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The Return of Wednesday Inspiration (featuring Mermaiden Creations)!

Those ofBrown velvet tricorn hat you who follow my blog (all two of you) may remember way back when I used to do this thing called “Wednesday Inspiration”. It served two purposes: one was to celebrate and promote other artists that I admire, and the other was to give myself a writing prompt in hopes that it would get me to blog more regularly. So every Wednesday (or every other Wednesday… or as often as I could find the time) I would share images and links from artist friends and strangers who inspire me to be more creative.

butterfly wing earrings
“Waiting on the Eastern Glow” earrings

I’m bringing that back – in part because I’m trying to post more often, and partially because I realize that I fret and complain too much about copycats and jackasses. While the latter concerns are real and should not be swept under the rug completely, there is GOOD stuff happening in the creative community too. I’d like to make a greater effort to celebrate that. My motivation for this is summed up nicely by this quote: “Promote what you love instead of bashing what you hate”.


So without further ado, today I’m sharing a few pieces by Mermaiden Creations. My friend Julie creates work that”is the stuffs of fairy tales and legends; curious offerings of nature, weird beauty, wild and fey-inspired organically imperfect designs”. She moves fluidly from jewelry design to millinery work, to hair accessories and home decor.

Sterling and labradorite ring by Mermaiden Creations
“Midnight Moon”labradorite ring

Her work is imaginative, dreamlike, organic, untamed… and skillfully crafted. I own a few pieces of her jewelry and one of her scarves, so when I attest to the quality of her work, I am speaking from affection and experience. I’ve showcased a small handful of my favorite pieces here, but I encourage you to visit her Etsy shop or to follow her on facebook in order to see more of her beautiful work!

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A little help from my (long haired) friends?

peacock fan hair slide
peacock fan hair slide

I have a great collection of customer photos of my masks and costume accessories, but I don’t have very many “action shots” of people wearing my hair toys. With your help, I’d love to correct that! I’d like to put together a nice little gallery of  my hair accessories in action, and while I’m at it, I want to develop a general sizing guideline.

There’s a simple questionnaire below, with a spot to upload photos. It should take 5 minutes or less to complete. As a thank you, you’ll get 10% off your next purchase from my website or Etsy shop. Please understand that this offer is only open to MY customers, since obviously, it would be really inappropriate for me to include photos of other artisans’ work in my website gallery.

The 10% discount is a standing offer, open to anyone who has purchased one of my hair accessories and is willing to share their photos and feedback … but just to sweeten the deal, anyone who participates between now and December 23rd, 2014 can also get two extra entries in my Winter Giveaway!

Please feel free to share this promotion on the forums, and with your friends and family members who own my hair accessories 🙂


Hair Slide Questionnaire
  • Please describe the hair slide that you purchased from me, including the hole spacing if known. If you purchased from my Etsy shop, you can simply link to the transaction.
  • Drop files here or
    Accepted file types: jpg, gif.
    Please include a photo showing how YOU use your Beadmask hairslide 🙂
  • Please feel free to share any additional ideas or information that you think might be helpful

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Virtual Costume Contest!

photo © JLHaberman 2011

Autumn is my favorite season. I love the changing light, the changing leaves, and the glorious colors of fall. I also love the fact that my business kicks into hyperdrive this time of year.

The pace can get a little (read: incredibly) intense, but I really enjoy it. My customers are amazingly creative people, and I have so much fun helping them to actualize their costuming ideas! Every year, I am blown away by the bizarre, clever, beautiful and amusing ways that people incorporate my masks into their costumes. In doing so, they create new persona (or reveal hidden ones) tell stories and incite mischief. Simply put, they create magic 🙂

This year, I thought it would be fun to share a bit of that magic, so I’m celebrating my incredible customers with a virtual costume contest. The winning contestant will receive a $50 gift certificate to my Etsy shop. You can enter any time from October 1st – 31st, and the winner will be announced on November 15th. Hop on over to my website for entry details — and please consider joining in my little celebration! 🙂