Art + Design + I Want This + Vanity + Wearables

Something is squeezing my skull.

A lot of teenagers go through a phase where they think skulls are really cool. This is because skulls are really cool. I never exited that phase. Skulls are possibly the most clichéd representation of badassery ever, and the fact that schmancy designers like Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood have brought skulls into the world of luxury goods — and endless knockoffs of those luxury goods — has made them pretty inescapable. They still look cool to me, though, and I keep on buying skull stuff and feeling happy that I don’t have to wait until Halloween rolls around to do it. (This is also how I feel about black nail polish.)

Here’s my skull wishlist…

doorsixteen_skullz1

1. Ceramic skull planter, Mudpuppy
2. Skull blanket, 360 Sweater
3. Cartolina skull temporary tattoo, Fiona Richards for Tattly
4. Skull pendant light, RawDezign (also in black)
5. Crocheted skull, Crochet Bloke (pattern available in his book)
6. Skull art print, Dawn Kelley
7. Black enamel skull ring, Alexander McQueen
8. Skull sweater, Zoe Karssen

doorsixteen_skullz2

1. Black metallic stoneware skull, Mudpuppy
2. Skull tiles, Josep Motas for Bussoga (see below)
3. Dia de DUMBO wallpaper, Flavor Paper
4. Twin skull ring, Alexander McQueen
5. Tiny crocheted skulls, Dewey Decimal Crafts
6. Skull scarf, Alexander McQueen

doorsixteen_bussogaskulls
Photo from Heathrow Speaking After Dark

I had to include another photos of Josep Motas’ incredible skull tiles in use. Isn’t is neat how they seem to turn into a more traditional Mediterranean tile when they’re all together like that? D16 reader Raquel emailed me about them months ago thinking I’d like them, and I haven’t been able to get them out of my head since. I’ve tried to find a US distributor of these tiles because I would love to be able to use them in a house project, but so far I’ve come up empty-handed, even after attempting to contact Bussoga. I did find an interview with Motas, the author of which noted the same thing I did about the floral appearance of the skulls when they’re on the wall. I love this part of the description from the product page: “The top goal of this design would be for someone to like the tiles when put together, who retiles their bathroom and then one day discovers that they have to rip off all the tiles while sitting on the toilet.” Hello, THAT’S ME!!

And finally, some of my Skullstagrams…

doorsixteen_skullstagrams

1. Wheatpaste on Pacific Street, Brooklyn (artist unknown)
2. My skull rings! The black & gold ones are from UO, and the plastic is from the doomed NoHo Market
3. A plaster skull at Modern Anthology
4. My office skull-buddies — matte black on the left, glitter with light-up eyes on the right
5. Mini skull candles from the Halloween clearance aisle at Target
6. My skully hand at Lisa & Clay’s wedding (the thin gold rings are from ASOS)
7. A blue jay skull I found in my garden
8. A giant skull candle from West Elm’s Halloween clearance table
9. Me feeding a delicious vegan donut from the Cinnamon Snail to one of my pet office skulls

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42 Comments

  • Reply Fritz July 29, 2013 at 10:46 am

    forged bronze skull from Dillon Sculpture

    http://25.media.tumblr.com/f8f9f82f569ae5f094a8a42f47fef1b7/tumblr_moemzsbeDV1r2jtnio1_500.jpg

    he makes these all sizes on a ginormous steam hammer

  • Reply Shelly July 29, 2013 at 10:49 am

    The only skulls I’ve really ever loved are Day of the Dead decorations, but this is a great collection you’ve put together! You’ve most likely seen the Skull-A-Day blog, if not, check it out. The first year of the blog is my favorite, the artist made a skull a day. Now it’s more fan art that he posts, but worth checking out.

    • Anna @ D16 July 29, 2013 at 10:59 am

      No, I hadn’t seen it! Thanks for the link. That’s a lotta skulls!

  • Reply Shelly July 29, 2013 at 10:52 am

    Just in case, here is a link to the first year of the skull a day project.
    http://skulladay.blogspot.com/p/original-skulls-1-122.html

  • Reply Leah July 29, 2013 at 10:52 am

    Love these!!! I want the sweater and the scarf! 😀

  • Reply Judi July 29, 2013 at 10:54 am

    What a fabulous Monday morning post! Also: That Dia de DUMBO wallpaper! I think I have a new wallpaper fantasy love (it replaces Harlem Toile and Brooklyn Toile)…how great would that be in a dressing room or a powder room?

  • Reply Kisha July 29, 2013 at 10:55 am

    I’ve never really been into skulls but I must admit, I’ve seen the instagrams of your ring and candles and did think they were pretty bad ass. Coincidental you should post this today as I’m in the process of blogging my photos from this weekend – and one is of a skull that Howard and I have passed several times over the past week…each time I pass it I wonder “what the heck were you??” I’m guessing maybe a snake…or a cat because of the fangs.

  • Reply elisabeth July 29, 2013 at 12:16 pm

    I regret not buying a skull scarf last week from a street vendor! (The choice was the scarf or coffee. I chose the latter for I had limited cash on me). It would have been the perfect pick me up my seemingly meager summer wardrobe needed! I searched Ravelry.com today and was amazed at how many patterns there are with skull motifs!

  • Reply MJ @ One-Parade.com July 29, 2013 at 12:31 pm

    Skull overload! (In the best possible way ever.) I really want that sweater…

  • Reply Alex July 29, 2013 at 1:17 pm

    There’s an amazing local artist here in Chicago who creates beautiful filigree skulls. I love his work, and you can find it in a lot of local mom and pop shops here. His name is Joshua Harker.

    • Alex July 29, 2013 at 1:21 pm

      Forgot to add — I love, love, love his iPhone cover:

    • Anna @ D16 July 29, 2013 at 1:23 pm

      Wowza, that is some amazing work!!

  • Reply zimt July 29, 2013 at 1:22 pm

    great selection of skulls, especially love the tattly one and the giant skull candle. H&M sells this cushion ( http://www.hm.com/gb/product/09068?article=09068-A ) at the moment. I hava a feeling that it will be living on my couch soon.

    • Anna @ D16 July 29, 2013 at 1:31 pm

      Ah, very cool! I don’t think we can get H&M housewares in the US, alas.

  • Reply Ite July 29, 2013 at 1:26 pm

    Hmm, i love the mudpuppy planter…

    recently i have been thinking of getting another one of Bill’s skull rings to go with my wolf ring

    http://www.etsy.com/listing/89157192/sterling-silver-half-skull-ring-original?ref=shop_home_active&ga_search_query=skull%2Bring

    http://www.etsy.com/listing/89198911/winged-skull-ring-bikers-favorite?ref=shop_home_active&ga_search_query=skull%2Bring

    & Did you see this ? :
    http://www.etsy.com/listing/101527417/siamese-twins?ref=shop_home_active

    the society 6 print is pretty lovely as well

    … too many nice options … may need some time to decide :o)

    • Anna @ D16 July 29, 2013 at 1:32 pm

      I LOVE that half-skull ring, Ite! Wonder if he’d make it in gold…

  • Reply kelly w July 29, 2013 at 3:06 pm

    Blue jay skull envy. <3 (I loved it when you posted it the first time, too.)

  • Reply riye July 29, 2013 at 5:00 pm

    Great post! I still wear my skull themed jewelry. My brother jokes that I don’t have a jewelry collection–I have an arsenal. 🙂

  • Reply Lizzie July 29, 2013 at 6:07 pm

    Love the Morrissey title. 🙂

    And your rings! And all of it, actually. I think skulls are cool as long as there’s no flames behind them… or snakes running through them, that crosses into an entirely different zip code of style in my opinion. (All up to personal taste of course, no offense to those who like that stuff.)

  • Reply tux July 29, 2013 at 6:22 pm

    I bought this black ceramic skull bank from Modcloth a few months back and I’m in LOVE with it!
    And it’s super affordable!

    http://www.modcloth.com/shop/office-desktop/skulls-to-pay-the-bills-bank

  • Reply G. July 29, 2013 at 8:06 pm

    I only recently saw these mini sugar skulls but they’re from 2011 so perhaps you’ve seen them before

    http://laughingsquid.com/mini-sugar-skulls-that-double-as-sugar-cubes/

    The skull floating in coffee is so creepy yet cool.

    • Anna @ D16 July 29, 2013 at 9:28 pm

      Ahhhh, so cool!! I love the crossbones.

  • Reply Lindsay July 30, 2013 at 9:54 am

    What a great post!

    I really wanted to comment and say I’m so glad you’re still in the blogging world. I know many bloggers have fallen off the blog train due to convenience of Instagram, Vine, etc. I’m happy you’re still here. Your blog posts are refreshing, genuine, and all around awesome.

    Thanks! Keep the dream alive!

    • Anna @ D16 July 30, 2013 at 10:14 am

      🙂 Thanks, Lindsay, that’s really nice of you to say. I’m glad I’m still blogging, too, and that there are still people who are interested in reading blogs!

  • Reply Diane July 30, 2013 at 7:14 pm

    that wallpaper!!!!!! soooo good.

  • Reply Samara @ Layer July 30, 2013 at 8:15 pm

    I love that planter. I have that already saved in my favorites.

  • Reply Kristy July 30, 2013 at 8:54 pm

    A few years ago I bought a black and white Alexander McQueen skull scarf – I think it’s the most expensive piece of clothing/shoes/accessories I’ve ever bought in my life but you know, I LOVE that scarf and I think I always will. It goes with everything and I always get a ton of compliments and raised eyebrows when I wear it. Anna if you don’t have it, go for it, you won’t regret it – it’s awesome and will never go out of style. I feel special every time I wear it, which sounds weird, but it’s just this one, small, little luxury that I indulged in and it makes me so happy.

  • Reply ginger from bliss-ologie July 31, 2013 at 12:10 pm

    Thank you! I finally feel validated. I painted a skull for my kitchen fireplace mantel and still find myself explaining it to visitors. Yep it’s a skull folks.

  • Reply Eco Handyman August 2, 2013 at 4:13 pm

    I love skulls, I’m really loving that skull wallpaper!

  • Reply Brittanny August 4, 2013 at 10:50 pm

    I am all about skull clothing and I don’t even care. Keep it comin’!

  • Reply hannah August 5, 2013 at 9:24 am

    That print by Dawn Kelley is impressive, but the skull finger puppets are just too cute!

  • Reply Jessica Rodriguez August 5, 2013 at 7:50 pm

    Hi there,
    I was looking at the ASOS rings not long ago, and noticed you had them here on your blog which I just discovered. Can you tell me which size set you got? I’m assuming the S/M as opposed to the M/L but do any of them fit lower on your fingers? I’d kind of like a variety but don’t think they offer a mix. Thanks!

    • Anna @ D16 August 5, 2013 at 8:17 pm

      I got the M/L because I have giant man-hands. The rings are all different sizes!

  • Reply Natty August 5, 2013 at 8:17 pm

    I got obsessed with a beetle made like this…but the skull is really cool too. Comes in a few sizes. In person it looks/feels like really delicate porcelain.
    http://aplusrstore.com/product.php?id=1071&cid=135

  • Reply Laurel August 6, 2013 at 4:20 pm

    Ran across these skull rings today and immediately thought of you! http://www.notjustalabel.com/shanka

  • Reply Lauren August 10, 2013 at 10:24 pm

    You might want to check out the new skulls on the home floor at Bergdorf Goodman. They’re by the French artist Freiderique Morrel. They mount all sorts of animals and creatures (not real) in antique, vintage and found tapestries. The newest buy has two skulls! They’re pretty cool, wish I had taken a picture to share, but really you may enjoy. Thanks, Lauren

  • Reply Sarah August 14, 2013 at 6:26 pm

    ahh love this post. I was so into Skulls as a moody teenager. Those tiny crocheted skulls are hilarious. La Loi do really cool digital print leggings with all over skulls. I love them ( i would, i stock them hehe ) http://littlehanbury.co.uk/collections/bottoms/products/la-loi-skull-leggings.

  • Reply lisa October 11, 2013 at 1:24 am

    love skulls too
    had to share this with you [link]

  • Reply Mark March 9, 2014 at 2:04 pm

    Cool wallpaper, the crocheted skulls are neat too.

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