Flower Hairpin Workshop: Halloween Special!

Halloween Special! Add a touch of elegance and fantasy to your Halloween look by creating your own Chinese-inspired floral hairpin in this hands-on workshop.

Inspired by the rich tradition of Chinese hair ornaments and the recent revival of Hanfu fashion, participants will use colorful glass flowers, beads, and decorative elements to design and assemble a unique hairpin. Drawing from the beauty of traditional liaoqi (料器) glasswork, each piece combines historical inspiration with contemporary materials, allowing every participant to create a wearable work of art that reflects their own style.

After completing their hairpin, participants will also learn how to create a simple traditional Chinese-style bun and securely wear their new accessory. Whether you're putting together a Halloween costume, exploring Chinese culture, or simply looking for a creative afternoon, this workshop offers a fun and memorable experience.

No previous jewelry-making or hairstyling experience is required. All materials are provided, and each participant will leave with a finished floral hairpin ready to wear.

About the Artist

Aodan is a Chicago-based artist working across embroidery, jewelry, glasswork, and wearable art. Her practice draws from traditional East Asian craft techniques and explores how forms of intangible cultural heritage thrive within the contemporary art world.

Aodan is interested in what allows a centuries-old technique to remain a living artistic language. Through preservation with deep respect for the extraordinary technical achievements of generations of artisans before her, she works with the belief that these traditions can continue to bloom as living forms of creation for experiments, reinterpretation, and ways of speaking to contemporary life.

Her work is also informed by the long and often overlooked histories of women as makers. With techniques and materials historically associated with women’s handwork and decorative arts, she explores how the inherited precious memory passed down with warmth from fingertips can become a vessel for contemporary expression, personal narrative, and new forms of meaning.