Kanzashi Romance

I've been busy with kanzashi making the past few months, but trying not to spam up the blog too much with them. I love making the traditional geisha style kanzashi, and that's been building up into quite a collection! I also love the chance to do something a little more creative with designs as well.

I recently made up a batch inspired by vintage valentines cards and corsages for the shop perfect for valentines date outfits or valentines gifts. I made a decent name for myself back in the day making quirky kanzashi and loved trying some new things  out with these like making rose bouquets and pansies.

Also been adding little traditional mini monthly kanzashi for those interested in collecting a full calender of the flowers like me, without totally blowing the bank! 



Another thing I'm slowly working on is features on how to actually wear kanzashi since a lot of people seem to have fallen in love with them as objects over the years, but no-one seems to have much light to shed on how to use them! I started on the first steps to fixing that this week with some retro looking fashion plates featuring some of the kanzashi available in the shop worn in a 1930's inspired hair do.

Plans in the works for hairstyling tutorials to go with them too in the future. In the mean time if you are looking to buy some there are some rather nice (if I do say so myself ) traditional and retro designs in the Vivcore shop, and here are some kanzashi in action!

Falling for kanzashi

Having been unable to use a sewing machine for a while, I've been a busy kanzashi making bee! Fall gallery updates are all lined up, and what better way to kick off these updates than by finally including with the king of Fall kanzashi, Autumn tinted maple leaves.

This new pin is really getting me in the mood for cooler weather. Its also the 1st November kanzashi to hit the Kanzashi Core site, and (drum roll please)... Kanzashi Core's 100th kanzashi featured in the galleries!!!!!!
 
100 Kanzashi Party!

To celebrate the 100th Kanzashi Core kanzashi  I'm throwing a kanzashi extravaganza! Till  the end of September every full kanzashi order (this excludes barrettes) from our kanzashi shop will receive a free pair of tsumami kanzashi barrettes. Also everyone who orders a kanzashi this month will also be entered to win this rather tasty, retro kimono inspired purse to go with their new hair ornaments.

Launch it!

With the Fall updates on the zine site, I'm making a push to get new updates to the shop part too, but need the support of all you kanzashi lovers to make that happen!

Despite a flood of interest and requests when the kanzashi shop re-opening was anounced, it hasn't had the sales needed to sustain it.

If you are one of the people excited to see the kanzashi shop open again please help get the word out. Tweet us, Facebook us, Tumble us. I'd love to work with any blogs interested in the shop and the art. Most importantly, buy your favorites!

I have the seeds of a book in progress, prototypes happening for chic lucite geiko style kanzashi and even super out there courtesan sets! I hope with enough support (indie speak for sales) I can bring these things to you.

Out of Retirement!

Last one of a bit I promise! But if blogs are about life, mines been pretty much re-launching my kanzashi the past few weeks.

The first new collection went up in the shop today! It's been over 6 years since I last sold kanzashi, so I've been feeling rather excited about this update. I've always loved working with these, and been amazed to find out just how many of my old kanzashi followers are still with me after all this time! I hope I can win a few more people over to wearing these hair ornaments, and get back to making these as part of the regular design schedule♡ 

Kanzashi Challenge Redux!

The post last month I had made about using Japanese hana kanzashi as an alternative to the good old pin up flower clips really re-cemented my love of hana kanzashi! (traditional Japanese flower hair accessories) I got routing through my old research, and pawing through photos of modern and vintage kanzashi again and got to thinking about a goal I had set myself ages ago, and never completed...

Years ago I began a challenge trying to create one of every style of monthly maiko hana kanzashi. Not just one for every month, but at least one of each and every motif for each and every month of the year plus special occasions (about 5 designs per month on average, but some have as many as 11!). I did a lot of research over the years and have quite an extensive list drawn up of what that would roughly entail. Looks like about 70 hana kanzashi to meet that basic challenge.

Back in the day and managed to put together about 20 kanzashi towards the challenge, so that means at least another 50 to finish up the basic challenge (eek). This past week, after a sizable break from the challenge I dusted of my trusty kanzashi making tweezers, re-vamped the Kanzashicore❤ website and got stuck in!


Newest Additions
The first 2 were ones I thought would really compliment my retro floral dresses. June's clematis which had been a design that fascinated  me for years, and March's large peony kanzashi to go with a current favorite dress,

After that since it's now July, I dug into the silver bridge kanzashi of the Gion festival (held later this month) and the round fan kanzashi to set out my ultra tiny petal making skills. (The big silver bridge one I wore out over the weekend with a big 60's bouffant hair do!)

In my head when I first set the challenge I had also hoped to expand it to the various other types of hair ornament that go in to completing the sets as well. Not just the silk ones, but also the silver, (faux) tortoise shell and gemstone combs picks and pins too, plus the kanzashi worn by full fledged Geiko when their own hair is styled for special occasions.  In fact, a whole heap of aspirations meaning Kanzashicore I hope will one day have literally hundreds of kanzashi described, made and displayed! (hopefully before the internet has been replaced by skynet or whatever) I also have some cute modern pin up designs to work on as well.

Beyond the Challenge!
I personally wear all my kanzashi in a way that matches my lifestyle as a vintage loving, non Japanese, general layperson fancy-pants, and will be adding some tips etc on ways to wear and enjoy these lovely ornaments for my fellow western fancy-pants to the site as well.

I'm also starting to make up a first round of kanzashi for sale again just like in the good old days! I should have the first kanzashi event up in a week or so for those who also rather adding these accessories to their wardrobe.

Japanese Retro

中原淳一 Junichi Nakahara

I started digging out an old favorite of mine from my closet this week. Tsumami kanzashi. These are pretty widely known these days, but back when I first got started with them there used to be only around 3 pages of google images if you searched in English. In fact, after I taught myself how to make them back in 2002, they were actually the first things I sold, and how my entire clothing label got it's start!

For those who don't know much about them, tsumami kanzashi are a traditional Japanese style of hair ornament made from folded silk. Some big, some small, all lovely! I actually have a pretty big collection of these pins, and found that vintage hair styles work really well with the them (especially 1940's hair)  these silk flowers are also a wonderful alternative to the regular flower clip we all love so much!


Even if you're faithful in your love of regular pin up flowers clips, you can bring in a little of that tsumami magic by matching your hair flowers to the ones you see blooming in the current season. Apprentice geisha pick theirs based on a calender of appropriate motifs for each month. Coordinating with the environment like this makes you look as fresh and precious as the flowers themselves.

Although I haven't sold kanzashi in a good few years, it's still possible to hunt them down, I especially love the ones made with fine silks and rice starch over the sewn ones a lot of crafters make these days. They are labor intensive to make, and certainly not cheap to buy, but certainly another option for true hair flower enthusiasts!

My kanzashi collection site Kanzashi❤core (in need of updating) has a ton of photos of this type of hair ornament, as well as a tutorial on how to make your own! I'm looking to get back into making them again and finishing off my seasonal kanzashi collection/calender. Dusting off these pretty old pins is giving me just the inspiration to do that!