My lovely cousin, Michelle, asked me recently to design a fascinator for an upcoming wedding she is going to.  She very kindly told me to let my creativity run wild for this one.  The only instruction being that she will be wearing a mix of black, silver and steely greys.  To be completely honest, I found myself with too many ideas and struggled at first with the freedom!  Finally I got to work and made 4 different designs for her to choose from.

At the present time she has not seen any of them – and could very easily ask for something completely different!  To which I would not be at all upset.  I’ve had a fantastic time coming up with the new ideas, and have many more as a result of it.  On top of this, each design will feature in the Head Full of Feathers shop, each on a 'made to order' basis with many options to have them made in custom colours.

So, Michelle, it’s over to you – which do you like?
And everyone else... which do you like?

This first one is a teardrop fascinator/cocktail hat in purple.  I made the feather part of the fascinator from peacock feathers which I dyed black.  Due to the iridescent nature of a peacock feather, the black shimmers in purples, blues and pale greens.  The peacock feathers are arranged into a flower formation (the Head Full of Feathers signature!) and complimented by two jet black turkey arrow feathers and three floating coque feathers.  The whole piece is nestled upon a heart shaped merry widow birdcage veil.  Edged with black velvet to frame the face, a little bit like the brim of a hat would.

The second fascinator is a ruffled flower made up of silver birdcage veiling, polka dot fabric, steely silver organza and black tulle.  There is a rather Regal feel to wearing this fascinator - I think it's all the layers of textures and colour.  From the back is a fan of metallic silver birdcage veiling. shadowed by 3 long black iridescent rooster tail feathers and 2 white stripped coque feathers.  The contrast between the dense flower, and the movement of the feathers give the fascinator another dimension, unfortunately that doesn't some across in a still photo!

Now, this one I call the 'Queen of Hearts'.  I was completely taken with the idea of using the birdcage veiling in a different way.  I sewed a big roll of wire covering it with ribbon, then stiched the veiling to it to create panels.  I then curled and twisted these panels into the shapes you see here.  The curling spirals and the chaos of it all gave me a real Alice in Wonderland moment.  It was at this point I thought; 'surely I can cut a stripped coque feather into a heart shape?'  And here is the result, fresh from the rabbit hole.

For this piece I went for a classic vintage feel.  I wanted to use the base of the fascinator in more of a cocktail hat kind of a way so left the very front of it mostly bare.  I found this vintage rhinestone piece to add sparkle to a fascinator that would otherwise be predominantly black.   The main body of the fascinator is made from spiky feathers and soft flowing ostrich feathers - so important to have a mix of textures when using just one colour, i feel.  Beneath these is a single dyed black peacock feather.  
To complete the vintage cocktail hat feeling is a short birdcage veil, and a single soft ostrich feather flowing from the back.

Another quick post as I have soooo much to do! 

I have a few orders for bespoke fascinators that have all been finished, all that is left to do is get some pictures and send them to their respective customers and brides to be approved then its off to the Post Office with them.

For Halloween last weekend I had rather left everything to the last minute and had no idea what costume to wear to the party down in Cornwall.  A last minute inspiration resulted in this...

The joys of having a fully stocked craft work room!!

Off to do some work now... Jen xx

Finally! Head Full of Feathers is settled in the new home.  

Having made the move from France to England, the new studio is getting up to speed and new designs for our online store will be appearing very soon.  I will post as soon as I have a date for the GRAND OPENING!  

We will also be featuring a few 'ready to wear' pieces on sites such as Etsy and EmmalineBride.  The collections will feature bridal, occasion and everyday fascinator and hairpieces.  We will also be including a new wide selection of birdcage veils.   All very exciting, and a LOT of work, but it keeps me out of trouble! 

Until then, please enjoy these pictures of a few pieces by Head Full of Feathers worn by the lovely Melanie, Photo's by Dom Page.

A number of email requests for fantastically colourful and flamboyant fascinators for the Melbourne Cup Race Day have really gotten me excited this week.  So much so, I wanted to share a little about it.

The Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival, I have discovered, is undoubtedly the highlight of the racing year in Australia and brings out the very best of Australian and International thoroughbreds (horses and spectators!) The whole event has a carnival like atmosphere, which brings the city of Melbourne to life during spring carnival time.

 So as we start digging out our cosy coats, mittens, scarves and boots, and shopping for muted shades of browns, reds and greens for our autumn wardrobes, the excitable Race-goers on the other side of the world prepare colourful outfits and accessories for 50 days of world-class horse racing action.

Sunshine, champagne and colour!  Oh, I wish I were going! 

I’ll be spending the next week dying a whole assortment of feathers and sinamay, all the colours of the rainbow, and creating some of the largest feather fascintors and cocktail hats.  I’ve been told to let my creative side run wild – and I will!  As soon as I get some pictures of the pieces I promise I’ll post them here.

If you are looking for an affordable bespoke fascinator to match your outfit or personality, drop us an email!  And if you are luckyenough to have a ticket to one of the Spring Race Carnival Race-Days, let me know what you'll be wearing - I'd love to see.

For now, a couple of bridal pieces I have been working on. 
Plenty of vintage charm, with pearls and deep ivory, champagne shades with birdcage veils.  I really adore the one with the ostrich feather, and have plans to make myself one very similar for a wedding I am going to in October – in autumn colours of course!

This one also feathures Head Full of Feathers' own 'detachable mini veil' which can be attached to any fascinator or hat for an instant hit of vintage glamour.  (Email jen@headfulloffeathers for details)

And one final picture of my beautiful friend Sarah in her Head Full of Feathers fascinator at a wedding this summer.  She would definitely fit in at the Melbourne Cup.

PHEW!   One week to get a move on and finish Blooie.   ‘It’s do-able’ we confirm to ourselves.

 Lets get going...

It was such a great feeling as the apartment was getting lighter and all the heavy raw materials were being refined into their final resting places.


It was really nice to work on some small details after the monumental task of securing the cabinets, worktop and doors in place.

On putting the handles in, we got that satisfying sensation of seeing a glimpse of the final product.  These small tasks seemed to take no time at all as we were buzzing so much in anticipation.  Now it was just the bed to go in,  I hope it fits!!!

And so it did- just.  Another Phew.  Unfortunately it was raining when we had to go under the van and seal all those holes up.  Hey Ho,  you can only get dirty once at a time.

Well, that was it – all the big bits fitted and now it was time to get into some serious detailing.

 

Our jigsaw skills we’re coming along by now and it didn’t take too long to realise we could add a little flair to the fascias. So a Blooie logo was designed (I’d always campaigned to having some waves in the van so when my design was accepted I was very pleased). A lot of scary cutting, followed by some relaxing sanding, and varnishing created a lovely little detail that just popped out of the Bloo(ie!) last minute.

Finally, it was a question of cushions- some mega comfy foam wrapped in super soft faux leather was a high task that Jen tackled beautifully, even adding a piping (for the first time ever).  These guys lift Blooie’s style right off the street!

With a couple of hours before Blooie’s maiden voyage to Geneva airport, we were able to clean her up, stock her with camping gadgets and sit/lay down and enjoy the fruits of our labour!!

Of course, there’ll still be little bits that we’ll want to add in the future but for now Blooie Scampette is DOWN on the Street and seriously ready for some mega styling camping action!!

-Ben

It’s been a little while, but here we are.  A little progress report on how Blooie Scampette, our VW T4 Transporter is getting on.

The conversion project taking Blooie from work-horse van, to leisure vehicle is leaping forward.  At the same time it is taking over our apartment and making us a little bit crazy!  Just keep thinking, camping trips, camping trips, camping trips… BBQ’s and wine, BBQ’s and wine, BBQ’s and wine…

 

Our roadside workshop has still been keeping locals and holiday-makers entertained, and Chamonix is VERY busy at the moment.  We get regular visitors to Blooie’s sliding door, checking on progress and wondering how long until the ‘van warming party’ we have excitedly planned.

 

Progress so far includes, bolting in the cupboards, fitting the side step, finishing off the carpeting, sealing the underbelly from rust and corrosion and reconnecting all the lights – nothing very exciting to photograph, but here are a few.  (a picture of me covered head to toe in black underseal crawling out from under the van would have been a good one.   Oh, we should have taken it!)

Ben has stormed ahead with van work while I’ve been catching up with Head Full of Feathers custom orders.  He’s been an unstoppable machine!  I do think, however, that if he was told he had to paint another cupboard door green, he might be safer contained in a padded room!  Ballz has been easing the workload, he wants to get out on the road soon.  He gets paid in bananas, so he’s pretty cheap labor.

You know we love to hear your comments - go on! Don't be shy!!

 

 

Let me let you know whats going on in the design world of Head Full of Feathers... 

I'm really enjoying the evolution of my peacock feather flower fascinators.   The different centres, the colours, the size and volume.

I'm designing, making, developing, re-designing and changing the shapes, sizes and colours, and getting some fantastic feedback from our customers.

Each piece seems to naturally develop into a new idea, i'm really enjoying it.

The gold fascinator here was designed and made for a very good friend who has a rather grand day out at Ascot to attend.  I think the wide gauge Merry widow veiling and the gold feathers make this such a dramatic, romantic piece.

And the final picture here, is one of our flyers - featuring a peacock feather flower fascinator, of course!

As always - I'd love to hear your comments, don't be shy!!