Feather Adornments: Boris Huang

“What makes my feather artworks different from others is the skill passing and culture crossing from two different ethnicities. There’s love, encouragement and home for a stranger like me to settle in, and there’s respect for this land and culture.”
—Boris Huang

With a background in engineering and business, Boris Huang decided to apprentice with the Hawaiian Feather Lei Master, Aunty Mary Lou Kekuewa and learn Hawaiian featherwork. In traditional Hawaiian culture, leis and other feather adornments represent welcoming and compassion as well as protection. In the past such pieces were reserved solely for royalty, but today Huang has made feather leis for a number of celebrities, dignitaries and special events.

Huang is a master of the laborious technique where each single feather is individually tied to a textile net base. Feathers are sustainably sourced from moultings and other harmless means of gathering. Before Huang even begins creating, the feathers must be carefully washed, cleaned and dried. Feathers from different parts of the bird have different qualities and these subtle variations become the basis for aesthetic decisions.