First cluster and new designs

Tadaaaaaaaah! More wedding pieces. These were a PAIN to make because of the wiring and shaping, but the dimension looks so much more impressive than a flat assembled piece. I have decided to not attach a veil because brides may have different plans for veil placement, and if they do want one close to the piece, it is a very simple process to add it on separately.

The double layered look is especially fun because I get to make tiny flowers for the top tier. The specific weave of the silk fabric that I use keeps the whole piece so light despite the larger design. I've made one for myself and often forget that I am wearing it very quickly because it feels like I have nothing in my hair.

If a bride-to-be wants to have her wedding colors incorporated in her kanzashi pieces, all I need are fabric swatches mailed to me and I will create custom kanzashi for anyone's special day!Even though it's not my wedding, I can't help but feel so excited and happy for couples who order from me.

ETSY STORE!

At last! I have an etsy store! Sorry for the wait, you can visit it at etsy.com/shop/maimaipie. I will post more items on there once I am done with them.

Everybody loves weddings!

Hello, everyone! I have been working on some kanzashi designs for weddings (and developing my etsy store!) lately and so far I am concentrating on keeping them simple and clean. There are a lot of elaborate designs out there, but I feel that they would be too overpowering visually, so I will be starting off with basic design and explore more intricate ones later without pushing the boundary too far. ***Please keep in mind the products below are all prototypes and any imperfections will be improved upon for future orders.***

The one below is not finished yet, I am trying to figure out how to attach a small veil to it. My goal is to have this piece reflect the style of the 1920's, but made with today's design. I prefer smaller veils as I think they are tasteful, modern, and more elegant than the longer fashion.

Here is a simple design for a bride made with plain white silk charmeuse, it has a slight cream color to it which makes it look light and airy instead of stark and fluorescent. This is my absolute favorite fabric to work with, it is extremely soft and the weave that I use is very versatile. I have learned how to attach chains without having them twist and kink in certain areas, unfortunately I did not discover this until after I finished this piece -___-. The dragonfly charm and filigree bead complete the look by adding a soft touch and makes it very suitable for weddings in warm weather.

This is actually the first bridal piece I started, also unfinished without the veil piece. The flowers are clustered together and look a lot like forget-me-not flowers as a unit. The smaller blossoms are incredibly cute, see below for a size comparison. The larger blossom is 2"x2" and the smaller is about 1 1/8"x 1 1/8".

Of course, I did not forget about making some cute pieces for the bridesmaids or flower girl to wear. :)

I am really happy with how the third one turned out- so much cuter in person! I found these new bobby pins that are silver-plated and have a small pad on the back to hold to the flowers better. All of my single blossoms will have these new bobby pins, but if you have an allergy I also have hypoallergenic stainless steel hair clips that work just as well!

*The three pieces so far for flower girls and brides maids are complete, if you would like to order please contact me via e-mail with details concerning quantity and deadline. To ensure that your order gets to you on time, I ask for at least 3 weeks to create and ship your pieces.*

Thank you so much for your patience and interest in my work, I am working hard photographing and editing pictures so that I can open up my etsy store soon!

More cute items

I wanted to make a few of these simple but cute rabbit kanzashi, and while I was making them, I had another idea...

 Yes, pikachu kanzashi! They are all hand dyed, hand painted, and have a felt backing. Now I understand that not everybody is right handed or wants to wear these on the same side, so I have decided to make them wearable for every preference by making it adjustable in the back.

See? You can switch the direction of the bobby pin with ease and wear it on either side as you please. This feature will be available for all of the rabbit and pikachu pieces. I hope you all are as excited as I am, I can't wait to display these at my booth :)

Kanzashi preview! :)

Okay, now bear with me and keep in mind that I am neither a professional kanzashi artisan or photographer, but this should give you an idea of what I will be selling alongside my prints.

My kanzashi are all made out of either up-cycled or hand dyed silk fabric, and all are made with recycled materials. In light of the recent tragedy in Boston last month, I will be donating a portion of all my sales towards the Boston One Fund. I think that it is fitting to wear kanzashi at the Japan Festival in Boston as it is part of traditional Japanese culture, and also it is a way to demonstrate the idea of cultural acceptance and peaceful coexistence.

I have sooooo many of these, please stop by my booth and check them out!