Claw Clips, but With a Chunky Twist
It’s no secret that claw clips have been on the rise lately. All over Pinterest and TikTok, people are holding up their hair with the classic 90s hair accessory. It’s sleek, timeless and an easy style to replicate. One woman, Tiffany Ju, noticed the rise in this trend early on. A very talented artist (you can check out some of her work here), she began to use the expertise she learned at Parsons School of Design to make her own clips, but with a chunky, colorful and unique twist.
In Spring 2019, Ju launched her online shop, Chunk’s. She anticipated the increasing rise of trendy patterns and thought to combine her own artwork with the hair accessory. She figured that the claw clip, usually a blonde, black or brown color to match the hair color of the person wearing it, could be updated to match Ju’s own unique style.
Ju says her work is inspired by the Memphis Art Movement. The Movement began in Milan, Italy in The early 80s. The designers that founded the movement wanted to go against the understanding of what was considered “good taste” at the time — minimalism, straight lines and dull colors. They wanted to design furniture and rooms that were outrageous, radical and full of color and expression. As you can see in Ju’s products, she also goes in that direction by creating clips that are eye-catching. Funky designs, bright colors and interesting shapes abound her hair clips.
She and her team of five women work hard to fill all the orders for their online shop, which has grown to become quite trendy due to their eye-drawing and unique aesthetic. Their most popular item, the Jelly Clip, has been sold out for an indiscernible amount of time, and one can see why: it looks durable and unique, which is the perfect accessory to tie together an outfit.
The Jelly Clip (left) and a variety of other clips (right).
Photo Courtesy: Chunk’s
Ju and her team are also passionate about ethical practices in manufacturing as well as choosing sustainable materials for their products. Rather than mass-producing their clips with little to no oversight, Ju is quite ingrained in the production process and does not waste an inch of material.
Chunk’s hair clips are made out of acetate, a durable, plant-based material that will not damage the environment in the same way that plastics and acrylics do — which are what most claw clips on the market are made out of. They are intentional about their leftover materials, recycling them into new acetate or making smaller clips to put in an order as a freebie. On their website, they also are open about their ethical manufacturing practice in China. They want to remove the stigma behind Chinese manufacturing that many in America have: that Chinese manufacturing is not as high quality, or is harmful to the environment.
Join the Chunk’s family by ordering your clips today — before they’re all gone!
Strike Out,
Ellie Lynch
Athens
