Have you caught this home decor trend?
I keep seeing these African feathered headdresses popping up in home decor magazines, including this latest pic from the most recent issue of Lonny magazine.
Here’s another shot from Ashley Hicks:
Those giant fuzzballs are Cameroon juju hats from Africa, and they’re starting to go mainstream, having made appearances on HGTV room redesigns recently.
But can we chat honestly, you and I? I don’t get it.
Maybe it’s the result of being a child of the 80’s, but they remind me of koosh balls – those squishy balls with rubber strings that were the IT toy of Christmas 1988.
I’m not the only one who was all over some koosh balls back in the day, right? Koosh balls, popples and skip-its?
Sorry. I’m back to the future now. Juju hats.
So I want to hear from you in the comments: what’s your take on the juju hat? Would you – or have you – put one in your house?
Are you digging the pop of color and texture they add? (If so, pick up yours for just $650 Real American Dollars or – follow this pretty genius tutorial to make your own yarn version.)
Or do you believe the juju hat will follow in the way of the once-popular, now-unfindable koosh ball?
P.S.: Check out the other “What’s Your Take” posts and weigh in on jacobean fabrics, kilim rugs, brass/bronze and faux flowers.)
Hi, I'm Kelly. Glad you're here! This little blog is where I chronicle our efforts to fix up our beaten-down home on a tiny budget. We're not there yet, but here's a peek at the view along the way...
I was born a few years before you but I had popples and watched the Fraggles…and I also ‘just say no to jujus’
The jujus have me scratching my head too! Does zero for me and I can’t quite place why! Probably because it took me ages to find out what they actually were!
I honestly never really watched tv as a kid but we had tons of Fraggle Rock books….you totally just took me back to Gobo and Red and Wembley (he was my favorite)! 🙂
(That said, Red’s hair totally looks JUST like those juju hats. Maybe Jim Henson is behind this strange trend.)
Oh man, I LOVED my skip it. I would “skip it” until I was so tired, just to see the little tally go as high as it could go. Nerd alert! And jellies – man I loved those shoes!
I’m not a juju person, myself. I don’t put anything in my house unless I either ADORE it, or it has some special significance to me. I’m not a “things for the sake of design” person. I want to love everything in my home, and juju hats aren’t on my love list.
I’m definitely not a fan of the juju hats. This is the first I have seen of them but I’m not impressed. They certainly remind me of a koosh ball! (When they came out with the koosh ball people things there was one named Skye. Yup. I had one. And the poster it came with on my bedroom wall)
Thanks for taking me back to Fraggle Rock! and the skip it! I had a pink one and I’m pretty sure I still have a remnant ring around my ankle from all the skipping-it I did back in the day!
Lol! I actually really like the juju hats! I love the colors, the texture, the shape…I’d probably have one in my house if I could afford one. Maybe I’ll check out the yarn tutorial 🙂
When I first saw it on Domino mag years ago, I don’t get it. After seeing it so many times in decor mags and blogland, it started to grow on me. I love it especially when they come in vibrant colors! Because it’s so crazy expensive, I am not blowing a few hundred dollars with this one. I also think it’s a trend that won’t last long. Anyway, I still love it for its textures. 🙂
By the way, I just host a giveaway so stop by and enter for a chance to win a piece of fabulous jewelry of your choice. 🙂
Jessie
http://www.mixandchic.com
I like the softness of feathers, but the abundance of them is overwhelming.
Totally agree with the koosh ball assessment, and the fondness of jelly shoes. I think I’ve seen some of the jelly shoes lately, but my feet can no longer handle the lack of support. Plus, it’s so hot right now, the idea of plastic shoes makes me sweat.
I think they are pretty….in a magazine. Don’t think I’d ever want one in mi casa.
Thanks for the 80’s flashback!!
This post was funny! I loved koosh balls as a kid! I have never wanted one on my wall though. Having said that, I gotta admit I like the white one in the first picture. But I think you’re definitely right- it doesn’t seem like a trend that will last long. It’ll probably become one of those things that’ll age us, like, “you remember back in the day when everyone thought that juju hats were the shiz niz?” (-and that phrase will date us too. Ha Ha!)
Totally with you- these confuse me
Wow! I have not seen the JuJu hat phenomenon! They are super interesting, but I’d almost rather them as a pillow?!?! lol!
And TOTALLY forgot about the skip it. Thanks for that throwback!
xoxo
Cat
@budgetblonde
I am totally giving up running in favour of skip it. I swear it must burn as many calories but it’s way more fun. Juju hats are nice but I can’t necessarily think of a place I’d put one. I think I like the idea of them better than the actual use of them. I do love Rosa’s diy version!!
love em
I actually have a post in draft about them too and I’m hoping someone will give us a great tutorial made from actual feathers, a girl can dream!
when I first saw them, I assumed they were wreaths and I couldn’t stop thinking about the beautiful feather wreaths I saw~I think if I knew they were headdresses, I might have thought they were more odd. but it’s too late now, I’m hooked.
but they cost entirely too much for me anyway
I priced out actual feathers before I thought about using yarn, and WOW, those feathers are super expensive!! Although, I’m sure there is some feather warehouse out there somewhere that I’m just not aware of…
I think they’re totally cute, especially the brightly colored ones! But like someone else said, I had been thinking they were wreaths. Like the book page/cupcake liner/coffee filter wreaths, I’m sure they’ll pass quickly though!
I’m convinced that they came from fraggle rock, not africa… since they look like the top of a fraggle head. my theory anyway
I do think they’re kind of pretty in their own way…like a giant chrysanthemum. But I would never put one on the wall in my home (how would you clean the darn thing?). I’d rather have a painting of a giant chrysanthemum any day 🙂
I agree with Charity – they remind me of mums as well. 🙂 Too expensive, and my allergies & the dust involved would scare me off anyway… or my kids would take it off the wall & do rude things to it… so none for me, thanks.
Eh…they really don’t do much for me. Look like giant feathery mums…I prefer the real ones in the fall.
Koosh balls – totally obtainable at any local Cracker Barrel – my kids have a thousand of them! 😀 Skip its – find them all the time at thrift stores…maybe I need to reconsider my thoughts on keeping 80’s toys that my kids have outgrown. LOL
Hi Kelly! Between you and the Nester there has been quite an uproar over juju’s!! LOL. Great post!
Well, I must be living under a (Fraggle) rock…I have never heard or seen these juju hats. I like your analogy to the Emperor’s New Clothes for them. I’m just “Huh?”. I can’ think of any place in my home to put one of these at any cost. Thanks for posting the cute tutorial about how to do one out of yarn in case I change my mind.
I dated a guy whose family is originally from Cameroon, so for that reason alone (i.e. personal significance had we married there and it was part of the ceremony or something) I might have wanted one, but I think NOT ON MY WALL (but maybe in pillow form, it there were such a thing. Yes, I think these would make better round decorative pillows than hats turned koosh ball art. Also, Not a fan of design trends, but if you like it go for it—the homemade version (but not for $$$hundreds in bucks!, you could literally feed a village in Africa (and heck even my entire American household for a month) with that hat!…which is ludicrous to me, but I digress, a give it a thumb down and one turned sideways, because art
is up to personal taste afterall (but spending that much on it should be illegal, a crime against humanity).
btw–I was born in 1981, so I got all the references.:) funny how all that stuff sticks with you.
The juju looks like a very large bird flew very fast into the wall. I don’t care for them and don’t see the attraction. Dust attractants…
HILARIOUS! Seriously ~ NO, not loving, grooving, or even liking an itty bit that thang!
Love the Fragle Rock reference.
Oh my gracious! You are hysterical! I remember those Koosh Ball things! Although, by 1989, I had outgrown the skip-it being a super cool senior in high school and all. Gosh, I’m old.
As far as the juju hat thing, um, no thanks. I think I can live without it. It looks like just one more thing for my sweet autistic child to love to touch because of the texture which means he’d be hanging from it constantly. So, I’ll pass (as if I had $650 to spend on a hat anyway).
I’m sorry…do you people not realize that the Ju Ju hats are each intricately hand made feather by feather and have deep significance to the people of whom they originated. Not everyone can or should have the same tastes, but at least we can respect the talent by which they are made. I love them, although I do agree that we westerners are totally over using them as simple design accessories. Having said that if they weren’t so dang expensive I’d probably have one hanging in my living room :)….for awhile anyway.
I really wish I hadn’t seen this as I really want one now!
I could not agree with you more! I know that a lot of people didn’t care much for this, but I think it requires a certain personality to really like African home decor. I think I am safe in saying that there is still a really good market for it though.
http://www.jangiftshop.com/default.asp?dept_id=36020
Well here it is 2017 and the Juju hat is still a very popular decor accent. I LOVED them way back in 2010 when I first saw them, and I am still mad about them. For me it’s not just the beauty of them but being African American it’s about having something I really enjoy looking at from Africa, my ancestral home land.