Do you get what you pay for?????
As a handmaiden it’s frustrating when you constantly get told by people that your quality product is too expensive and they can get the same product overseas much cheaper.
At the markets on Sunday, I had the pleasure of meeting a lovely couple who’s daughter runs a dance studio and has done so for about 20 years, they were looking at my fans as a potential purchase for the studio. After discussing pricing and the colour requirements we started to talk about the quality of imported fans. They said they had imported fans previously and found that the quality just wasn’t there. The bamboo or timber staves, “The paddle pop sticks” as the lady called them often broke and the feathers came away and required constant repair.
I have looked at some of the offerings online, only to find the feathers are not the greatest quality. They are used very sparingly. Most of the imported fans called double layered consist of one ostrich feather per stave and a marabou tuft at the bottom of the ostrich feather. The fans are only covered on the front of the stave, this means if you turn the fan over you can see the staves at the back and the wiring or gluing used to fix the feathers in place. Some of the display pictures used by the companies advertising their products showed
fans with staves incorrectly placed, staves upside down so to speak which means the the back of the stave is visible (see pictures below).Most of these fans retail from $56-$150+ plus postage of around $20.
Single feather per stave
Single fan per stave
Marabou tuft on bamboo staves
No feathers on back of the fan
Advertised fan with staves back the front
Yes my fans are more expensive but here’s why-
- My fan staves are made acrylic cut here in Australia
- I use the best quality feathers I can buy
- For the standard size A and B I use 12 staves and 48 ostrich feathers
- Rainbow fans have 14 staves and 56 ostrich feathers
- Feathers are double layered, one either side of the stave so the back of the fan is exactly the same as the front and the staves are not visible except below the feathers which is where you hold the fan
- Each feather is wired into place so there is no glue to come unstuck
- Diamantes are put over the wiring to prevent scratching
- Decorative ribbon is put through the bottom holes of the staves so no holes are visible
- Fans come in a cardboard box that I attach carry handles to for easy transport
- No order is too small
- Colours can be customised to your requirements
- Prompt reply to messages and enquiries
Please head over to my fan gallery page which has range of photos of my quality Australian handmade feather fans and headpieces. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions as I am more then happy to chat with you in regards to your ideas. www.fantastiquefeathercreations.com.au/gallery/
When planning your Feather Fan or Headpiece purchase, please place your orders as early as possible to avoid disappointment. If we do not have your chosen colours or preferences on hand, it can take up to 6-8 weeks for our feather stock to arrive in order to meet your orders. However we do our best to provide 110% quality customer service for our clients would hate to have to say I can’t help you. I do my best to fill every order as quickly as I can and keep all of my clients up to date as to progress of my work and tracking and shipping.
I look forward to crafting your next Fantastique Feather Creations!
Have a fantastique day 🙂
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