What's a Eurohackle?

The feather trend started in Colorado by a girl named Dakota Hill.  She began putting feathers in people's hair at concerts and eventually, it caught on and exploded into what it is today.  Eurohackle is a type of saddle that Thomas Whiting distributes for fly-fishing.  These feathers are the longest, thickest prettiest feathers that exist.  They come from birds that are fully-matured and have been growing their plumes for at least three years.  It's just like growing hair!  The longer you wait to cut it, the longer the locks you'll have!  These coveted birds produce excellent feathers for tying flies (their original purpose) but, they're even more excellent for hair feather extensions.  Eurohackle are the "original salon-grade" hair feather.  These have become impossibly hard to find as there are only a handful of birds each year that give up these feathers.  In the summer of 2011, these saddles were going on ebay for $1000.  Here is a picture of a Eurohackle compared to a Metz saddle:

As you can see in the photo, some of the feathers are so long that they had to be tucked into the bag.  I took this picture because I purchased the saddle on the right on ebay because it was advertised as a "Eurohackle."  When I received it in the mail, I knew for a fact that I had been scammed.  The seller didn't realize that she was dealing with an expert!  I quickly received a refund and sent back the inferior saddle.  You can always tell a Eurohackle by it's label.  It's the only all maroon label that Whiting makes.  

Hair Feather Extension Storage Containers

Once I started getting into the hair feather extension business, I encountered some interesting challenges along the way.  One of the first ones was, how to keep the hair feathers straight and organized.  Keeping them in plastic bags wasn't doing the trick because inevitably, they'd get all tangled up!  This runs the risk of damaging the feathers.  If they're every which way, they snag on each other and make ugly little sections.  So, I invested in these:

I bought these at Fisher Hawaii - which is an office supply store.  I would imagine you could find something similar in a hardware store.  I'm not sure what it's original intention is for but the length was pretty appropriate for the feathers.  Some of the Eurohackle would inevitably have to curl at the bottoms  to fit in their compartment, but that's okay because they would straighten right out with a little bit of water.  I would say these boxes are about fourteen inches long and have a nice top that latches shut and could be transported very easily.  It certainly solved my feather storage problem.  They are also really nice because I could take them to craft shows and people could see the colors through the top of the container without touching them!  Needless to say, little kids fingers sure can mess up your stash!

We're Back!

After a long hiatus, we've returned to the web!  Since the last post, we spent time at our house in Nicaragua and brought a baby girl into the world.  Her name is Liv Aloha and she is absolutely perfect in every way.  Being a mom certainly takes up quite a bit of time and before we left for Central America, I sold the feather business.  While I miss the fun of owning my own business, I certainly have more time for my little girl.  Just because I've sold the business though, doesn't mean I should stop following the feather world!  I have a ton of information to share with you and now I can blog while the wee one sleeps.

Hair feather extensions are still going strong after last summer.  Now that it's June again, I see them popping up everywhere.  Hair feather extensions on dogs!  Hair feather extensions on Moms!  Hair feather extensions on young kids too!  I love seeing them and knowing that this isn't just a trend.  It truly is beauty and it truly is fun.

This is an example of Thomas Whiting's Red Badger feather.  It came off a a Eurohackle that had feathers in excess of 18"!  It was one of my favorite saddles last season.