About the LongLocks HairSticks Boutique Studio |
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Welcome to the LongLocks Studio! This is where I am lucky enough to work every day of the week, creating glorious new designs for the LongLocks HairSticks Boutique. I shop the world to find beautiful and unique beads, vintage Swarovski crystals, and components to create my one-of-a-kind designs. I have many tens if not hundreds of thousands of beads in my collection (way too many to count, or at least for me to count). Creating and keeping a huge inventory is important to me, as it means my design possibilities are endless (not to mention, gives me a good exuse for feeding my art glass bead addiction)! |
Every pair of LongLocks HairSticks are designed and crafted by me alone, I trust no one else with my creations. My hair accessories come in a variety of finishes and all the work is done by hand. LongLocks HoloStix are finished with a special holographic lacquer and then are hand enameled to protect their sparkling beauty and to ensure durability. LongLocks GlimmerStix and MajeStix are individually hand finished in acrylic and are also enameled for protection and durability.
[Right: More than eighteen bead boxes line the walls and sit atop of the work surfaces of the LongLocks studio, not to mention that strings of crystals literally hang from the rafters and yet-to-be-organized strands of beads and gemstones sit in huge bowls!]
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Quality of material and workmanship is absolutely of the utmost importance to me. I use only the finest and strongest materials in my work, altering components to improve their design or even making some myself that are not available at a high level of quality elsewhere. I strive to find extremely rare vintage crystals and beads, especially those coveted by collectors, to add yet another level of uniquity to every one-of-a-kind design.
[Right: One of the rarest and most coveted crystals in the world, Swarovski Cardinal Aurora Borealis, circa late 1950s]
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I craft my hair jewelry under special lamps that illuminate my entire studio with "true color" light, ensuring perfectly coordinated color choices. I have even hand mixed acrylic finishes to match customers' color samples to create their very own custom LongLocks designs. Once the work is complete, I inspect every pair of LongLocks HairSticks under a high powered magnifying glass to ensure everything is exactly as it should be, and then I have my "shipping department" (read: hubby) give them another close look when he gives them a final cleaning and wraps them up. I am proud of my work and nothing leaves my studio if it does not meet the uncompromisingly high standards I set for myself, and anything that bears the LongLocks HairSticks name.
[Left: Finished LongLocks hair jewelry designs await shipment waaaaay back in October of 2002!]
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Creating LongLocks HairSticks is my life, as my long-suffering husband would be happy to atest! I spend every day working on designs, hunting down rare beads, assembling my jewelry creations, and fighting a losing battle to keep my massive bead inventory organized. I never feel the need to take days off as I absolutely love my job. I even dream new designs while I sleep and then rush to the studio in the morning to create them before they are forgotten forever! Obsessed? Maybe... but aren't you glad I am? =)
-Susan Maxwell Schmidt
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You'll find exquisite
one-of-a-kind art
glass hair jewelry
in our online
Hair Jewelry Catalog
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Want to learn
how to curl long
hair without damage?
Check out the
Ultimate Guide to
Curling Long Hair |
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