Meet local designer, Erika Young. “I’ve been doing crafts all my life,” says the sophomore majoring in Geology with a double minor in Marine Studies and French. Erika’s recent craft venture is creating super cute hair accessories. Her eponymous line, Erika Lauren, consists of floral fabric headbands, clips, and hairpins. Erika researches craft blogs and other artists’ creations on etsy.com for new ideas and insight. However, she credits much of her inspiration to products from stores such as J.Crew and Anthropologie. Since most of the accessories from those retailers were out of Erika’s price range she put her creative mind to work. “I started thinking of ways I could replicate the beautiful rosettes I kept seeing…” says Erika.

Her designs are not only stylish, but also one-of-a-kind because the fabrics she uses range from her boyfriend’s old shirts to vintage handkerchiefs. Erika comments, “If it has a pretty print, I’ll cut it up and roll it into a rosette.” Erika enjoys making her hair accessories as opposed to other products because she finds it rather difficult to get bored during the process. The artist explains, “The fun thing… is that every single one is different one way or another… and the fabrics I use are always unique.” The best part: All of Erika’s creations are under $20 and sold exclusively at Clothes in the Past Lane. Don’t let your hair go bare this summer without one of Erika’s stunning pieces of accessory art.