Discovering Dreads

I discovered fake hair / synthetic dreads back when I was at school. The same time I really discovered the internet, showing my age here :p Our school only had a few computers at the time but I would commandeer one whenever possible and trawl the net for hair pretties.
I had dyed my hair from a young age and would often braid different colour wools into my hair. Even though I probably looked awful, I am a bit sad I don't have any photos from this time.

I eventually came across the Quinnster board which had some great tutorials but has sadly gone. But there is still the Heavenly Hair / Hair Extensions Forum. Unfortunately  it is not frequented as much nowadays, probably due to Facebook groups being more accessible to most people.

A couple of  dread ladies that stood out the most and where a big inspiration to me were beautiful Squeak Machine and Cattie.

Squeak Machine by David Raywood

Cattie by Doppelganger Photography

I just had to have epic hair like that! It wasn't until late 2004 that I first got my hands on synthetic hair and had my first attempt at dread making. Obviously the first few tries were pretty bad but I loved them all the same. I'm sure that I must have some photos of my first attempts some where, if I do ever find them I will post them. Its good to look back and see improvement.

Soon after some friends asked me to make them dreads and that was it, I was hooked.
I did buy a couple of sets from other sellers in the early years. I can't recall the name of the first seller brought from but my second set was by Cradle Falls, in 2005 I think. They where thick, very thick dreads. Here they are

Photo by Tony Stubbings

How did you discover the fake hair / synthetic dread world? Who were / are your inspirations?