merkinabox
This is what I call a “merkinabox”. It got named that at a birthday partly last summer.
It’s a small box (2 in diameter, 2.5 inches high, approx) with fur inside, covered in leather and sometimes also lined in paper. Some are round like the one photographed here, and some are square, rectangular, more cylindrical… it depends on the materials at hand. Mostly the shape is dependent on what I have kicking around in my leather scraps.
Its purpose (for me) is to make something beautiful out of some of the scraps and odds-and-ends I have in my studio. I hate to waste beautiful things. The photo shows seamless glory – it is not seamless, but the seam is very small and very well done on a piece of very high quality and fine, thin Harmatan goatskin. So it’s a very small scar indeed. The fur used can be either fake (on request), or, most often, it comes from some lady’s discarded fur-lined coat.
Yes, I found someone’s coat in the street. There was a tag attached, with the value of the coat on it, and the owner’s name and phone number. I took it home, thinking it had maybe been stolen. I phoned, she said, “no, I intended to throw away that coat. Do whatever you like with it”. Amazed, I kept the fur lining and sent the outer part off to the Goodwill. I cut the fur lining out of its housing and discarded the parts that were too worn to re-use (the shoulders). I have enough of this 1-inch long black fur to make manyyyyy merkinaboxes.
On average, I make one of these per month; it is not a high-production item and its appearance relies entirely on my having suitable scraps.
In case you wondered… A merkin is a wig for areas other than your head. Austin Power’s chest hair is one, for example.
** Warning : not for the delicate of sensibility ! ** (the rollover talks about vulva, scrota and shows a merkin in use) ; wikipedia has all the dirt. It can be made out of human hair or other animal’s hair and dyed whacky colours, and the merkin is currently experiencing a resurgence in popularity, specificially with the burlesque crowd!
It looks like a merkin inside the box, but it’s actually attached to and part of the box. it does not come free for you to play with otherwise. Though you *could* order one like that, I suppose.
Give your sweetie a heart-shaped box with a heart-shaped merkin in it? Yes, I do have enough scraps of red to do that…
