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Yolanda Baker, last of the disco ball makers

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Yolanda Baker’s fingers move with electric efficiency as she works her way around a mirror ball early on a Tuesday morning in a small Highlands factory. The core of the mirror ball is dull spun aluminum but with every pass Baker is turning it into a portable party, applying mirrored squares with impressive speed and purpose.

Having handcrafted them for Louisville, Kentucky’s Omega National Products for 47 years — from Bee Gees music at Studio 54 in the late 1970s to today’s Beyonce concerts — Yolanda Baker is now the last disco ball maker in the United States. This profile of ‘YoYo’ by Courier-Journal showcases her skills and work ethic.

Next: How a NFL football is made and Mentoria Hutchinson, NYPD’s Dancing Traffic Cop. Bonus: The classic mirror scene from The Marx Bros’ Duck Soup (1933).

via East Bay Mini Maker Faire.

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