A Final Goodbye to Princess Di
June 22, 2011
This old beauty shop sign must have dated back to before Princess Di died in August 1997. She could have USED a 'facelife'. Besides the hair style being dated, the phone number was only 6 digits. They added a 4 to the front of Boudha phone numbers at least a decade ago. Alas, one of my favorite beauty shop signs in Boudha is no more.
They have painted over Lady Di !
You can see the vague outline of her nose and lips in the new sign. I have more shots of the old Princess Di signboard on an earlier post along with Queen Latifah as beauty shop royalty.
It is common for Nepali beauty shops or saloons to use figures from entertainment and news for their signboards. Everyone from Jennifer Aniston to Gwyneth Paltrow to Angelina Jolie to Nicole Kidman (with black hair) have their own places to get their hair done in Kathmandu. I guess Lady Di was not coming back !
Find a previous post of movie stars' signboards in Nepal here.
This is one example of why some people say that I should be buying up these signboards before they are all destroyed or cannibalized. I so enjoy walking the streets of Kathmandu and seeing interesting beauty shop signs and want to preserve them in situ. However, then I see something like this and I wonder if I shouldn't just buy them and take them home where they will be appreciated. I suppose I should be happy that they recycled the metal. And it is a testimony to how long a good piece of metal lasts even under the harshest of conditions.
There is also a great butcher shop sign of a goat's head dripping blood that has disappeared this last trip.
If anyone is interested, I do have some vintage signboards available, including this one above. This black dog charmer has delicate claws on his paws. The Nepali lettering with its nice drop shadow reads "Be Aware of Dog" and the dog is handsomely set in a green field. The artist is Shree Laimachhaine of Pokhara, Nepal,
Danger Dog Wall at Ghetto Gloss Gallery 2009
Of course, I have many Nepal Art Dogs (and Cats) available and will be happy to try to find an existing one that looks like your pet. Above is an exhibit at Fiora Boes' Ghetto Gloss Gallery in Hollywood.
The Nepal Art Dog project aims to stem the trend in Nepal to replace these hand-painted signboards with plastic pre-printed signage.
You can help...
Nepal Art Dogs are hand-painted enamel portraits of pets on recycled metal, approximately 1 foot square. Made in Nepal by 58 different artists’ studios.
This is a Fair Trade Art project that promotes the endangered signboard artists of Nepal.
For pet lovers who collect art and would like to make a difference.
Commissions available starting at $250
Send your Pet’s photo – get 3 choices from 3 different artists – pick your favorite