Want To Learn How To Make Bridal Hair Accessories? (I've Got You Covered!)
A couple of years ago, when accessories weren’t the main string to my bow (more about that another day!), I started offering accessory making classes to brides.
I’m going to be really honest here and share two secrets with you:
I wasn’t appreciating the experience I was offering and
I was really reluctant to share my knowledge with people who weren’t brides, particularly anyone who said they wanted to start a business making them.
I was in such a lack mindset at the time.
I actually believed that anyone coming to me to make them would be stealing business from me. It’s so embarrassing!
Two things needed to happen: I needed to see the value and worth in what I was doing and I needed to open my mind to how helping others, who were probably in the same shoes I was in when I started my own journey, would benefit more people generally.
Workshop in a box came and went. It was great while it lasted, but I felt that there needed to be more.
The people I was working with desperately wanted to create something of their own, not a basic, carbon copy that I put out there for them to select.
It wasn’t in alignment with who I am as a designer, so I went back to the drawing board, journaled about it, got advice from my business coach at the time and eventually became crystal clear on what people really needed.
The first thing was: how do I offer an experience to the people doing these courses that is parallel to the experience I offer my brides?
And this is what I came up with!
The accessory we create together is designed for you, by me.
I’m guessing that, if you’ve been thinking of making your own hair accessories, you’ve probably got an idea of the sort of things you’d like to make.
You may have a Pinterest board filled with ideas, or follow particular designers on social media.
Alongside giving you checkboxes to choose which detail you’d like to include in your hair accessory, I also invite you to share your inspiration with me. This gives me an idea of the styles you’re most drawn to. It shows me whether you prefer a minimal look or something more detailed; materials you’d like to work with and colours that inspire you.
This is very different to copying and it’s something I’ll teach you how to do during your course. There is no point copying someone else’s work. It’s not cool and, quite honestly, what you make won’t compare (harsh reality, but it needs to be said!).
Instead, these courses are about refining your own style, and seeing what inspires you gives me an insight in to that.
For example, my client Laura had images that all featured central, statement floral details with lots of pearls, so I created a design that incorporated these elements and showed her how to adapt them in different ways to give her more variety and help her start developing her own style.
You have one-to-one access to me and follow up support.
I’m not one for group tutorials. It’s complicated enough starting something new, so I decided to keep it simple and run my courses one-to-one.
I originally had the plan of pre-recording videos, but the teacher in me wasn’t comfortable with that.
Let’s face it, you could get that on YouTube for free, but you would be exactly where you are now: confused and frustrated when it gets difficult to see what you need to do.
Instead, we work at your pace, whether that takes us two hours or four. If you need to book an extra session, that’s fine, we can schedule the time in at a time that works for us both.
Basically I’m not going to leave you hanging with a half-finished accessory!
I’ll share some tips for success (because they’re what I needed most!)
I’ve invested in business coaching.
The first lot was all strategy and, while it got me in to a business mindset, it didn’t fit with my work or with me as a person.
My second mentor, Lucy, was different. She was all about finding the path that works for you, and working in a much more organic way. There was no pressure to follow a set of rules, I got to create them.
I believe it’s important to invest, but there are so many people out there who make money off our insecurities. It’s a well-known marketing trick and it works, but it makes me feel icky working like that.
I’ve made the mistakes and taught myself everything I know. I started from nothing, so I believe you can too. I’m living proof that you can do this!
This is NOT a business coaching programme!
I’m bombarded on social media with coaches who have the magic answer to making it big.
Do you know what? Their strategy may work for them, but it’s not necessarily going to work for you.
I will gladly share tips on how to stage and photograph your work and how to find your audience online, I can even share advice about setting up a website, the power of blogging, my thoughts on Etsy and how to find other suppliers to collaborate with.
I will not, however, give you a “roadmap” of how to do it. And that’s because they just don’t work.
It takes time to build a lasting brand, but what underpins that is the unshaken confidence that you have the skills to create art. Celebrate your work, be confident putting it out in the world and the fans will follow. I can give you the confidence in creating, how to share your work and how to write a caption that is authentic to you, which is what will help you feel empowered to create your own personal brand.
I also wanted a course that would appeal to brides too, so it was important to create something that was fit for purpose. For brides who are more focused on creating something for their own wedding than other people’s, I can help them to adapt their design to suit bridesmaids and their mums.
I want to build a supportive community.
Funny story. I once reached out to a designer I admired, saying how much I loved her work. She didn’t acknowledge my comment.
That’s fine, I thought. I was in a space of competition myself not that long ago, so I got it.
Now, I don’t think this person would ever see me as a threat, as our styles are completely different, but it did give me the sense of feeling quite alone in a market where our skills are not top of the agenda or represented very well.
On the other hand, I reached out to New York designer Ellen Hunter and we pass back compliments and well wishes regularly. I admire her and find her inspirational and it’s nice to talk to someone, even briefly, who gets it.
I want that for you too. A sense of support and community, someone you can call on if you’re stuck or need to look at things a different way.
By helping each other, we all benefit and grow, and our clients will in turn benefit from that.
If you feel this is a good fit for you, you can find all the details here! Feel free to share with anyone you think would love to take part too.
And if you have any questions about which one is right for you or need some reassurance before you purchase, just reach out and I’ll be happy to help.
Looking forward to getting creative with you!