My Passion for Hair Accessories and YOUR chance to become a Trendsetter!
There’s much to be said for “necessity is the mother of invention.” That is exactly how I came to be a “maker” of my favorite piece of wearable art – hair accessories. It was a BIG DEAL to grow my hair long. Pixie cuts were the rage when I was a young girl and my parents loved the no muss, no fuss (a/ka/a) chop-it-all off look. I was horrified and wanted long hair. So today I still have it!
Over the years, however, I found it extremely difficult to find high quality hair accessories. I found them more readily overseas – the UK, Italy, Spain, & France. In the U.S., I started to look for them in antique stores and flea markets since the older ones were made to a higher quality standard. Pictured here are some of what became quite a collection! (special thanks to friends Jim & Judi for the latest additions!)
As long hair has come and gone, so have people making high quality hair accessories. The best “clips” are the patented French Barrettes – all the rest are cheap imitations that pull at your hair and break. The French clips come in 4+ sizes and usually just one size can be found if at all in department stores.
When I first started to collect sea glass, I had a vision for making sea glass barrettes. That vision quickly expanded to creating a full line of hair accessories – using barrettes and other findings such as combs, forks, sticks, bobby pins, and alligator clips. I have even used a local metal shop that does laser cutting to make some of my own findings.
With a few quick searches, I happened on some history that might be of interest to collectors.
For thousands of years, hair bands, ribbons, bows, hairpins, combs, barrettes, beads, threads, sticks, and other various materials have been used in the hair for both aesthetic and cultural value to express identity. The first reference to human hair accessories happens to also be what many historians have dubbed the first relic of human art. Found in modern Austria, the Venus of Willendorf dates to between 24,000-22,000 B.C.E. The limestone statuette is called “Venus” to discern it as a depiction of the original female form.
As I have now been a “maker” for 19 years, I may have benefited from some of the “return to long hair” trends, but in some cases, I was fighting the wave of short hair. It never really mattered to me, as I was focused on changing perception of hair accessories to hair jewelry. I frequently say to my clients – “when you spend hundreds of dollars to color and style your hair, why would you throw a poorly made, uninteresting bobble in your hair and ruin it “– rather than accentuate its beauty and your investment. Hair accessories are both beautiful and functional and as history tells us, they are one of the the earliest ways to “express one’s identity.” This particular video by Glamour Magazine is a great snapshot of the last 10 decades.
Further to the article above,
Over these last few years, there has been a growing adoration for hair accessories in day-to-day fashion as a way to celebrate identity. From bejeweled barrettes to the classic snap clip, this trend is currently dominating in the hottest streetstyle and runway fashion. While its rotation back into what’s “a la mode” feels fresh, hair accessories are one of humanity’s oldest forms of fashion.
I leave you with this fun image of a girl after my own heart from the Glamour video! And of course, a fabulous group of clients who have discovered my studio and to whom I am ever so grateful! I look forward to sharing the latest work and adorning you and helping you find the best expression of your identity with the perfect hair piece! You too can be a hair adorning Trendsetter! Click on the photos below to see my clients adorned in sea glass hair accessories.
