Holiday Shopping at WMODA

By Louise Irvine

Trick or Treat @ WMODA

Wear a Halloween costume to WMODA on Saturday, October 29 and you will receive FREE admission to the museum from 10am to 4pm as our Trick or Treat gift to you! Enjoy some family fun with our entertaining scavenger hunts and start your Holiday shopping.

The WMODA shop is decked out for the holidays with lots of great seasonal gifts. Get ready for Halloween with traditional masks by Balocoloc of Venice. Georgio Iurcotta makes unique, customized papier-maché masks in the manner of the original Italian mascherero. Their historical designs are meticulously researched for accuracy and hand-crafted using traditional methods. Choose from elegant designs for masquerade balls to macabre Day, of the Dead masks of skulls and plague doctors.

Pumpkin Patch
Josh Fradis makes glass pumpkins for Halloween and Thanksgiving in all the colors of the rainbow, just like his hearts, which are the perfect gift for loved ones any time of the year. Alex Meiklejohn throws miniature jack-o’-lanterns on the potter’s wheel along with tiny ghouls and ghosts. Ceramic artist Mirela Popovici adapted one of his designs as a necklace. Mirela also makes pumpkins with teal glazes to help protect children with food allergies at Halloween. The Teal Pumpkin Project recommends placing a teal pumpkin on your doorstep to signify that, in addition to candy, you offer non-food trinkets that are safe for all trick or treaters. One in 13 kids suffers from potentially life-threatening food allergies in the United States and we applaud Mirela for supporting this great cause.

Jingle Bells
Mirela also makes lots of fun Christmas ornaments in clay including gingerbread men, praying angels, jingle bells, and ugly Christmas sweaters. Garish woolly pullovers with festive motifs emerged in yuletide culture during the 1950s when they were known as Jingle Bell Sweaters. TV crooners such as Val Doonican and Andy Williams embraced the ugly side of the knitted garment and since then, holiday sweaters have gone from accidentally tacky to purposefully outrageous. The WMODA team always enjoys this heartwarming expression of holiday cheer and will be celebrating again on annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Day which is Saturday, December 17.

Festivals of Light
For Hanukkah, Chelsea Rousso and Anne Orvieto make beautiful glass menorahs which are perfect for celebrating the Jewish Holiday. Chelsea also makes glass mezuzahs which make wonderful gifts all year round. Wendy Chercas has been making novel menorahs and coasters from Mahjong tiles which are very popular with fans of this game of skill, strategy, and luck. Candle Nerds make seasonally scented candles in decorative holders which glow gently during the winter festivals of light.
Start your holiday shopping soon. You can shop at WMODA without paying the admission charge to visit the museum galleries. All sales benefit the educational programs at WMODA.