Normally when people talk about mannequins and mental health it is about the negative impact mannequins can cause to our well being.
This is because mannequins are used to sell fashion and beauty ideals and most mannequins are unrealistically thin. There is clear evidence that the ultra-thin concept of beauty contributes to the development of negative self-image, mental health problems, and eating disorders.
The thinness of mannequins isn’t the only problem. The bodies are often chiseled and promote hard lines rather than soft curves. Looking at clothes on a mannequin rather than clothes on a human body draws unfair comparisons.
A new way of using mannequins is emerging, one that has a positive impact on our mental health.
Mannequins are increasingly becoming a canvas for a wide range of crafting projects from mosaics, painting, bead art, lamps, even planters for the garden.
Mannequins represent our fascination with the human body in its most idealized form. Crafting with a mannequin allows people to reimagine and personalize the form.
Crafting with mannequins has become so popular, we have dedicated a page on our website to showcase different mannequin crafting projects from all over the world.
Crafting, regardless of the medium, has been proven to bolster your mood, improve self-confidence, and reduce overall stress. If you google crafting and mental health you will see a range of articles validating this concept. Making something by hand has all kinds of therapeutic benefits.
When engaged in a craft, you are focusing on the here and now. In those moments, time stands still. You are able to forget the stressors of day-to-day life and become part of something completely separate. Crafting creates a setting very similar to that of meditation, it requires focus and is a distraction from negative thoughts.
Crafting provides a sense of accomplishment and a confidence boost from completing a project.
On our website most of the crafty mannequins projects have links in the footer to digital or youtube tutorials to make it easy for you to create your own version, regardless of your crafting skill level. Many of the projects do NOT require a special skill or training in order for you to make something beautiful.
For mental health awareness month, companies such as Scale, a leading company in the A.I. field, hired us to bring our mobile headdress making class to their venue for their employee to experience. Multiple participants told us how much fun they had making the headdress and how their mood shifted from being stressed to relaxed.
One last point about the significance of crafting from this article published by the Mayo clinic:
The American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine says making or even just seeing art can impact the brain. Whether it’s part of a creative arts therapy exercise, or something you experience in your everyday life, art can help:
- Increase serotonin levels.
- Increase blood flow to the part of the brain associated with pleasure.
- Foster new ways of thinking.
- Imagine a more hopeful future.
Visit our website to shop for mannequins and dress forms, rent display pieces, or recycle your old mannequins.
