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Blue & Saffron

Finally making it to the otherside of the world landing in the Czech Republic with @angelica_g.lamour!

Each fan feathers a double deco in the center, four side single decos and 14″ staves in between. The saffron really pops off the 30 custom plumes (#RainbowFeathers) while the plumes play off the stave shape.

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American Fans

Fans are a petite flirt at about 20″ at center and 40″ across, on 24 8″ staves in silver, single large plume and drab each, with white felt stars.

Continuing the process of evaluating, refurbishing and selling of my own personal fans, my American Flag set needs to find a new act. I used the song Honey Pie by the Beatles (which you are absoltely welcome to use with these). It was a really fun twist with British flag pasties. Especially on Memorial Day, our flag takes on a lot of different meaning to people. While great for a 4th of July fling, they could complement a political statement piece.

Photos by @pezphoto at @motoblot so many years ago before @hillbillycasino played! If you’re in Chicago June 24-26 actually, you can catch them on the main stage this year!

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Front plate pheasant

This set was a long time in the making for Lucy Luxe!

The set features 300 35″+ lady am pheasant feathers (color #3 @happinesscathy) on a custom structure. The gloss black middle component was designed by her husband! I was able to adjust my V-staves handle cutouts in peacock pink to snuggle right into the design. The set doesn’t open/close because of the design complexity, but feels very secure when bolted open. Can’t wait to see how Lucy blings these out!

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Stargazer Lily

Bra is 34C with removable cups and S/M undies done by @canova_studio. Dress is vintage (no tags) like a size 4-6 adjustable and was professionally altered to have the swoop back by @abunchofsheep. There are hooks on the halter and that come over the bustle. The dress goes down but the bustle stays on its belt! The bustle frame is from master costumer @carnival.d. The fans are 24 24″ boa staves in saffron with 8ply 40″ boas from @fancyfeathercom built using my wrap technique. So excited that these arrived safely to @sin_skye in Finland!

Give a round of applause to dye and design extraordinaire, @Fayehavoc! Sin D. Skye came to me months (and months) ago with a request for fans resembling a Stargazer Lily. Such beautiful inspiration, I knew we could get the colors but I felt like they deserved more than just a tip or ombre dye. I brought in Faye Havoc for help and the result is nothing short of epic!

Faye carefully planned the dye patten, created a custom color and hand painted each of the pedal feathers! She then delicately added individual coque feathers for the little spot detailing. To pull these off, Faye had to be part painter, scientist and surgeon!

The fans are on my 3-prong staves coated in two colors to have green stems and the pink tops to blend. The plumes are premium stock from #RainbowFeathers.

Giant thank you to Sin for her patience for the process! Creating such an incredibly unique set like this just takes time, but the result is worth it!

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Costume sale

This was a personal costume of mine that I let go.

Bra is 34C with removable cups and S/M undies done by @canova_studio. Dress is vintage (no tags) like a size 4-6 adjustable and was professionally altered to have the swoop back by @abunchofsheep. There are hooks on the halter and that come over the bustle. The dress goes down but the bustle stays on its belt! The bustle frame is from master costumer @carnival.d. The fans are 24 24″ boa staves in saffron with 8ply 40″ boas from @fancyfeathercom built using my wrap technique.

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Triple Hot Pink

Hope your mood today matches these fluffs done for La Luna Doll!

This set matches the Level Up 4 package at DonnaTouch.com/ostrich When going with a triple plume, the touch longer staves gives all the feathers more room to breath and play. Each fan uses 14 14″ staves with front and inside plumes sized 18-23″ and top row sized 24-27″ all from Fancy Feather in Hot Pink!

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Conversion upgrade

A little cream in your coffee? Ariel Helvetica will add the sugar!

I have new favorites all the time and adding this conversion and upgrade to the list! Starting with a set of hot fans, we moved the feathers to 28 14″ staves in copper jacket adding a full row and a half of custom ombre premium plumes from Rainbow Feathers.

The results are delicious!

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Giant natural

These giants should be hitting the @werqtheworld international tour this week!

Each of the two fans are about 4ft at center and 6ft across. Using 20 flute staves (stave style that colapses the most for travel) in copper jacket, there are 480 35″+ natural lady am feathers mounted from @happinesscathy.  These are designed for two dancers but are big enough to be separated into 4 total fans.

These fans will see more of the world on tour in just a few months than I’ve traveled to in my lifetime! Thankful for the recommendation from @asiaoharaland and the opportunity with @vossevents

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Pink conversion

A blast of pink fun done for Katana!

We said goodbye to the awful, oversized, heavy and brittle hot fans staves and converted these to 24 12″ staves in pretty pink. To upgrade, we added a top row of 25″+ custom dyed Rainbow Feathers plumes. Bright, light and with an easier hand hold, this type of upgrade is well worth the investment!

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Heart staves

Dona for Audrey Love, the set features 26 heart staves. The double layer of all back mounted plumes were hand picked and custom dyed by #RainbowFeathers. The color matches the stave red and the hearts add a subtly pop.

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Peach boas

This peachy peach set flew across the ocean landing with Emme Hayward!

If you’ve followed my work for a while you might spot the difference with these. Rather than doing the regular one sided attachment, I added a twist around the boa. Since I’m stretching the boa as I wrap it, no length is lost! These are built on 24 24″ staves in freckled peach and use 40″ all ostrich boas hand made and dyed by Fancy Feather.

Boa fans are such a huge investment and performance commitment. But a good boa handler is a show stopper! My staves are the strongest, lightest and most durable for these types of fans, and while they are still hefty to wield, you’ll have an easier time and more fun doing it!

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Pride fans

#DontSayGay? How else should we show that we are proud to stand with marginalized LGBTQ+ communities? Ooooh… Viola Velvet has an idea!

Viola Velvet brought this fan concept (mega extra points for using my coloring sheet like a pro) that would be used at burlesque, drag and ALL ages shows! The concept seems straight forward, but when layering I actually move feathers around quite a bit to achieve the seamless circle curve. So it was going to be tricky…

Special THANK YOU to Fancy Feather for hand picking EACH and EVERY feather for its exact position! This is not an easy task and these fans are beautiful because of their fan expertise as well.

The staves are 24 of my 12″ in silver for a bit of subtle bling.

The more we talk openly about our differences, the healthier and happier we will all be. I know Viola hopes these fans inspire audiences to feel safe and appreciated. When you see these fans on stage or a flag waving in the wind, remember that you too deserve to hold space in the light.

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Ukraine Donation

These Ukrainian flag inspired fans raised $2,000 for @voices_of_children — dedicated to providing psychological support to children and families.

Each fan uses 14 12″ staves, has a top row of 25″+ and a front layer of 18-24″ custom dyed plumes. All materials and time donated by myself @donna.touch and #RainbowFeathers.

Thank you so much to everyone that gave in support of @voices_of_children through this giveaway, but please keep it going! Learn more any the organization and like/share their posts to help others learn about them. Consider making a one time donation or joining their Patreon to provide ongoing support at affordable levels.

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Double golden

Forget the golden fleece, these golden fluffs are more divine!

Being in Las Vegas meant that Mollie De Menthe was able to bring her gold swatch into Rainbow Feathers to have them do a test and match dye. Gold all around, each fan uses 14 12″ staves in Gold Bar and is just a double layer with 18-24″ plumes on the front and 25″+ wide plumes in the top.

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Teal ombre

A refurbish and conversion gave these boas a whole new look.

Originally from @fancyfeathercom, the 24 ostrich and marbou boas were redyed by Fancy Feather and then mounted using a wrap assembly on 24 of my 20″ staves in a new blue green color.

A lighter lift and more compact, these fans float easier and look fuller.

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Maple Rose custom

Today seems like a good day to break the internet with Maple Rose fabulous pheasant fan project!

First… a reminder. Awesome stuff like this takes time!! This set took 5 months from commission to delivery. I know I make this stuff look easy, but truly custom work requires time for all the pieces to come together. Maple was an exceptional client for understanding this upfront.

The design of the double layered stave structure was done by @katrina.inprogress. The shape of the piece and colors have special meaning to Maple. I tested the structure, laid out the attachment points and completed the assembly with the 160 zebra 30-40″ from @happinesscathy that were expertly dyed at #RainbowFeathers. While it was important to get the design right, ensuring the structure was strong and allowed for various handholds and movements was equally important. 

The only thing more impressive than this set is the amazingness Maple will create with them! 

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Bright yellow boas

This set is 24 6ply boas on 24 24″ staves. They were a miss ply order that were redyed so they are a bit of a steal if the color is for you. They are fright lemon yellow and the base to golden rod tips. Because of the thinner ply, I tried a wrapping technique so these are double sided fluff! I’m going to be working through setting up the specs of this build to my packages because I’m such a fan!

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Raquel ombre

This set, left in Las Vegas with Raquel Reed, was an achievement in ombre with plumes! Thanks to Raquel for her patience as we worked through the dye, staves and assembly to achieve this design.

Each fan in this set features 7 3-prong staves (with the inside stem lengthened) in satin white, 21 25″+ and 14 18-24″ premium triple dip plumes expertly picked and dyed at Rainbow Feathers.

If you dream in ombre, it’s important to first accept that feathers aren’t ever going to be as seamless as a gradient print or fabric dip. Feathers are natural products making them beautifully unpredictable. Look closely and you’ll notice every part of the feather picks up dye differently. While boas are dipped and soaked in dye at different points, the fluff and overlap helps to even out the sections. With plumes, there isn’t the same luxury! So every feather must be hand dipped, dipped again and dipped again (with multiple steps in between each dip) to achieve this ombre look. Layering then becomes important, overlapping the feathers in ways that even out the ombre and create the end effect. And yes… ombre does add a lot to the cost of a project, but considering the time and expertise needed to achieve an ombre on plumes, I’d say it’s a bargain!

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Cherry ombre

You have to see these in person to really appreciate their color and complexity. I brought them to Las Vegas and they stole @its.cherry.babyyyy’s heart.

The set features 14 12″ staves in flag red, top row and half inside row of premium wide 25″ plumes ombre dyed (from lower bright red to dark red tops) and shorter bright red front row. These were expertly picked and dyed at #RainbowFeathers.

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3-prong sample

This set is built across 12 of my 3-prong staves using 25″+ tip dyed feathers from Fancy Feather. I had ordered these on a whim early last year and it turned into an adventure to create new staves to accommodate them.

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Custom peach

Touring performer, promoter, performer and PR extraordinaire Shelby Doll reached out with a fan emergency… her fans were ruined while on the road and she needed a set shipped to her next stop! While I don’t usually have a lot of stock at the house, I had recently done an extra set of solid peach when testing colors with Rainbow Feathers. The color worked for her and I was able to ship them as fast as I could build them!

The set features 14 8″ staves in vintage peche, top row of premium wide 25″ plumes and shorter solid in the lower custom peach. These were expertly picked and dyed at Rainbow Feathers.

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Orange ombre

Ombre orange beauties done for the vibrant Kasey Kupcake!

Kasey requested a set that was dynamic with an ombre from light to dark and featured her signature color. There are so many variables and since I’m still inventing new styles with dye patterns, attachment layering and stave options, sometimes (even for me) it’s difficult to predict just how things are going to turn out. For this project, I took a risk and just built what I knew would be beautiful and (luckily) Kasey agreed. To be honest… I was so thrilled with the result, I wouldn’t have been sad if they had to stay mine.

It’s wonderful to work with performers that have a great concept for their fans, but it’s great to have room to flex, experiment and achieve something unexpected!

The set features 14 8″ staves in vintage peche, top row of premium wide 25″ triple dip ombre plumes and shorter solid in the lower custom peach. These were expertly picked and dyed at Rainbow Feathers.

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Natural Golden

Set features 8 scallop staves in fireside copper, 368 natural tiered level Golden pheasant feathers layered on front an back. Each fan is 30″ at center and 60″ wide. The set took over 12 hours to assemble!

An audaciously colorful bird, Golden feathers have this stunning color, speckles and bright red/ orange flashes depending on the length. Raised as a poultry variety with rich eggs, the feathers are molted several times. This is the first set I’ve done featuring these and there is no reason to ever dye them!

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Slime boas

A fave client, Luba sent a couple photos of a spooky dripping lime slime costume she wanted fans to match. My design partner Katrina helped render it in stave form. Fancy Feather provided the boas and did a custom dip dye to match the powder coat color. Then double coated, assembled and shipped out the door.

All seems so simple, right? Luckily things keep coming together so brilliantly, but still learning, learning, learning with every project which makes it all still so exciting!

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Custom boa mix

This unique set was done a while back for the Lady Josephine. She directed the color selection of this custom boa twist done by Fancy Feather. They were then mounted on custom staves.

These are built on 24 24″ staves and use 40″ all ostrich boas beautifully custom ombre dyed Fancy Feather.

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Golden boa beauties

These golden beauties traveled quite a distance to Angelina Angelic all the way in the Czech Republic I’m thankful for the admiration and trust of my international customers. Such a treat to see my creations go around the world!

These are built on 24 24″ staves and use 40″ all ostrich boas beautifully custom ombre dyed Fancy Feather.

Boa fans are such a huge investment and performance commitment. But a good boa handler is a show stopper! My staves are the strongest, lightest and most durable for these types of fans, and while they are still hefty to wield, you’ll have an easier time and more fun doing it!

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Zebra upgrade

ANTICI-PATION! These will hit the stage again for the Rocky Horror Picture Show!

This set was a conversion and upgrade. The orginal set was on the bulky acrylic and seemed very sparse. The fans are now on 8 scallop staves in flag red with 175 (we added 80 that blend in so seamlessly) center tail lady am pheasant feathers in red from ZJomes.

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Wild purple

Another wild upgrade for Valerie Veils!

This set is really hard to describe, so just enjoy the photos and catch them in action if you can. We used some plumes from a smaller set, added more dyed to match and added the zebra pheasant all from Rainbow Feathers. There are new stave designs hidden below to make it all work together (specifically to allow the pheasant to jump between and away from the plumes).

This concept took a while for my brain to configure, test and produce. So just a reminder… if you want cool stuff like this, make sure you have 3-6 months to allow me time to make the magic happen.

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Psychedelic baubles

Gigi Bonbon was an exceptional client!!! She came with a concept and the luxury of time. She had the cream front feathers and tip dyed inside feathers. Once we set the stave design, we finalized the rest of the color palette. Using Cricut vinyl, Rainbow Feathers then dyed the top row pink to gold tip feathers to match. The staves were powder coated in a cream, all the bauble circles cut on my Cricut Maker, placed before a final blast with clear spray paint to lock them in and then assembled. The fans collapse to the center and are on a short bolt to keep the feather fluff as back as possible.

This process took 5 months. And when I put it into text, it makes sense. Amazing takes so much… planning, brain, logistics, building… time. These are definitely one of the most stellar fan designs I’ve done. I couldn’t be more thrilled with the result!!