📍 Leila’s Hair Museum – Independence, Missouri
📅 Saturday, August 9 | 10 AM – 4 PM
💰 $125 per person + suggested $15 cash donation to the museum (day of)
🪡 Space is limited to 8 participants | Pre-registration required
🎟 No experience necessary | All materials included
Join artist Zen Hansen inside Leila’s Hair Museum -the world’s only museum dedicated solely to hair art - for a rare opportunity to explore the endangered craft of table-made hair jewelry. Once a cherished tradition for expressing love, loss, and memory through intricately braided adornments, this historical technique is now undergoing a heartfelt revival.
This will be the first workshop held at the museum since the passing of founder Leila Cohoon in late 2024. We are deeply grateful to her family for opening the space and making her extraordinary collection available for this gathering. Leila’s passion for preserving hairwork lives on in this unmatched archive, which spans centuries and styles - from extravagant gimped wreaths and fine palette work to delicate hair lace and embroidery.
In this immersive, hands-on workshop, participants will learn the fundamentals of table braiding by crafting a bracelet using provided hair. Working on custom-built braiding tables, Zen will guide you step by step through bundle preparation, tying foundation knots, and executing both traditional round and flat braid patterns.
Following the workshop (approx 3-4 hours), enjoy a private, guided tour of the museum’s iconic collection, where Zen will offer historical insights and connect specific artifacts to the techniques practiced in class.
Whether you’re brand new to hairwork or simply curious, this intimate workshop is a rare chance to engage with the legacy of this powerful, sentimental craft - surrounded by the largest known collection in the world.