We had so much fun designing our Spring and Summer 2021 hair accessory collections, and we thought you would love to learn how our French Handmade hair accessories are designed and crafted. Here is the journey from the first idea to the finished piece.
The Design Process
For our Spring and Summer 2021 collections, we first brainstormed the colours and tones we felt would complement warmer weather outfits.
We wanted to create a variety of colourways, so there was something for everyone, with patterned textures to reflect the originality of our brand and to go beyond our popular staple colours. We wanted the same high quality, with durable materials and robust mechanisms, but with an extra touch of colour.
Next, we created mood boards to develop our ideas. We loved this part: we got to be creative together as a team.
We collected colours that complement each other beautifully, taking inspiration from everyday sights such as sunsets and floral landscapes. We then sent our mood boards to our trusted French maker, a family business that has been making hair clips since 1892.
The Preparation Process
The French team then take our design inspiration and bring it beautifully to life.
Everything begins with a large sheet of cellulose acetate, a strong and flexible material. Offcuts are ground down and reused, so very little goes to waste. Cellulose acetate is also a plant-based material, made from wood pulp and cotton rather than crude oil.
The Crafting Process
The material is carved using a 3D machine and then carefully cut by hand with lasers. The pieces are shaped by placing them in 80-degree water to soften the material ready for moulding. After being held in a mould, they are placed in cold water to set the shape.
The hair accessories then go through several rounds of polishing in turning casks filled with different polishing materials, to create beautifully smooth edges. This can take up to a week, before the pieces are soaked in acetone to bring out their shine.
The pieces are then coloured with a deep dye to create their beautiful, rich tones.
For a more detailed look at every step, read the secret to creating the perfect French clip.
The Finishing Touches
Each piece is then hand polished with chamois leather and buffed to a smooth, long-lasting shine.
Our TEGEN branding is then added to each accessory by a specialist.
Strong steel mechanisms are then fitted to each piece individually.
Finally, our order has a quality check and is carefully packed into boxes, ready to be sent to us in Brighton.
The Best Bit: Unboxing
We eagerly track our French delivery until the day it arrives. It comes to us carefully wrapped, and we are always so excited to see our designs brought to life by the hard work of our wonderful team in France.
You can wear your French Handmade hair accessories knowing they have been thoughtfully designed, carefully handcrafted, thoroughly polished and fitted with a strong mechanism from start to finish.
We love carefully packing your hair accessories into their brushed cotton dust bags, ready for you to enjoy and look after.
