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Funny and evocative of times past, the moustache remains a favourite craft motif
This undated image released by WATTO Distinctive Metal Wear shows a handlebar mustache belt buckle made of steel. (AP Photo/WATTO Distinctive Metal Wear, Mary Spencer)
Here's what passes for funny in the crafting world: putting a big, bushy moustache on nearly anything - pillows, glassware, jewelry, even knitted coffee-cup cozies and baby pacifiers.
A moustached baby? That's a giggle.
The moustache motif — with handlebars or without — has been around for several years in the crafting world, and its popularity remains steady.
"I remember some of the first moustaches cropping up ... in 2007," in jewelry, recalls Emily Bidwell, merchandising specialist and In-house Style Expert for the online crafts site Etsy.com.
What began as a practical joke, she says, endured because of the moustache's simple, strong and universally recognizable shape.
Some images become popular then fizzle out - the space alien is one - but the humble moustache endures.
"Over the years we've just seen more and more moustaches," at Etsy, says Bidwell. "It's ever popular."
A recent search of the online, handmade marketplace found more than 14,000 moustached crafts for sale.
Among those is the black, acrylic 'stache necklace crafted by jewelry designer Ran Milstein of Ramat-Hasharon, Israel. He sells it from his Etsy shop, Milkool.
"I see the moustache piece as something silly, and wore it myself a few times when costumes were required," Milstein says. "I know that it brings smiles to people's faces, and that's all that matters."
His customers include a teacher who used her laser-cut moustache necklace to quiet a rowdy classroom, and a woman who bought several for family members to wear to her father's funeral.
"He had a glorious moustache and (she) hoped these would help to lighten the mood," Milstein says.
Jessa Decker-Smith of Denver saw a moustached pacifier on Pinterest, the online "pin board" where people share favourite photos and ideas, and decided to make a few for her baby daughter, Hazel, and moustaches for her two older sons. "It was so funny and so easy to make," says Decker-Smith. "It really brings a snicker to your face."
Decker-Smith has been to parties at which paper moustaches attached to chopsticks were handed out as silly photo props. They've become a popular party favour at weddings, appearing in Etsy's wedding d�cor listing. The online site also features more than 200 generic "party packs" - from wearable moustaches to cupcake toppers.
Moustaches come in many shapes and sizes, but two of the more popular styles used in crafts are the handlebar, with its curly ends, and the droopy horseshoe. Their simple, strong lines are easy to cut out of paper, felt or fabric.
Amy Anderson of Seattle is a crafts blogger who painted a handlebar moustache onto a small wooden stool two years ago, and still fancies that piece. "I like funny crafts or unexpected things," she says.
Lawrence Rubin, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., psychologist and "pop culture fancier," suggests that the moustache in crafts may represent "women's attempt to recreate the male image in their liking." A well-coifed moustache, he says, "might be a way to take the harsh edge off the masculinity through a more humorous depiction of a man."
The moustache also harkens to the 19th century, he says, when it represented masculine charm and confidence.
Bidwell thinks that's the secret to the moustache's staying power. She's seen a growing interest in 19th century styles and values in her Brooklyn, N.Y., neighbourhood.
"I can only speak for Brooklyn, although I've seen it in a lot of places . this return to urban farming and more Victorian styles, doing things in an old-fashioned way," says Bidwell.
"People who are crafting can find so many ways to use the motif," she adds.
___
Online:
http://happilyhomesewn.blogspot.com
http://modpodgerocksblog.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/milkool
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