It started with a sugar skull.
Nutcase founder Michael Morrow became fascinated with the intricate and elaborate sugar-spun skulls that are part of indigenous Mexican culture.
Product developer Meghan Sinnott holding Spirits.
Usually seen on the Day of the Dead around November 1 and 2, sugar skulls are supposed to be part of the altars for weary spirits as they come back from the land of the dead to visit the land of the living.
Generally the altars include food and drinks, toys and candy, cigarettes and even liquor.
All these offerings are supposed to keep the spirits happy and keep families together and prosperous.
Sugar skulls (called Calaveras in Spanish) are an old tradition, made by pouring boiled sugar into clay moulds to harden. Sometimes skulls are personalized with the name of someone dearly departed.
In taking the idea of sugar skulls to a helmet, Michael was looking for images that were as bright and complex as possible.
The resulting Spirits in the Sky helmet has a background of a deep shade of Robin’s egg blue emblazoned with not only the sugar skull emblems but also some primary-colored flower stars.
As soon as Michael saw the prototype for Spirits in the Sky it was clear it would be a bright spot in the 2015 Street lineup, so a matching bell was quickly designed.
“I think we stayed true to the Mexican iconography and to the folk beauty of the decorated sugar skulls,” Michael said, “at the same time that Spirits in the Sky really looks fresh and inspired.”
Though sugar skulls are seen around the fall at Día de los Muertos, the beauty of Spirits in the Sky works all year round, including for next week’s Cinco de Mayo, celebrated as much or more here in the U.S. as it is in Mexico.
And Spirits in the Sky looks great with a black visor (which ships in every Street helmet box) as well as with our new colored visors.
