Headband’s star turn thrusts Punahou senior into spotlight

Nhan-nhi "Lillian" Nguyen thought nothing of it when a customer named Ariana Grande purchased one of her handmade headbands from her Etsy shop in October.

Never mind that the shipping address was Beverly Hills and the singer has made kitten ears her on-stage signature. "At first, I was like, ‘Oh well, it’s probably not really the real deal but just a fan pretending to be her.’ I thought it was a creepy stalker," said the Punahou School senior.

"She ordered a white pair and a purple pair and I sent it out as usual and didn’t think about it after that."

But when photos of the popular singer wearing Nguyen’s cat-ear headband started circulating in the media early this month, friends alerted her, and she’s still just as surprised as anyone.

"I thought, ‘Wouldn’t she have a stylist buy it for her, or someone else buy it for her?’ But I guess she shops on her own too, and shops on Etsy!" Nguyen said.

Some of Grande’s stardust has rubbed off on Nguyen, who said she’s been receiving a lot of congratulations on campus, where she’s known as Lily. "I’m not used to all that attention because I’m kind of shy. "

She’s also new to entrepreneurship: She just started making the headbands in June for herself and some of her friends and family members. Then, inspired by a cousin who had an online Etsy shop specializing in paper garlands, she decided to try opening up her own Etsy shop, BonjourLily, to sell a few of her headbands fashioned into animal ears. She made them more distinctive by wrapping them with craft flowers.

Among Nguyen’s creations were bear, bunny, mouse and cat ears, with the kitty ears selling best by far. She was selling only about one to three headbands a month, at $15 to $18 each, until the Ariana effect took hold this month. Since then, she’s sold 30.

Doing a little social media marketing, Nguyen sought out Instagram posts and online sites dedicated to the singer, where she added a link to her shop in the comments section whenever she came across a photo of the singer wearing her headband.

Aware of the need to continue moving forward and keep her designs fresh, Nguyen started adding lace to her floral headbands, selling them for $20.

Although she was interested in a fashion career when she was younger, now, Nguyen said, "I don’t know if it’s really possible. I feel that kind of business is about connections. Right now, I just want to get into college first. I plan to major in business but I hope to bring my business with me wherever I go."

Look for Lily Nguyen’s headbands at www.etsy.com/shop/BonjourLily