The newest addition to my wearable art line: hair sticks

When I was in my early 20s, I worked in the accessories department at Nordstrom. Among the many items we sold in my department were hair sticks. They were very trendy in the early 2000s, and ours were refined, sophisticated, and made with semi-precious stones in muted colors. I had thought about making my own version, which would be colorful, whimsical, and fun. I bought some supplies and thought about how I would display and package them, made a trial pair for myself, but never got around to making any for other people. As was the case with my safety pin bracelets, the supplies languished in storage for years. I'm glad I kept them, because the phrase "they don't make them like that anymore" definitely applies to craft supplies. Since I've had some success with my jewelry, and since I keep seeing people on social media saying that they want more whimsy in their lives, this feels like the right time to introduce the latest addition to my Mixed Media wearable art collection.

Each pair is unique and is made with a combination of vintage, new, and handmade elements composed of glass, wood, silicone, and plastic.

Now that the weather is heating up, it feels good to put your hair up. What's great about hair sticks is that they work with many types of hair textures and styles, whether your hair is straight, curly, braided, or loc'd.

Here a hairstyle you can create with them:

Something I came up with when working at Nordstrom was pulling the hair back with an elastic hairpiece that goes on like a scrunchie, and then accentuating the style with hair sticks.

Not only did I double my sales with this concept, which was very important to my livelihood as a sales associate who got paid on commission, but it also made for a fun but sophisticated chignon. In fact, I am looking forward to wearing this style again myself!

The hair sticks in the photos above are the first seven pairs that I am offering for sale. They will be available for purchase exclusively at my open studio tonight. After that, I plan to add them to my Etsy shop as well. I have other designs in mind for the future, so stay tuned!