Well, it’s looking like face coverings are going to be with us for awhile. And instead of the people who are monku-ing about it, I admire those individuals who are trying to make masking-up fun and even meaningful. I was introduced to a great example of this spirit of positive thinking through one of my vendors. Inspired by New York’s mayor Andrew Cuomo who vowed to “kick Coronavirus ass!”, the owner of a local ice cream business, CVT Soft Serve* created a remix of the tenugui (Japanese hand towel/headband) that Pat “Noriyuki” Morita wore in the film Karate Kid. We can all be warriors against the ‘rona! We were so tickled at his subtle take on this redesign (and that he was paying homage to Mr. Morita, one of our early museum supporters) that we asked if we could sell his tenugui at JANM. Happily he said yes!
Be on the lookout for more tenugui coming online soon! Good for things other than face coverings and headbands! Read more about this versatile accessory here.
*CVT Soft Serve is a locally-based family run soft serve ice cream business currently operating out of two fully restored 1961 Mister Softee trucks. Check them out on Instagram to find out when they’ll be in your neighborhood! @cvtsoftserve
Maria Kwong
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