Over the past few years, locally made jewellery lines have become as ubiquitous as, say, Havaianas flip-flops—available almost everywhere, including beauty and even home-décor boutiques, relatively affordable, and easy to wear. It’s a different story, however, when it comes to locally made hair accessories, especially those with feathers.

Being one of a few has certainly worked to the advantage of Melanie Hull, the designer behind A Farmers Daughter, a local line of, yes, jewellery, but also signature hair combs and headbands featuring an array of colourful plumes. “I’m the only company making the feather hair accessories here,” the bubbly entrepreneur confirms, her feathered pieces spread over this writer’s desk.

And yet she’s the first to admit that, given her inspiration—the intricate, mother-of-pearl combs and feather-adorned felt hats worn by her Ukrainian grandmother—her work is not entirely original. “For someone to say, ‘I came up with this’ is a lie,” she laughs, “unless you were born in the 1920s!”

Hull has been making feather hair accessories for two years, though she launched her A Farmers Daughter label with vintage-styled jewellery five years ago. Before that, Hull, who grew up in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and moved to Vancouver seven years ago, got her start the same way many fashion designers do: by making clothes for Barbie dolls.

“I had a lot of older cousins,” she explains, “so I had one of the best Barbie collections around.” She even sold several items—her specialty was fleece Barbie hats—to friends and neighbours.

Since then, Hull has gone to school to study outdoor recreation, worked for the Vancouver park board and various adventure companies, taken courses at the Helen Lefeaux School of Fashion Design, and most recently completed a diploma in graphic design and illustration at Vancouver Community College.

She cites graphic designer Eleanor Grosch (whose whimsical, colourful illustrations are often seen on journals and accessories sold at Urban Outfitters, as well as a line of Keds) and Manhattan-based jewellery designer Erica Weiner as both professional and creative inspiration.

“Both of them started out small,” Hull says, explaining that both artists’ Web stores were discovered by companies like Urban Outfitters, which are “always looking for the next big thing”.

For her own creations, Hull starts by gluing enough chicken hackles (the feathers around the neck) to cover a teardrop-shaped piece of leather that is then affixed to a ribbon-covered headband.

A popular summer-wedding pick is white feathers on a white-ribbon headband; for fall, Hull is using darker colours and polka dots. Each grouping of feathers is set off by a vintage button, sourced from Hull’s personal collection of “probably thousands”.

The entire process takes approximately 10 minutes and each band retails for $20 to $50, depending on the style and store. They are available at Edie Hats (4–1666 Johnston Street, Granville Island), Fine Finds (1014 Mainland Street), Libertine (330 West Cordova Street), and Pleasant Girl (2541 Main Street). Other outlets include the Blim Summer Outdoor Market (197 East 17th Avenue on Saturday [July 26]) and www.afarmersdaughter.etsy.com/.

In addition to chicken hackles, Hull uses pheasant, duck, and peacock feathers, the last of which hail from a local farmer who gathers the plumes when they are shed. Beyond this, Hull is secretive about her sources.

After all, she is the only one making feather headbands in Vancouver. Whether or not this remains the case, the feather market is small, unlike the market for flip-flops or locally made jewellery.