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LongLocks HairSticks Boutique Frequently Asked Questions
What are hair sticks? What is the history of hair sticks? My hair is not very long (or is extremely long), can I still wear hair sticks? How do I use hair sticks? Are hair sticks safe for my hair?
What is the history of LongLocks HairSticks? Why are so many LongLocks HairSticks designs available only on special order? What is the difference between first edition, special order, custom order and special edition designs? What components are used in LongLocks HairSticks? Where can I find LongLocks HairSticks? How do I know when new designs have been posted in the LongLocks HairSticks Boutique? Are all LongLocks HairSticks designs truly one-of-a-kind? If I want a design that has already sold, may I order my own pair of the same design? Is it possible to order a custom design of LongLocks HairSticks? I would like to order a design as a gift. Will you help me choose one? Do you publish a paper catalog? I prefer not to wear bone, do I have other options?
What forms of payment do you accept? May I order by phone? Do you offer a layaway plan? Do you offer wholesale pricing?
What shipping methods do you offer? Do you ship worldwide?
Do you accept returns? Do I need a return authorization code to make a return? Do you charge a restocking fee? Will you share or sell my personal information?
What is the LongLocks HairSticks Collectors Club? Where can I see hair styles created using LongLocks HairSticks? Do you have a gallery of LongLocks HairSticks designs? Do you offer books on hair styling and related subjects? What is the LongLocks Salon? How do I tell my friends about the LongLocks HairSticks Boutique?
Hair sticks are hair accessories, higher quality ones generally being carved of wood or bone (but even available in inexpensive plastic), used to create an endless array of hair styles.
Hair sticks have been used for centuries. It is believed that the first hair sticks were chop sticks used by the Chinese to create their elaborate and beautiful hair styles. "Kanzashi" is the name for the hair sticks used by Japanese Geisha, which are still worn today by the few of these extraordinary artists who still maintain this fascinating cultural tradition. The use of hair sticks continues today, and these versatile hair accessories are used by both men and women.
It is very easy to use hair sticks and with very little practice you will soon be creating many beautiful hairstyles. Visit the Ultimate Guide to Using HairSticks for easy instructions! After you've mastered the basics, check out the LongLocks HairStyles Gallery and the LongLocks Customer Gallery to view a few of the many hair style creations possible with hair sticks... but remember, the many things you can do with hair sticks are only limited by your imagination!
Along with cloth-covered scrunchies (which unfortunately are not very suitable for anything but the most casual of situations), hair sticks are among the safest hair accessories you can possibly use! Unlike metal barrettes, hard plastic hair claws with metal springs, and worst of all rubber bands or hair ties with sharp metal connectors, high-quality bone or wood hair sticks have smooth finishes and are easily inserted and removed from the hair without pulling or causing breakage. Check out our Ultimate Guide to Growing Long Hair for more information on how to safely grow and maintain long, luxurious locks!
Jewelry artist Susan Maxwell Schmidt began creating her designs in 1999. Believing that all those who exhibited the patience necessary and struggled with the care of beautiful long hair truly deserved extraordinary, upscale and most importantly, one-of-a-kind hair accessories of exceptional quality, the first version of the LongLocks HairSticks Boutique was created less than a year later. Now over fifteen years later, just short of 11,000 entirely unique handcrafted designs are recorded in the LongLocks archive. For an amusing look at the history of LongLocks HairSticks and its meaning to the artist, be sure to read the LongLocks Philosophy. Ms. Schmidt's designs have appeared in prestigious, nationally distributed issues of Demetrios Bridal's For the Bride magazine and Upscale Magazine. In addition, the LongLocks HairSticks Boutique was picked by Lucky Magazine as one of their "Top Five Hair Websites." The LongLocks HairSticks Studio, located in historic southeastern Pennsylvania, is run by Susan Maxwell Schmidt and her adoring husband, Richard Maxwell Schmidt (aka "the Shipping Deapartment"). 
New designs are added to the LongLocks HairSticks Boutique often but due to the high demand for Susan Maxwell Schmidt's first edition designs and her very large customer and Collectors Club bases, her one-of-a-kind hair accessories sell extremely quickly, often within only moments of posting them. Unfortunately as much as we'd like, there's little we can do to control their enourmous popularity and how quickly they go! First and limited edition designs are always ready for immediate shipping, though first editions are always by far the hardest to grab! For the best opportunity to purchase a first edition design, we suggest you keep an eye on the What's New page or subscribe to the free LongLocksNews Newsletter, to which an announcement is sent every time the site is updated. You may also display search results that include only first and limited edition designs by following the links provided on the index page, in the Hair Accessories Catalog or from the menu that appears on the left of all the pages throughout the boutique. Alternately, you may view every design currently listed in the boutique by displaying the QuickView Catalog. The thumbnail photographs of all first edition designs in the catalog are marked "First Edition."
A design designated as a "First Edition" refers to a newly listed design in the boutique that is the first in the series, and is the design that appears in the photograph in the description. First edition designs are always available for immediate shipment. After the first edition has sold, very few Special Order versions of the design may be offered and made upon request, each with only a small change to keep every design unique (design style, color and major focal components never change on a special order design). A "custom design" is one that is made to your specifications if you would prefer to make major changes to an existing design or create one entirely your own. Please note that due to time constraints caused by the demand for boutique designs, Susan Maxwell Schmidt is unable to do custom work at this time. A design designated as a "Special Edition" refers to a design created with especially rare or unique beads and precious metal findings. "Special Edition" refers to the highest-end components incorporated into the design, and a special edition design may fall into any of the above three categories.
All LongLocks HairSticks designs are created with only the finest and most beautiful components available, with special concentration on the rare and unique. Vintage Swarovski crystal, lampwork beads hand crafted by nationally recognized glass artists, Venetian art glass, genuine gemstones and precious metals are among the artist's favorite materials with which to work. The hair sticks themselves are hand carved wood or bone, hand finished in the LongLocks HairSticks Studio in a large variety of beautiful styles.
LongLocks HairSticks can be found online only at the LongLocks HairSticks Boutique (longlocks.com). The LongLocks HairSticks Boutique online catalog is updated often, as is our What's New page. Those with a high speed connection may view all currently available LongLocks HairSticks designs on one page by opening the LongLocks QuickView Catalog. Because the demand for our jewelry has become so great and we wish to maintain the one-of-a-kind or limited edition aspects of our hand crafted pieces, we are unfortunately no longer able to supply any other retailer, online or brick and mortar, with wholesale merchandise.
Our What's New page is updated every time the online catalog is updated, and is accessible by direct link or from the LongLocks HairSticks Boutique index page. We also publish the free LongLocksNews newsletter, to which we send announcements with direct links as soon as a LongLocks HairSticks style is updated. You may subscribe to the LongLocksNews newsletter from our main catalog page. Subscribers to LongLocksNews may also participate in private sales and can access sneak previews of new LongLocks HairSticks styles before they are released to the public. Additionally we offer announcements via an RSS feed which you may subscribe to via  reader or email. We also always announce when new designs have been posted via Twitter, facebook and on our own blog, Style & Angst.
With extremely rare and always noted exception, every LongLocks HairSticks design is absolutely one-of-a-kind and unique only to the one who chooses it as their own. Photographs and descriptions of every one of the thousands of LongLocks HairSticks designs hand crafted by jewelry artist Susan Maxwell Schmidt since the LongLocks HairSticks Boutique's inception are recorded in the LongLocks archive.
We are often asked to duplicate a design that has already sold to another LongLocks customer. Because an important part of the LongLocks HairSticks Philosophy is that everyone who purchases a pair of LongLocks HairSticks knows they alone own that design, we cannot exactly duplicate a design that was purchased by someone else; however, we are always happy to create a very similar special order version of an existing design, incorporating a small change so you know your hair jewelry is entirely unique to you. For complete information regarding special orders, please read the Special Orders section of our Ordering Information page.
Due to time constraints caused by the demand for boutique designs, Susan Maxwell Schmidt is not accepting orders for custom work at this time.
Yes, we'd be happy to help you choose a design that's perfect for the recipient. You may either contact us via email or call the LongLocks Studio toll-free at 1-87-RAPUNZEL and we'll work with you to find just the right design based on the recipient's hair type, hair length, favorite colors and even the occasion for which you are giving your special gift. Alternatively, we also offer LongLocks HairSticks Boutique Gift Certificates in several denominations, which will allow the recipient to choose their own design. Gift certificates are sent at no charge via first class mail or via e-mail on the date you choose. You may also wish to consult our Birthstone and Anniversary Color Chart or our Hair Color Chart to help you make your decision.
Unfortunately, due to the one-of-a-kind nature of our designs and the speed at which they sell, it is impossible for us to publish a paper catalog... everything in it would be sold by the time it was printed! Our online catalog is updated daily with new designs and is always current.
We understand, we're animal lovers too! We currently share our home with four Bichon Frise and a Goffin cockatoo, not to mention our three ponds full of koi and frogs... we have even had the land on which our house and studio sit officially recognized as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. All that being said, we have researched the source of our bone sticks to great length. Our bone hair stick blanks are imported from India, where the cow is revered as a sacred animal. So revered in fact, they are allowed to roam free among the streets and intentionally ending one's life is illegal! Only after one of these sacred animals has lived its full life and has reached a natural end is the bone then made available to local artisans to create jewelry components and beads. We feel that hand carved bone obtained in this way is not only animal-friendly but provides work for Indian artisans, and is one of the more luxurious materials available for hair sticks. If you're still uncomfortable with bone however, LongLocks HairSticks are currently also available in our longer hand carved wood LongLocks RapunzelStix and our new tapered wood hair sticks, which are available in several LongLocks styles in the online catalog (and may be special ordered in most styles).
We accept VISA, Mastercard, Discover and PayPal (which also provides the option to use a bank transfer). Any of these payment methods may be arranged through our secure shopping cart. Please see our Ordering Information page for more details.
Yes, we have a toll-free order line which may be reached by dialing 1-87-RAPUNZEL. Someone is usually in the LongLocks Studio to accept your call between the hours of noon and midnight, seven days a week.
Yes, we offer the LongLocks LockAway Layaway Plan. Depending on the design(s) you choose, your order total will be equally divided between two or three monthly payments, and first edition designs will be shipped once the final payment is made. Payments may be made via any of our standard payment methods or via gift certificate. Please see the LockAway LayAway Plan section of our Ordering Information page for complete details.
Because of the great increase in demand for our designs, we are unfortunately unable to offer wholesale pricing at this time.
We ship via the United States Postal Service and offer delivery-confirmed first class, Priority Mail and Express Mail; Global Priority Mail, and registered international mail.
Certainly! LongLocks HairSticks designs have been shipped to fabulous destinations all over the globe including every state in the USA, Canada, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Barbados, Bermuda, Spain, Italy, France, Britain, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Germany, Poland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Greece, the Island of Crete, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Russia, Slovenia, Romania, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Nigeria, Algeria, India, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand.
Yes, LongLocks HairSticks are guaranteed to please. Unworn first edition hair accessories, unworn Waltzing Willow fine sterling silver jewelry and items from Susan's Closet (excluding earrings) may be returned for exchange, credit or a full refund less any shipping and associated charges, unless otherwise noted in the item description, Returns must arrive back at the LongLocks HairSticks Boutique Studio in their original packaging and condition within ten days of arrival at the destination to which they were originally shipped (as reported by the USPS Delivery Confirmation status report). Special order designs may be returned for exchange or store credit only. We do not accept returns on earrings, worn jewelry, clearance items and custom made designs. Please see the Satisfaction Guarantee section of our Ordering Information page for complete details.
No, we do not require a return authorization code, simply make your return so it arrives back at the LongLocks HairSticks Studio within ten days of when you received it as verified by the Delivery Confirmation code.
Certainly not! We do not charge a restocking fee and never have.
NEVER! We take our Privacy Policy very seriously and under no circumstances will we share or sell any of your personal information to any other retailer. We also do not automatically subscribe you to any of the email lists we offer. If you would like to receive information and offers through the LongLocksNews newsletter or join the LongLocks HairSticks Collectors Club, it is always entirely up to you.
The LongLocks HairSticks Collectors Club was formed for those serious about collecting one-of-a-kind LongLocks HairSticks designs. The LongLocks HairSticks Collectors Club currently has over 200 members. Members of the LongLocks HairSticks Collectors Club enjoy discounts on all qualifying purchases, earn free LongLocks HairSticks Boutique gift certificates and are entitled to free domestic first class shipping on orders over $125. They also enjoy sneak previews of new styles, are invited to participate in private Collector-only sales and are instantly notified when new designs are posted in the LongLocks HairSticks Boutique. Best of all, membership in the LongLocks HairSticks Collectors Club is entirely FREE! Visit our Collectors Club page for all the details.
The LongLocks HairSticks Boutique boasts two galleries that feature beautiful hair styles created using LongLocks HairSticks. Visit the HairStyles Gallery and the Customer Gallery to see some of the exciting things you can do with hair sticks!
Yes, though unfortunately we rarely have time to update it anymore. Please visit our Customer Kudos and Design Gallery to see several of the designs we have done in the past. The LongLocks Collections board in the LongLocks Salon message boards also includes photographs of many of our designs, though the Salon is no longer open to new posts.
Yes, the LongLocks Library, in association with amazon.com, offers an extensive listing of curated titles on such topics as hair styling, recipes for hair products, hair history and commentary, information regarding the hair industry, stories about hair and even how-to videos!
The LongLocks Salon is our extensive message board system that covers a variety of topics, all related to hair. Our message boards are currently closed to new posts but you are welcome to peruse the many thousands of posts we have archived there.
We have some great resources that make it easy for you to get the word out about the LongLocks HairSticks Boutique! You may send a free fine art postcard depicting beautiful artists' renderings of long hair throughout history. We also provide an email link in the group of icons that appear to the right of every page so you can easily share your favorite LongLocks HairSticks designs and tutorials with your friends (or provide a subtle hint about what you'd like for your birthday)! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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