Holy Kitsch!

Opening last December in a rude explosion of colour, Holy Kitsch! is a veritable ossuary of Mexican Día de los Muertos curios. Skull necklaces and skeleton toys jostle for space with pink flamingos, Frida Kahlo tote bags, art prints and all kinds of ephemera from Mexico, Peru and closer to home. “We just love the craftwork of the Day of the Dead,” says co-owner Noni Daniels. “It’s really vibrant and life-affirmingly humorous. On the day the Mexican people go out and tend the graves, give sugar skulls to each other. It dates back to Aztec times but it’s become a date on the Catholic calendar.” Daniels and friend Phillip Masters, avowed kitsch collectors, were market stall owners who joined forces to open their Surry Hills shop and more recently its Newtown sister store. Popular items include handmade ceramic skulls the size of a fist for containing tea lights ($35) and hand-painted pottery candelabras called the Tree of Life and the Tree of Death ($95 each). Both Daniels and Masters keep an eye out for new finds whenever they travel. “I’m thinking of learning Spanish,” Daniels laughs, “because it’ll make bargaining a lot easier.”