1. In the beginning: handmade accessories to catch and keep attention

Findi Flooshki offers you handmade accessories that aim to catch and keep attention.

At present I choose to specialize in handmade hair accessories including hair clips, combs, hairpins, bridal accessories and hair ornaments.

My interest in hair accessories arose from a childhood among sisters; my father’s work as an art conservator; and my mother’s artistic hands incessantly busy among sewing, embroidery, silk painting and knitting. 

A degree in archaeology and my adult travels throughout Europe and Asia forged a serious appreciation for artisanship and the fine arts. My travels always take me to art museums and antiquities museums. There I have found that collectors worldwide share my fascination for hair ornaments. These date further back than the Bronze Age. (What I would have given for any gorgeous comb as my wriggling babies tousle my locks and fluster my photographs in museums!)

Men and women from antiquity made and wore hair ornaments that were made from natural materials: wood, bone, stone, leather, shell, textiles and ivory. Bronze, gold, silver and other precious metals were later joined by vulcanized rubber and celluloid as popular materials for hair accessories.

When I started the Findi Flooshki journey, I knew that if I was to put my own hands to work in tribute to artisans past, and in service to modern people, I needed a really versatile medium. I needed a material that was durable, light and comfortable. It must be capable of suggesting the hard-won, closely guarded and meticulously transmitted skills that I cherish. It also needed to be capable of proudly carrying the mantel of fine art. At the time, I had no idea such a material existed.

The solution came one day in a phone conversation with an Australian precious metal clay guild member. She recommended a book or three to me. Then, with arresting earnestness and a whisper of wistfulness, she told me that if she had discovered polymer clay before precious metal clay, her creative horizons would have been more broadly opened and so more deeply satisfied.

Many of the peoples who inspire my designs have now vanished, sometimes taking with them the secrets to which they were entrusted. The name ‘Findi Flooshki’ also has its origins in a time gone by, handed down to me by my grandfather, who used to tease his granddaughters’ love of small treasures.

When you wear one of my handmade pieces, I would like you to feel unique and look fantastic with the minimum of fuss. As the high quality modern findings allow, try wearing Findi Flooshki also as brooches, pendants, scarf ties, shoe clips and bag accessories. 

You already appreciate the value of hand making. I would like you to know that wearing Findi Flooshki is a tribute to artisanship, as well as beauty and personal care with substance