( theGiftaway ) :: thehoneycomb
I am extremely excited to bring you an absolutely gorgeous natural vine hair wreath by Blanche from thehoneycomb. A lovely combination of natural vine head wreath adorned with a heavenly symphony of pink rosebuds, pearls and baubles, curly vines, and mini green leaves! All the bits and pieces are securely attached to a naturally woven vine base that is wrapped 'round with sheer skinny ribbons.
She was the very first person I contacted about becoming a giveaway sponsor and the one who gave me a very spontaneous yes! Thanks Blanche! :)
When I first stumbled upon thehoneycomb, I felt I stepped into Evita Peroni of the fairy kingdom. Every single item displayed was so gorgeous, exquisite and magical, I want to own all of it! So be sure to check out thehoneycomb at the following places:
win: Lillith - a natural vine hair wreath* a $40 value!
Please share a little about you and your shop:
I think that when you are exposed to certain things for the greater part of your life you cannot help being influenced by them. Thus my hair accessories are inspired by a hodge-podge of different romantic eras, and I rarely have a pre-meditated idea of a piece that I am going to create. It sort of works itself into being in my hands, and often without my thinking too hard about it. Thus my “look” is never fully evolved, and it follows my whims of the moment and my hands just keep moving until my eyes and tastes are satisfied!
My designs are inspired by fairy tales, nature, the Jane Austen / Regency era, and by-gone eras in general. I do not model the pieces after one particular period, though I am heavily influenced by the engravings from the Belle Epoque in old trade catalogs and magazines such as Ladies Home Journal and other vintage fashion magazines which I have been collecting and picking up at antique malls and old dusty bookshops for many years.
Could you tell us how you make these lovely hair wreath?
I make these wreaths by soaking the vines in hot water for about 20 minutes, then shape and weave them while still wet, and lay them out to dry. Sometimes if the vine is particularly stubborn I let it dry on my own head, to make it keep the right shape. The result is a beautiful weave that undulates beautifully with a head of soft curls beneath it, or shows off nicely against straight hair.
What inspires you to create?
I have oodles of old Harpers Bazaar and Peterson's magazines that I draw heavily from, most of which I've collected from local antique malls over the years!
I give most of the credit to my mom for inspiring my interest in vintage head wear. As a child I watched her run a successful business selling antique clothing and books, and many of the books I grew up reading were part of her inventory or deemed too worn-out to be sale able, so she gave them to me.
I still refer to this collection for inspiration. Many of the books and magazines were originals from the mid-to-late 1800’s and often filled with etchings or color plates of “proper” ladies and children in pinafores, bonnets, parasols, and sipping tea from blue chintz porcelain with gloved hands - I wanted SO BADLY to have lived back then! My mom did her best - much to my tomboy sister’s dismay, but my delight - to raise us like “ladies.”
I remember clearly those Easters when she whetted down some old straw bonnets and made us wear them, still wet, until they were properly formed to our heads, and ready for her to deck out with fancy ribbons and flowers. Oh, the things we resolve to never do to our own children!
How did you get started selling and making your lovely products?
I discovered ETSY in summer of 2008 and could not believe my eyes that there were so many artists doing their own thing and getting paid to do it! It blew my mind that so many small business owners were able to make a living doing what they loved. I decided to jump on the bandwagon and haven‘t looked back since. The result is one-of-a-kind hair accessories inspired by times gone by, a good bit of nature, and a whole lot of romance!
I love your hairstyle! Could you tell us how to do up your hair?
I would show you in photos except it’s incredibly easy to do! I use a nice set of Remington brand hot rollers that come three sizes (big, medium, small) in one box, a covered rubber-band (for minimal ouchies), and a very skinny curling iron for the tendrils. That is all you will need.
Just keep all the rollers on the head until totally cooled down, and remove them while bending down so that the curls fall straight from the scalp, and then bind them, still bending down, into a loose knot with the rubber band. When you stand upright it might look a bit messy, but I think the Jane Austen at-home look is more charming than even the fully pinned at-the-ball look! :) Lastly, tease a few tendrils out from above the neck and temples, curl for 5 seconds each, and you’re done!
and be sure to let your friends in on this giveaway! spread the word on your blogs, twitter or by the word of mouth etc! it will be very much appreciated because:
you could maximize your chance of winning when you do so!
- Receive 1 additional entry when you twitter about this giveaway! (come back, leave a comment about your tweet. (mention @fleuravenue in your tweet for me to verify it as a valid entry.)
- Receive 1 additional entry when you mention this giveaway in your blog. (come back, leave a comment about your blogged entry with the url to it.)
P.S: remember to leave your email with these entries as well, because comments without a valid email are considered invalid.
giveaway ends Tuesday, august 11 at 8am, +8 GMT.
the winner** will be announced same day.
^an alternate winner will be selected if there is there is no response within a week.DO read the fine print:
* the sponsor is responsible for mailing the item to the winner.
**winner will be selected via a random number generator
