Hi guys! I got a great email a couple months back from another OCF fair go-er named Stephanie who had found HTHG and was definitely vibing with the whole HTHG DIY hair and #bethefair concept.

She is a blogger and a designer who lives in a tiny home in the woods. Read about her life on her blog www.unpetitesquab.com. I couldn’t help but interview her as a part of last summers #bethefair interview series. She also submitted a fantastically festival-worthy hairstyle the I will also include in this post.

So today, you all get an intro to one cool woodsy creative #bethefair blogger chic, and a hairstyle to boot. Check it!

#bethefair interview, Stephanie Mason

Hello there, I’m Stephanie. I blog over at Un Petit Squab[http://unpetitsquab.com], which is mostly a crafty type blog with ideas on how to live creatively with less stuff. I recently also started doing some hair related posts (inspired mostly by the HTHG herself) and I knew I wanted to do some tutorial action for Roxie over here. I’ve been a long time fan of her work here, and when I found out she’s also Oregon Country Fair Family, I knew we were kindered spirits and I had to reach out.

Speaking of Fair, the tutorial I’m writing for you today is my absolute favorite go-to hair style for summer festivals. It keeps your hair up off your neck in summer heat, it’s great for keeping hair looking pretty even if it’s pretty greasy/dirty after a few days of camping out, and once you’ve practiced it once or twice you can do it by feel without having to look in a mirror. Of course, you don’t need to reserve it for summer time. It looks great any time of year. All you need are a few pins and something to part your hair with.

Double dutch braids are a great way to approximate the look of crown braids if you have short hair (even shorter than my hair is at this point: as long as it’s around chin length you can yank it into braided submission) while still being very easy to do. I like to part my hair on one side for these and then tease the smaller braid out a bit so it looks bigger, but I’ve also had success parting my hair right down the middle. I love this style because as long as you’re confident in your dutch braiding skills, it’s really easy and very quick.

Steps:
1. Part your hair, either on one side or down the middle, all the way to the back. Throw one side up in a pony tail or pin it out of the way. You should also pin any bangs/fringe out of the way that you don’t want accidentally braided into your hair.
2. Dutch braid one side, making sure your braid follows the side of your head down.
3. Take the other half out of the pony tail and braid it too.
4. Cross the ends in the back.
5. If you have longer hair you can do any sort of fancy bun situation you want here, if you have shorter hair like me just pin it kind of messy like so it stays in place.
6. Adjust your braids, smoothing and fattening them out so they look nice.

And now, her interview questions…..

1. What do you call yourself?

I’m really really bad at upholding nicknames, but I’ve been known to be called Stef Honey and “The Butter Churn” (which is an inside joke amongst my sisters.)

2. If you could manifest your destiny, what would your life look like in 3 years?

I would be successfully making a full time income as a designer and have my own pretty, organized, and tidy studio.

I pretty much live in the woods, and I’m very inspired by nature so thankfully just stepping outside everyday gives me a lot of creative juice.

4. Where do you get free?

Road trips and back-packing trips.

I am primarily a knitter, and this year I have this project going in which I’m designing a hundred patterns[http://100babysweaterpatterns.com] for baby sweaters as a challenge for myself. So pretty much at any given moment this year there’s an 87% chance I’m knitting or crocheting a little sweater.

6. What are your top 3 beauty products?

Ehehe… I use very few beauty products and I’m really not all that attached to any given brand of anything. I really like Punky Colors hair dye, after having some massive disappointments with other brands (though clearly I’m still kind of laxed about how well my hair color comes out). Dr Bronner’s (does that count as a beauty product?) is my go-to soap for the most part. And any cheap black eyeliner & mascara will do me pretty well.

7. Zombie apocalypse, you can take 5 things with you. What do you bring?

I always joke with my partner that in the event of a zombie apocalypse, I would just accept the fate of becoming a zombie rather than try to deal with all of the stress of running away from zombies and trying to survive and all that. Though to answer the question: I would probably take to the woods with my dogs, a good knife, a book on mushrooms, 100 feet of rope, and a big bundle of wool. (I always fashion the knitting needles out of branches later.)

8. What is your hair MO or philosophy?

It will always grow back.

9. What women in history do you most admire?

Jeanne De Clisson and pretty much any other lady pirate, all of the first wave feminist activists, Artemisia Gentileschi… The woman who has probably had the most profound and direct influence on my life, though, is Debbie Stoller (of BUST & Stitch N’ Bitch fame.)

Sounds good to me, Stephanie. See you at the fair, 2014.

xoxo, HTHG