SHOOTING THE BIRD

Lauren Alane’s wool birds are an aviary obsession that is quickly learning to fly

When artist Lauren Alane hatches her teeny birds of a feather, they flock and FLY off the shelves together.  Quickly.  Perched in a studio nest in Orlando, Fla., Lauren painstakingly pokes and pulls cotton-ball-sized pieces of wool to create each feathered friend’s coat, sometimes resulting in only one or two meticulously crafted birds per week.

After a full batch is hatched, she counts on her trusty photographer of a husband to shoot the bird.  Hubby’s flock of playful photos have become as much of a hit as the feathered friends themselves.

Empty Nesters no more.  Once posted on etsy, the birds are typically gone in 60 seconds.  Fear not, my avian friends: last year Lauren hatched a strategy to keep die-hard birdwatchers happy.   Join her mailing list at www.laurenalane.com to receive an e-mail notification when the latest batch will fly the coop on etsy.

Air traffic control

Just like the birds, Lauren makes every accessory 100% from scratch.  A 2 inch owl with one accessory takes 3 to 4 hours to create.  Etsy shop updates don’t take flight until an entire batch is ready.  Each batch varies in size from 5 to 13 birds.

Small packages

Size DOES matter.  The vertically challenged birds range in price based on size and accessories.  A two inch owl sells at $45 whereas a four inch will run up $75.

He said, she said

Lauren’s custom wedding toppers take the cake, and bridezillas continue to flock to her attention to detail.  Topping the price list at $400, the aviary bride and groom mimic their human counterparts from color and scale to accessories.

Bird’s eye view

Point, aim click!  Lauren had no idea what to expect when she asked her husband to take product shots for her website.  He headed out into the yard and returned 30 minutes later with images that would help both of their careers soar to new heights.

Photo realism

Thanks to their beaked buddies, Lauren and her husband are both best sellers.  This photo was purchased for a pretty penny and printed on a consumer product package distributed nationwide.

A little birdie told me

Everybody knows!  Lauren Alane has become a best seller in the gift market for hipsters and young parents.  And a showing at the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn proved that both women AND men are for the birds.  Although Lauren is taking flight with both genders, most buyers are women in their 20’s and 30’s.

For more of Lauren’s designs, check out www.laurenalane.com.  But before you do that, let’s look at more of her husband’s fantastic photography.