Parties & Private Events
Throw a party to remember!
How It Works
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I can see about 5-6 people per hour for a design about the size of a person's palm.
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I arrive with a base set of designs that your guests can customize. This keeps the line moving so that everyone gets a turn in a timely manner, and everyone gets approximately the same amount of henna while still enjoying a personalized design.
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For smaller, more intimate parties, we'll discuss details beforehand about how many people you're expecting and how large a design you'd like to gift them.
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Once details are agreed upon, I will send you a contract to sign and return with the deposit.
Ages 8+ only
Henna parties are a fantastic way to wow guests of almost any age. However,
I do not see children under 8 years of age for safety reasons.
While I certainly am not going to card your kids, the reason I have an age cutoff is because of the risk of a reaction in people with G6PD deficiency. This is an uncommon condition that can cause people who come in contact with henna (and, oddly, fava beans) to develop sudden and sometimes severe anemia. While it's extremely unlikely for this reaction to occur, in young children it can be especially dangerous, even fatal. So for everyone's sake, my minimum age is 8 years old for all children.
It's a question of safety, not individual maturity. Nothing ruins a party quite like a trip to the ER.
Please Note
Henna is an art form that has a history stretching back 5,000-8,000+ years across dozens of cultures, from Northern and Eastern Africa to the Mediterranean, Middle East, Southern Europe, Eastern Europe, Western Asia, South Asia, and East Asia. These are rich and complex cultures, not party themes. For this reason I do not do "ethnic" themed events. I do not wear other cultures' clothing as a costume and I do not hand out bindis.
I especially do not do party themes using slurs (e.g. "gy***").
I understand the lure of using henna as part of a particular aesthetic. Most folks who grew up in North America associate it with India or at the very least with the exotic. However, while the henna plant and its use are global, with a long and fascinating history, I myself am white and American. I'm jeans & teeshirt henna. I'm Berkshire henna. It would be wrong for me to playact anything other than what I am.
The question of misappropriation is a complex one that I think about daily and am happy to discuss, but for me cultural misappropriation includes claiming credit for being or pretending to be something one is not. This is why I do not do themed parties or events where members of those cultures should be the focus, and why I do not wear attire such as kurti as costumes.
I am, however, always delighted to point you toward safe artists from traditionally henna-using cultures for any event, at any time. The world of safe henna artists is small and collaborative, not competitive. We love to see each other succeed, so don't be shy to ask for help finding the right artist for your event!
Individual Appointments
I offer a limited number of private appointments by arrangement.
Large Designs
Custom Designs
Belly Henna
Chemo Crowns
Berkshire Henna is a gender-inclusive business. All parents are eligible for belly henna.
The first chemo crown is free. Any subsequent crowns are half my usual hourly rate.
What about ______ ?
Bridal / Sangeet
While my summer weekends are often booked up by March with festivals and fairs, I am available for bridal and wedding-related henna year-round.
I may be a good fit for fusion weddings in particular.
With that said, families looking for a traditional henna experience may prefer to seek an artist with ties to your community. In such cases, I am very happy to help find a safe, knowledgeable henna artist who is a better fit. The henna world in New England is quite small and many of us are friends with another, so I may be able to help point you toward someone with a better understanding of expectations and norms if that is a concern.
Tutoring, Lectures, Classes, &c.
I am quite happy to talk about the history and biology of henna and to offer tutorials and introductory classes, but with the caveat that I do not bring the rich, nuanced perspective that someone from a historically henna-using culture would.
As with bridal, I would be delighted to help find a better fit if one is available in the area, as well as locate online resources.
Unpaid "Opportunities" & Donated Services/Materials
Like most working artists, I get occasional requests to do work for free. Or as some like to call it: "exposure." Also like most working artists, I do not accept exposure as recompense for the time, materials, travel expenses, practice hours, insurance coverage, continuing education classes, lost opportunities for paid work, and taxes I am responsible for as a small business owner who relies on a skill. That is, after all, how all other businesses work.
Holding a charity event that could use some henna? Let me know!
Subcontracting / Employment / Pop-ups
While I love the idea of pop-ups, I have found that they generally do not result in more than two or three sales at most, even for a full day. So while I am always thrilled for the chance to boost local businesses, henna is typically better suited to party and festival atmospheres (particularly ones with young adults and teens).
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