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No time to say hello goodbye I'M LATE!

I wish I had just listened to this song this morning when I felt so rushed.  I really hate rushing.  It's  bad for the constitution and just pointless really.  I feel much better when I slow down.



This morning however, I was tired and foolish.  I stayed up until 2am  skinning a cat (that's another blog post for another time) and got up early enough to set up the backdrop and persuade Jim to shoot this piece before he left for work so I could drop it off at my client's shop today.  These early and harried morning shoots don't come with a model so I will happily slap a wig on and try my best.  After seeing these photos, though, I have decided that looking tired and cranky in no way makes a pretty picture.



That said, here is the piece in question:







Behold the White Rabbit from "Alice in Wonderland".  Oooo, writing that just made me crave those white rabbit licorice treats I used to find in Chinatown.



Anyway, this woman has an event and commissioned me to create a "rabbit mask type of hat" and that was my starting point.  I gave him a monocle, although having just watched a few videos of the rabbit in action, I see he actually wore glasses and carried a pocket watch.  No matter, monocles are cooler and this one s made from a vintage watch face so take that, facts.











As a bonus I threw in the rabbit feet on a chain that can be clipped in the hair...or on a belt, whatever pleases the wearer.



Fuck, I look so angry.  Good thing nobody came up and slapped me on the back.







I'm also annoyed because this could have been styled so much better, with a wicked up-do and some makeup.  Perhaps my client will be willing to sit for me someday.



And now to cleanse your palette:







These shots are actually a reference to some magazine clippings a friend passed onto me when I first started dabbling in taxidermy.  I wish I could remember the stylist/publication but it was an entire spread of adorable animal heads placed atop vases.



Here's one last shot but Rabbit really has to go because he's late he's late he's late!







xoxoB

Stick it.

 



Recently one of my favorite clients commissioned me to create several custom pieces for her, one of which being two pairs of talon hair sticks: one for her and the second pair as a birthday gift for one of my other favorite clients.  These two gals are so fun to design for because they just tell me what they want and let me go.  They trust me, and enjoy what I create.  It inspires confidence when people have faith in me.



One set is crafted from a pair of feet formerly belonging to the black rooster I skinned a while back to make a hat out of.  I just remembered I need to photograph the hat; it's really quite smashing.  Anyway, the spurs on this cock's legs are a force to be reckoned with and I got such a good energy from this specimen that I really wanted to use it for this project.







The foot itself is mounted on a stick I sharpened and textured myself, and accentuated with rabbit fur and feathers of peacock and rooster.  The talons themselves are treated to a glossy pearlescent coat of color.







The second pair is slightly larger in size; I used pheasant feet and from there it's basically la meme chose as the first pair.







I used repurposed mink fur with pheasant feathers this time around.







And that's that.  I'm eager to see how they look on the ladies as they both are quite striking women with full heads of thick black hair.



As usual, thanks to Jim Coughlin for taking such consistently awesome photos of my work.



Philly confidential: Happy Birthday, Shannah!

Fashion Night Out Quickie

While I wait for the all-clear form a client to post about a recent project, I will toss these out there for anyone interested. Behold the lovely Meredith, who attended a flurry of NY's Fashion Night Out events  donning two of my creations.  Below is the purple duck wing fascinator:







And another night, another event brings you Meredith in a yamamoto jacket I will steal from her someday , topped off with a masked hen hat.







 







For now, c'est tout.  I have my hands full with more pieces for the 20 for 20 project (speaking of which, it's driving me batty knowing that two of my pieces have arrived at  Ms. Zoe and Ms. Von D's respective locations and I have no idea how they were received and may never know  UGH the bain of sending unsolicited gifts), creating a fascinator for this Sunday's season closer at the Brandywine Polo Club, two more competitions on the horizon, an Alice in Wonderland themed fascinator commissioned by a client,  pieces for a holiday craft show and today I am skinning a cat.



Yes I am aware that there is more than one way but I'll be happy to master just one for now.



 



 

20 for 20 #2: Turd is the Word

I got a sweet note from my newly minted overseas pal The Fashion Turd, so it's safe to post about what I sent her:









The Turd received a custom created, larger than life, bird talon hair stick!  Based on photos from her blog, she's got a head full of colorful locks, which made the job fun to the power of awesome because 1) dread locks are thick and strong, and therefore can hold pieces with a bit of heft, and 2)someone who deliberately works their hair into this style is most likely open to wearing items that are less than conventional.



That said, I felt free to go bonkers.  I started with the talons of a very large chicken (sourced from one of my farmer friends) clutching a chunk of electro-formed copper with a crystal embedded in it.  Once this was mounted on the hair stick, I embellished the base with dyed deer tail, rabbit fur and pheasant feathers.  I felt free to get as far out as my heart could carry me, knowing this gifteewould appreciate the outlandishness of it all.







Due to the size and weight of the claw end of the stick, some balance was needed both for aesthetic and functional purposes.







This was achieved by running a large link chain from the top, to a cap which would attach to the bottom, so the stick could be worn securely like so:







I'm sure she'll make it look even better than I am in this photo.  Now that it's in her little paws, I am excited to see how she wears it.  I imagine it could even serve as a unique sweater/kilt/cape/shawl closure clasp, not to mention sharp pointy self-defense mechanism for those late night crawls home from the bar, er...pub.  Mind the gap, ye!



xoxo, BB



ps: I don't mention it in every post but it should pretty much be assumed that all product shots seen on this blog, as well as on my etsy and website, are done by my on site photographer and husband, Jim Coughlin.  He also is a musician and painter; check out his stuff here: SnapBlamSplat



 



Up next: a client update or two



Coming soon on the 20 for 20 project: girl hunters, drag queens and another fashion dragon from the UK!

20 for 20, # 3: Put a Zoe on it.

I just finished making a hat box which is housing the halo fascinator I just finished custom making for Rachel Zoe.  I doubt she's aware of myself or this blog so I feel like the risk of ruining the surprise by posting this before she receives it is minimal. While this is technically the third piece I've created for my 20for20 project, #2's gift is still traveling through the postalverse and I know she reads this so I don't want to spoil it for her.  So there's that.



In a few hours, this piece will be en route to Madame Zoe, by means of which I don't care to bore you with.   The box is somewhat hastily made and it shows, but what's inside was made with plenty of love and thought.







 







I used a vintage halo-shaped fascinator base and built on it with feathers from a variety of foul, along with some salvaged antique mink tails.  My impression of Rachel Zoe is romantic hollywood gypsy, and while I know very little about her personally, I selected her for this project because I love her style, I admire her tenacious drive, and am inspired by the better-to-apologise-later-than-ask-first attitude I imagine her to have.







Unfortunately I don't have a blonde wig but I anticipate the brown velvet and feathers popping quite nicely against her light hair.  The charms make a nice tinkly noise and their translucency in the sunlight gives this piece a very gypsy feel.







I just hope it fits her!  That's the tricky part about designing unsolicited gifts for people-how to predict sizing.  I have very thick hair though, and that's underneath the wig (ha!  I wish this luxurious mane were my real hair!), so there should be a small amount of wiggle room.







Fancy chickens, pheasants, grouse, and vintage trinkets.  Let Madame Zoe look into your future.....







 

Le Lapin Cocquette

Voila!



Below is a video I put together documenting my awkward yet successful foray into rabbit stew.  I've prepared rabbit dishes several times, all of them okay but coming up short.  This time I knocked it out of the park.