It's that time of year where we celebrate some of the stranger traditions of the Holiday season!
The 2016 Holiday collection includes a NEW Krampus design, the debut of Jólakötturinn the Yule Cat and the return of 2015's Yule Goat Fez. All three designs are now available made-to-order through December 12th 2016.
The Krampus Fez ~ 4th Edition
Way back in 2009 we introduced our very first holiday design the Krampus Fez. Then in 2012 we updated the design with the 2nd Edition, and again in 2014 for the 3rd edition establishing our bi-annual redesign schedule. Each of these editions leaned towards a pop-art look with a jovial bend.
Now for 2016, I have decided to go in a different direction for the 4th edition and challenge myself with a darker, more traditional horror look with a focus on texture and detail. In the end the new Krampus design is the most complex embroidery design I have done so far with an individual run-time of 77 minutes.
For those of you not familiar with the Austro-Bavarian tradition, Krampus is Christmas devil tasked with punishing the misbehaved children not good enough to fall within Saint Nicholas' favor. In recent years the Krampus has graduated from a regional tradition to a global phenomenon, with many Krampusnacht celebrations, pop-culture references and more than one movie. The 2010 film Rare Exports is one of our Christmas viewing traditions.
We're bringing a small run of these to our Jackalope Art Fair show in Scottsdale this month but we're already making fezzes and shipping orders as they come in.
NEW for 2016 ~ Jólakötturinn The Yule Cat
Our celebration of Christmas weirdness continues with the our new Yule Cat Fez.
This Icelandic mythology finds its roots in 19th century wool harvest traditions. In an effort to get the harvest completed before the Yule celebrations, workers were incentivised with the promise of a new piece of clothing if they got their work done. Those that did not receive the new article of clothing before the Yule were to be offered up to Jólakötturinn the man-eating Yule Cat!
Jólakötturinn is often associated with the ogress Grýla and her sons the Yule Lads, the Icelandic analog of Santa Claus responsible for rewarding the good and punishing the evil children.
Our Yule Cat Fez features my take on the giant man-eating cat on a ruby red velvet low-profile fez. We will continue to make this fez to order through December 12th and like the Krampus, we will be bringing a small batch for our show in Arizona on Thanksgiving weekend.
The Yule Goat Fez
Our 2015 Holiday entry returns for his 2nd go-around.
This Scandinavian Christmas tradition has existed throughout the centuries in many variations. One popular theory is the celebration of a yule goat stems from the Norse god Thor whose chariot was pulled by goats.
In Sweden the Yule Goat is an invisible spirit that helps to make sure the Yule preparations are done properly, which make this the perfect thing to wear while gearing up for the Christmas celebrations.
Our Yule Goat Fez features a jovial ruminant on a deep green velvet low-profile fez. These will only be made-to-order and like to others in our Holiday Collection, they will only be available for order through December 12th. [products ids="11483, 11474, 8936"]