are traditional Japanese hair ornaments which have been in use for thousands of years. They can be made from a variety of materials - metal, lacquered wood, silk, tortoiseshell and plastic. One modern master is
whose wire and resin Kanzashi flowers are exquisite.
She is based in Narita City. Her talent for hand crafting such gorgeous and delicate pieces from thin brass wire and liquid synthetic resin is astounding. Some of the pieces are so good, one could say they are even better than the original natural flowers! The pieces can take several days to a month to make. There may also be delays of several months if the quality does not meet the high standards.
She says she uses the "dip flower" technique. She adds,
"My coloring method is original." I've seen some people use nail polish on wire work, relying on surface tension to fill the small spaces encompassed by the wires. What Sakae does is nothing short of amazing because the internal spaces of many of her petals are significant.
At the moment she sells her pieces only via Yahoo auction in Japan although she is planning to sell internationally at some point. The extremely delicate nature of her designs is the reason for the limitation. She publicises the auctions through
her Facebook page and will be announcing an ordering system in the future. It is not surprising to learn one of her recent designs sold for 400,000 yen (approximately $3,900).
More pictures of her work can be seen on
her Flickr photostream. The butterfly hairpins are also outstanding - they showcase her unique resin coloring technique. Consider your mind blown!
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