Meet Chris Siess | Feather Fashion Designer and Fly Fishing Guide

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chris Siess and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chris, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My feather fashion business, Pretty Fly Designs, was born out of a friend’s request to make a pair of feather earrings. I never expected such a request, but being a fly fishing guide and fly tier, I had lots of feathers and knew how to lash them to a hook. My goal was simply to create something that would appear fashionable. The first pair was not much to behold. Simple, small and olive, and certainly not the cleanest looking earrings I’ve ever tied. But both my friend and her mother were impressed, so they asked me to make another pair. Weeks later, some of her friends requested more.

With this surprising demand, a light bulb went off in my head that I might be able to build a side business, selling feather earrings. It was interesting to see the dynamic of a mini fashion trend involving my earrings catching on amongst a group of friends. Fashion was a mystery to me, however, with twenty five years of experience tying flies, I knew the possibilities were endless with regards to various colors and styles of feather earrings. From there, I just tied lots of earrings and showed them off any chance I could. I gave away numerous pairs to female friends to wear as a form of viral marketing and started an Instagram account solely dedicated to the earrings. Luckily, it worked and the earrings sold! I also started making feather adornments for cowboy hats, which became popular too. The name Pretty Fly Designs was an easy choice. Pretty Fly is the name of my fishing boat, and the name really seemed to fit the vibe of what I was looking to create. The proverbial snowball began rolling down the hill, picking up steam and getting larger every day since that request for the first pair four years ago.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Pretty Fly Designs is fly fishing inspired and is basically a spin off of my passion for fly tying. Both fishing flies and feather earrings are often referred to as art, and the earrings certainly resemble many of the flies I’ve tied over the years. It’s been really interesting taking techniques from fly tying and using them to design the earrings and hat feathers.

There are many wonderful artisans making feather earrings and jewelry and we each have our own unique style. Most of my earrings are long and flowy, though I do them in all sorts of lengths and shapes. My style varies in that I do not use any metal beads in my earrings. Each of my creations is made of only feathers, so that they are light weight and easily flow with a customer’s hair. I really enjoy focusing on blending texture, patterns and color together to make unique creations. With my background in fly tying, I’m also very proud of the craftsmanship that goes into each pair. I tie them to last and hold up as long as a natural feather will! I even have clients that wear them swimming. A quick blow dry, and they are back to normal. While my fashion knowledge is limited, I’ve learned what feathers look good in various hair styles and colors. Luckily, many of my customers seem to know what they want, so I really focus on making the elements of the feathers fit together to create an eye-catching earring, no matter who wears it.

Building Pretty Fly Designs into a full-time job has been an extremely fulfilling experience. Every little bit of Pretty Fly Designs is personally handcrafted, from the earrings, to the website, to the fence board displays. It’s cool to mold it exactly how I want it to look, feel and be presented. Success has not been without its challenges, from logistics to communication to shipping and more. I’ve had to figure them all out on my own and frankly, it’s tough at times being a “one man band.” The incredible positive feedback I get from customers daily is a huge motivator to work through problems that inevitably arise!

Customer service is extremely important to me. I want each and every one of my customers to be thrilled with their purchase and feel confident while they rock a pair of bold, ten inch long earrings or sport the sleek looking turkey feather in their new cowboy hat. The earrings or hat feather may be the product, but the buying experience plays a role too. For example, customers can share photos of them wearing the earrings, which I post to my social media accounts featuring them as “models.” It’s really great feedback and hopefully it makes the buying experience just a bit more fun. I also include a hand written note with each order. I’d like the Pretty Fly brand to resonate with a wide audience and represent how I try to look at life: that it’s a fun, colorful, wild ride and that it’s meant to be enjoyed!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I usually visit Colorado at least once a year, more if possible! I spent my early twenties as a ski bum in Vail and a fly fishing guide in Aspen and spent some time exploring the areas around there. Everyone knows about skiing in Colorado, so I’ll pick summer activities. A visit from friends has to include fly fishing on the Roaring Fork River downstream of Aspen. The coolest spot to hang out is Woody Creek Tavern in Woody Creek. Great nachos, plenty of beer and I love the laid back vibe of random photos all over the walls. Independence Pass is a phenomenal drive with some gorgeous views and if anyone is into rafting, the Arkansas River is the place to do it. I’d also recommend riding dirt bikes up Aspen Mountain to Taylor Pass. It is really cool to ride across the crests of the mountain range. The absolute best lunch spot is Big Wrap in Aspen. I’m also a fan of Grateful Deli. My favorite hike is up to American Lake and the best views are Ashcroft in the fall when the Aspens are yellow and covered in a light dusting of snow. The hot springs of Glenwood Springs are a great way to spend a relaxing few hours and Minturn Saloon in Minturn is a cool little spot for a drink that only John Wayne would approve of.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
This is probably cliché, but I’d like to give a shout out to my parents, Mark and Nicole. For the past 35 plus years my mother has operated her own landscape design business in Virginia. My father is her right hand man, joining her as a partner in the business five years after its conception. She does much of the design and he focuses on the installation. They successfully created a niche for themselves through perseverance and determination. They are the hardest working people I know, my mother in particular. She has accomplished an incredible amount, growing her clientele base and is now sought after for her design skills. Growing up, my sister and I had a front row seat to my parents’ example of what entrepreneurship is all about and it certainly rubbed off on both of us. My sister operates her own floral design company, so we have truly followed in their footsteps.

My parents have also been nothing but supportive over the past decade in my business ventures with Knot the Reel World, my fly fishing guiding company, and more recently, with Pretty Fly Designs. They have always been there to lend a hand, listen or provide advice. I really can’t thank them enough, they are fantastic.

Website: www.prettyfly-designs.com

Instagram: @prettyflydesigns_

Linkedin: Christopher Siess

Facebook: Pretty Fly Designs

Other: My Fly Fishing website is www.knotthereelworld.com and Instagram is @knotthereelworld !