It seems like kind of a stretch.

If someone had told Rob Croak his fame and fortune might rest on the popularity of some fancy rubber bands, he likely would have thought the idea was, well…silly.

However these days, Croak, owner of Brainchild Products LLC on Main Street in East Toledo, is crazy busy trying to keep up with the demand for SillyBandz ¬ – those immensely popular silicone bracelets that come in a wide variety of shapes and colors.

BCP Imports started marketing the SillyBandz a couple of years ago. “They had some popularity in pockets of the U.S., but over the last year, as more and more kids across the country started collecting, wearing and trading them, demand has skyrocketed,” Croak said.

So has media attention. Recently, a CBS’s Evening News crew came to interview Croak about the SillyBandz. The company and its most popular product have also received mentions on other national news/entertainment shows.

Though the bandz are collected mostly by elementary and middle school girls, they’re catching on with other groups as well.

“Boys seem to be getting into it too,” Croak said. “They’ve also gained popularity with some athletes, different professions and for fundraising too.”

Celebrities aren’t immune to the craze. Sex in the City” star Sarah Jessica Parker was spotted wearing the stretchy bracelets and apparently Rosie O’Donnell is a fan and talks about them on her radio show.

To keep up with the demand – the company has gone from shipping about 20 boxes a day a year ago to about 1,500 a day now – Croak has hired more people, now employing about 65 in Toledo. BCP Imports also has sales offices throughout the U.S.

“We’ve added drivers, salespeople, data entry workers, designers, IT personnel and shipping staff,” he said. “With all of our growth, we also have a full-time construction crew working to add more space and redo some things here.

“Our success benefits not just our company, but also other companies we do business with – from UPS to the box company to the companies we buy the envelopes from,” Croak said. “ Everyone wins in this because it adds so much commerce to the Toledo market.”

Why the bracelets continue to grow in popularity is anyone’s guess.

The price might be one factor. They come in packs of 24 for just under $5 – affordable fun, even in a tough economy, Croak noted.

The variety and expanding designs may be another. Currently SillyBandz come in such assortments as pets, zoo animals, sea creatures, dinosaurs, Western, alphabet, princess, Rockbandz, fantasy, baseball and rainforest designs. New styles are added every three weeks, Croak said. Fans are constantly writing letters, posted on the company’s website, with suggestions for new designs.

Croak also plans to expand the line to include Silly-Biners – collectable carabiners for carrying your SillyBandz, along with apparel and buttons.

Locally, SillyBandz are available at Learning Express stores, located at 5577 Monroe St. in Sylvania and at the Shops at Fallen Timbers in Maumee. They can also be ordered from the company’s website, www.sillybandz.com, where visitors can check out fan letters and see photos submitted by SillyBandz fans.

SillyBandz are also on Facebook (they have almost 240,000 friends) and Twitter.

“I’m very excited,” he said. “These are amazing times. This is proof that the American dream is still possible.”

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