About the LongLocks HairSticks^® Studio

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!), a very small sampling of which is pictured at right. Creating and keeping a huge inventory is important to me, as it means my design possibilities are endless!

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. I hand mix my own colors of high quality professional artist's acrylics and various mediums, experimenting with coordinating, complimentary, or contrasting colors with regard to specific components to create such fabulous designs as LongLocks GossamerStix, FoilStix, DecoStix, and FantasyStix. I use my love of Japanese textile art and appreciation of Asian design as creative resources for my LongLocks GeishaStix.

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. I craft my jewelry under a special lamp that illuminates my work area with "true color" light, ensuring perfectly coordinated color choices. I can even hand mix an acrylic finish to match a customer's color sample to create their very own custom hair stick design! 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. 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.

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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