Huge High Hair

{source}

INSPIRATION 2014 #17: More amazing hair, but this time created by contemporary hairstylist Trish Dool ~ Tesoro Collection for Open Auditions for Raw Talent in the avant garde category.

Fabulous Wigs of Paper!

{source}

INSPIRATION 2014 #15: Beautiful wigs of paper made by Amy Flurry and Nikki Nye for Hudson Bay Company's holiday windows. Check out more of their work at the Cut Paper Project.

Thy Crowning Glory

{source}

 

 {Source for 3 photos above}

INSPIRATION 2014 #14: One of the reasons that jewelry, hair wreaths & sculptures and scrapbooks were created was that the Victorians considered hair a woman's "crowning glory" ~ I suppose it must have been a badge of honor to have the longest and prettiest hair in the neighborhood! Women spent many hours maintaining their tresses ~ as there are many cabinet cards portraying women and their hair from this time period, it is obvious that hair was an important part of a woman's beauty. Visit Rapunzel's Delight to peruse a huge collection of photos and history of hair.

Sweet Friendship Tokens

{image found here}

INSPIRATION 2014 #13: Lovely friendship album of Margaret Williams, 1839. Locks of friends' hair was woven then sewn to pages and identified. Hand painted flowers and a gold die cut cherub further decorate the page.

Contemporary Hairwork

{image from here}

INSPIRATION 2014  #12:  Artist Kerry Howley is a contemporary artist who uses hair as her medium when creating her unique jewelry.  A quote from this article describes the concept behind her work: "Howley’s collection, Attraction/Aversion is an experiment in psychology. Howley meditates on the idea that while on our heads, hair is a precious possession, something we “take pride in.” Yet once it is cut off, we gain an aversion to it."

Love Entwined ~ A Hair-raising History

INSPIRATION 2014 #11:  Got your attention with the title of my post, right?  Actually, Love Entwined is one of the few books I have found on the history of hairwork. While it has few illustrations, I thought the information it contained was quite interesting ~ it is tough to find at a library, but worth searching it out if you have interest in this subject. Read a few snippets from the book or buy it here.

Woven & Braided Hairwork

{available here}

{seen here}

INSPIRATION 2014 #10: Here are some lovely examples of either woven or braided Victorian hair work.  The jewelry shown was made and sold commercially or hand made by an expert craftsman ~ the intricacy and detail of these pieces is pretty amazing. I have credited the images when possible; if no credit is given, the image is from Pinterest and no source was cited.

Hairwork Jewelry & Accessories

{brooch of braided hair work combined with metal}

Pieces shown above and below are what is called sepia work or sepia miniatures. This technique is achieved by chopping up hair into tiny sized bits and mixing with paint, which is then painted in various designs.

{image from here}

{example of technique called flat work ~ lengths of hair were glued to thin paper and then tediously cut out and collaged together}

{button and woven cord for sale here}

{intricately woven lace-like decorative pieces made of hair}

INSPIRATION 2014 #9: Samples of different hairwork jewelry and accessories. Most of the images are from ebay and are no longer available for sale, so I have not provided a source as it leads nowhere.

Hair of the Dog

{All images from the NYPL Digital Image Collection}

INSPIRATION 2014 #8: Yesterday's inspiration showed some actual mourning jewelry ~ today, here are some pages from an antique catalog (circa 1870) of Victorian jewelry patterns to be made from hair ~ you may recognize some pieces that are similar to the jewelry shown earlier. Here is a great article that covers lots of information about Victorian Hairwork.

Dreaming of Downton

{Image from here}

INSPIRATION 2014 #7: After watching the first episode of Downton Abbey this past Sunday, my interest in objects of mourning has been renewed. Above is a beautiful selection of various kinds of mourning jewelry ~ several made with human hair. You will also notice that tiny pearls are used in many of the pieces ~ they symbolize tears.

Luck of the Irish

I know I am several days late (thanks to National Button Week!) and at least a dollar short as I did not find that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow yet, but I did find these intricate shamrock decorations for celebrating St. Patrick's Day. I found these at an antique show a few months ago and was intrigued by the thread and wire work used to create these ~ it is actually similar to some of the old Victorian hair work techniques. The pipe on the light green decoration is die cut and embossed paper, while the little hat is ceramic ~ if you look carefully, you can see the label that says "Made in Japan".

{back view}

I'll bet these were added to corsages or hats or as a boutonniere to show your spirit ~ I have no idea when they were made ~ just wish there were such things on the market today. At any rate, wishing you all a month of the luck of the Irish ~ hope you all had a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

In Memory Of

Ten years have passed and seeing images and listening to interviews pertaining to 9.11 still brings tears to my eyes. Remembering and honoring those who lost their lives ten years ago today.

I've gathered some images of some beautiful Victorian mourning jewelry ~ a lovely way to remember and cherish those passed on.

{click on each image for source}

Beauty & the Book

{image from Rapunzel's Delight}

In the last couple of weeks I have started to develop an obsession with Victorian hairwork ~ the flower wreaths, the jewelry and even simple tokens kept in cards or scrapbooks. This all began because I finally made the trip to Leila's Hair Museum ~ something I have had on my "to do" list for 20 years! My visit to the museum piqued my interest further, so I have spent a good deal of time hunting around the internet for more information, only to find out that there is not much to be found.

During my search I did find this wonderful advertising card for Lyon's Kathairon ~ a hair treatment of some sort. The card itself reminded me of a book I loved when I was a child ~ Dandelion, by Don Freeman. While I do remember loving this book, I only have a vague recollection of the details. I know it had to do with a lion who got a fancy haircut and new clothes to impress his friends at a party only to be turned away because no one recognizes him. So, what is the moral of this story? (You know there must be one!). You'll have to pick up a copy to see what happens!

{Dandelion: Before}

{Dandelion: Getting dandified!}

{Dandelion: After}