Hulu Ornaments with Nikki Dela Fuente

In this class haumana will learn some basic feather techniques to create a pua hulu that will be placed into a clear ornament to enjoy for the holidays. Depending on the haumana’s skill set, a pua hulu can be very simple or intricate with layers of natural feathers such as pheasant, chicken, goose and guinea hen. Haumana will receive hands-on guided instruction from start to finish. This includes selecting from various feathers to generate a unique one-of-a-kind pua, cleaning the feathers and determining placement of each feather to create a pattern within the pua. During the feather selection and cleaning process, Nikki will share some knowledge about contemporary featherwork and general bird information. Once completed each pua will be placed in a shatter resistant clear ornament. Haumana will have several options of ribbon to create an adornment at the top of the ornament plus a string to hang the completed ornament on a Christmas tree.

ABOUT NIKKI

Nikki dela Fuente is a fifth generation local girl born and raised in the ʻili of Kapahulu in the ahupuaʻa of Waikīkī, the moku of Kona, on Oʻahu. As a child, she spent most of her time outside in nature or drawing. Teanri Designs was created with a passion for art, nature, natural materials and love for her grandfathers. While developing Teanri Designs, Nikki made a conscious choice to use mostly natural materials to create her jewelry with the understanding to be mindful of her resources. Scraps of hala from previous projects, scraps of fabric from local designers, and using up a whole bird pelt. Recently Nikki has been exploring the designing of accessories to add to her jewelry creations in the form of bags and clothing. The focus has become highlighting Hawaiʻi's native flora and fauna with a portion of the proceeds going to organizations that are working to preserve and protect these unique species.