My Story

Hi, I’m Carly – founder, crab trap enthusiast, and accidental businesswoman.

It all started when I gifted my husband a 3D printer. (Yes, I’m that kind of wife – the one who gives nerdy gifts that later take over the garage.)

Fast-forward a year: I took a solo trip to visit my in-laws, who had recently retired to the Florida Keys (I know, rough life). They invited me on a boat trip for a little adventure in stone crab fishing. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but one crab claw-pull later, I was hooked.

While we were pulling up traps, my father-in-law casually said, “Hey, can you 3D print me some of those new escape rings Florida just made mandatory?” As if everyone just casually asks for custom-printed trap parts. But I said, “Why not?” We sketched up a design with his specs and when I got home, we fired up the printer and created a prototype.

I mailed it to him, thinking that was the end of the story.

It wasn’t.

A week later, he needed more—for his friends. The week after that, his friends’ friends wanted some too. Suddenly, our little 3D printer was running full-time and I realized we weren’t just making trap accessories—we were starting something.

And that, my friends, is how Crab Essentials was born. From one 3D printer, a boat in the Keys, and one very persuasive father-in-law.

We’re here to make your crabbing easier, smarter, and maybe a little more fun—because if you're pulling crab traps, you deserve gear that works as hard as you do.