Seeking some sparkle for your wardrobe? Look no further than Hair Candy by Han, a locally owned accessory shop in Edmond that boasts the tagline, “Feed me gems.”
In 2020, Hannah Barnthouse launched the company online with one shiny product: hair clips (hence the name). Since then, she’s designed and added headbands, earrings, necklaces and clothing to offer customers a full line of dazzling fun. We spoke with Barnthouse about her gem-clad creations and how she believes elevating your style can also elevate your mood.
Where did the idea of Hair Candy by Han come from?
I had a ton of vintage jewelry in a box that I didn’t have the heart to throw away. A lot of it was broken, so I decided to turn them into hair accessories. I made myself some hair clips, started wearing them and immediately was inundated with requests from friends — and even strangers on the street — going, “Where did you get that? What is that?” So, very quickly, my wheels started to turn.
Describe the shopping experience you offer.
The heartbeat behind the brand has always been that I wanted to create a place — on the internet, in the world, in Edmond, Oklahoma — where you feel like you can escape the yucky going on outside — especially considering how we started during COVID. It almost feels like you’re whisked away to a place where things are fun, they’re positive, they’re kind, and that’s something that we’ve all taken refuge in. All of my customers have become my friends, and it’s really a community of women who want to sparkle on the outside, but on the inside as well.
You have several large statement pieces, most notably earrings. Tell me about those.
We are really, really proud of our varieties. We offer an assortment of sizes — six, to be exact. We start with our teeny-tiny little studs, and we have everything from a single gem to our jumbo. Our jumbo is like, you know, the equivalent of a ball gown, but for your ears.
What are people buying the most?
Our best-selling size is actually our smallest earring, called the baby jumbo. It is teeny-tiny, about an inch long. It is the same design as our jumbo, which is our largest statement … so the girl who comes in who wants something huge has something she can grab. But then if her friend doesn’t want something quite as loud, we also have a subtle statement in the identical pattern and exact design, just smaller. We really do have a sparkle statement subtle enough for the subtlest and loud enough for the loudest.
How do you guide your customers through all of the options?
I talk a lot about what’s called “dopamine dressing.” Essentially, it’s a line of thought that says when you pick out the pieces that you love, dopamine is released in your brain and it actually creates happiness. That doesn’t mean you have to wear the loudest statement. It just means you have to wear what you love. I always, always, always encourage people to dress for the way that they want to feel — and to dress for themselves, and not for others.
