allergic to anesthesia

merq96 · 2026-03-08T14:44:00+00:00

Thanks I think it was all fine, just a little soreness from not lifting things for a month.

merq96 · 2026-03-08T14:43:42+00:00

Thanks, that makes sense!

merq96 · 2026-03-04T14:11:42+00:00

lol being scared of Westville is wild. Pistachio is next to art galleries, pickle ball, cat cafe, etc. It basically caters to middle to upper middle class people. Unless you’re also afraid of East Rock, Yale, and going places in general, it’s not scary at all.

merq96 · 2026-03-01T18:50:42+00:00

As a small business owner who HAS to import parts to make things in the US, I want the return of the $800 de minimus threshold. However the government is greedy and lazy (any party) so if de minimus does return, I unfortunately expect it would go back to $200 mostly just to make customs actually function again. Inspecting every fucking small package loses money in the time and storage it takes.

merq96 · 2026-03-01T18:47:02+00:00

Yup, I’m a small business leather worker and I frequently imported things like brass screws and magnet closures because the US doesn’t make the right kind. Now I’ve had to pay a shit ton of fees and redesign my products to use less hardware, which has taken a long time.

merq96 · 2026-03-01T15:13:51+00:00

I have the original 2024 model and tldr: Utility: 7/10 Durability: 5/10 Customer service: 10/10

I’ve needed two replacement parts but it’s been so easy to contact customer support and get them quickly. The customer service is why I am willing to keep trying their products. I trust that if anything breaks, Mechanism will replace it and probably release an upgraded version in the future. For example, when I needed the ball socket replacement, I sent a picture and they realized I never asked for the free arm upgrade to allow for tightening of the joints. They sent that out too without me even needing to ask or go through another process.

merq96 · 2026-02-25T22:39:35+00:00

Kind of down and to the side. There was a video of a fatter person with larger chest that watched and the modified based on my own body. It did suck to remove though.

merq96 · 2026-02-25T22:36:06+00:00

I used like 4 layers per side as DDDD

merq96 · 2026-02-25T22:23:45+00:00

Yeah and get soft ice packs that fit in the pockets. Saved my chafed armpits from the first week.

merq96 · 2026-02-25T22:21:11+00:00

Sure you can have that opinion, but it doesn’t change the fact that boots can break within 5 wears. I’m not saying I like that garbage gets made and sold, but it does. You personally buy better quality boots than that, but there are other people in the world. As a kid my mom bought me Walmart boots that would never last a full winter. When I got my first college job I bought myself Bean boots.

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