Hailing from the great state of Texas, my August featured seller and Etsy friend is one who's passion for that perfect head band has inspired me with her tenacity and diligence in sharing with you what she herself wears faithfull, that perfect head band. May I introduce to you....
Melissa Brown,
owner and operator of Etsy shop...
or BAH!
"After several years of pattern making these are the head bands I came up with, they are shaped like a head, and do not slip and move around."
Melissa
I found Melissa's head bands interestingly unique and wanted to share with you a little bit about the person behind the scenes along with showing off some of her wonderful and creative works.
Tell us a little about the person behind the scenes at Band A Heads.
"I live in Austin, but have lived in Sante Fe and California. I grew up surrounded by art. I was born in San Jose, and grew up in Monterey. My parents were beatnik artists—my mom is a painter and photographer, and my dad is a jeweler, sculptor and visual artist. My dad has crafted several giant bronze bells for Tassajara, a Zen retreat in Central California. My mom taught art at our local community center, alternative school and in our backyard! I learned to sew at an early age and I was taught embroidery from an Iranian woman. While my mom was good at starting projects, she wasn’t great at finishing them, so I’ve been able to finish several of her unfinished projects over the years, which furthered my confidence in sewing."
Here's a head band "Heather Grey" that's made of a ribbed cotton/spandex material that prevents it from falling off the head. Cut on a bias, they are rounder and made to fit the shape of different peoples heads.
Here you'll see Melissa's lovely scarf's laid over the "Heather Grey" head band pictured above.
How did you come to name your shop "Band-A-Heads"?
"My shop sells handmade headbands that are specially designed to stay on, not slide off. I chose the name Band A Heads (BAH) because no head size is the same, it’s a like a band of people, they are all different. And well the acronym—“BAH, my hair is in my eyes”—it just fit!"
This purple, pink, white, and black head band also serves as a hat and is fleece lined, perfect for fall and winter days.
What do you find most challenging in the creation of your works?
"The most challenging aspect of my headbands is dealing with knit fabrics, and I’m sure anyone that sews knows what this is like; also they are cut on the bias. Which means that the fabric stretches sideways and up and down, making it especially ideal for headbands, and not ideal for sewing? I usually have to iron a facing on them, just to manage them. And that is going to be something that will cost some money in production if I ever get that far."
A hodgepodge of pattern making...
"My son's grandmother buys him quite a few T-shirts some that he has never worn before, so I turned to those."
From where do you gain your inspiration?
"I work in a restaurant, in an open kitchen, so our customers watch as we prepare their food. I love to wear headbands—they keep your hair off your face—but found they kept popping off my head. I had worked at a custom hat shop, so I tried to apply what I knew about millinery and head sizes to headbands! My inspiration came from riding the bus, noticing the scarves and “do rags” that people wore, and knew that I could come up with a better solution. So I started on a quest to make a better headband, starting with my t-shirts. It actually took me about two years to come up with a pattern that worked. I tried various ideas on my one friend that has very thick hair; I’ve given away a bunch of headbands solely with the idea of feedback. And my friends have been so helpful."
On the lighter side...
One word that describes you best?
"Hard working!"
What was the craziest or wildest thing you've ever done?
"Well, I can’t talk really talk about all the crazy things I have done… I used to live with a pretty well know blues and rock musician
(no names, please!).
I’m a former bartender,
so I’ve got plenty of stories.
My life has changed immensely since I had my son…
and that was 17 years ago!"
Living or deceased, what famous person would you like to meet?
"I would like to meet Lauren Bacall; she seems so intelligent and classy. She is my favorite Hollywood actress, and her story “By Myself” about living with Humphrey Bogart is a must read, and also very inspiring if anyone is trying to quit smoking. Which I did about 2 years ago! She details what it was like to live with Bogie while he was dying, and how smoking really wasn’t as glamorous as it was portrayed in the movies they were in."
If Guinness asked you to set a world record, what would it be and why?
"I used to think that would be great fun setting a Guinness record. The books were so cool, my dad used to get the new one every year. But I have never been able to think of what I might do. At one time I could blow bubbles off my tongue, when I was a kid, but not consistently, so yeah, I’m at a loss."
Where else can one go to find and learn more about Band-a-Heads, i.e., Blog, FB, Twitter?
"Pinterest is a great sight "BAH" You can also visit The Band-a-Heads Facebook page at "BAH" which is the most active aspect of my social network. There I show how I “upcycle” items—I made about half of my headbands from old T-shirts. I plan to add more photo essays on this process, so folks can see what goes into the making of my headbands."
We hope you've enjoyed this post and to find out more about her works, visit Band~A~Heads for a browse and to ask any questions regarding her head bands, scarves, scrunchies, and more. Don't forget to ask about custom orders too!
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