Business Spotlight: Crafting Fear

In the basement of an almost 100-year-old building, there is a room filled with severed limbs, loose eyeballs, tufts of hair and grotesque faces.

Work lamps cast a glow, illuminating hollow sockets and skeletal grins. It’s a scene out of a nightmare, yet every detail is meticulously crafted with silicon, paint and liquid nail glue. In the center of this unsettling spectacle stands Shawn Clark, known professionally as Mr. Cole, the Dr. Frankenstein of this hidden studio, making his materials practically come to life.

Journey into mask-making
“My love of horror started young,” says Mr. Cole. His grandmother, a sculptor and fan of Italian horror cinema, was an early influence. “I didn’t know what any of the movies were saying, but they were these Italian zombie movies, and I’d hide behind her chair, watching from around the corner.”

Though fascinated by the world of horror from a young age, Cole didn’t start making his own masks until much later. It was a random request from a friend in 2023 for a mask that pushed him into the craft, later organized as Mr. Cole’s Graverobbers Union.

“Someone reached out and asked if I could do a custom rubber mask for them, and I had a great time doing it,” he says.

Despite having no formal training, Cole quickly found that his skills as a painter translated well to this new medium. “Painting a mask is like painting a canvas, but it’s a three-dimensional surface. You have to make it look alive, like painting the irises on a monster, which is a different challenge altogether.”

The timing was fortunate, he says. Cole, hired by Dixon Studios – an exhibition design and fabrication studio – to work on Wonders of Wildlife, had to step away two years ago due to health issues, leaving him struggling. “It’s depressing, not being able to make art.”

With the support of his wife and an online community of fellow mask makers, Cole rented a small studio space at New Moon Studios and honed his craft.

“The community is so welcoming and accepting. They’re not gatekeeping techniques. Everyone shares ideas, and that’s been really nice.”

Jordu Schell, a Los Angeles-based creature designer and sculptor that Cole met at Mask Fest, an annual masking convention, agrees. Having worked in the industry since 1989 and on some of Hollywood’s biggest movies, including creature design for “Avatar,” “Hell Boy” and “Men in Black,” he says the mask-making community is inclusive and supportive.

“I learned from my mentor, the grandmaster of special effects, Dick Smith, to not hold anyone back, to show them what you know,” he says, adding that it’s a small community.

Cole says he learns a lot of his techniques directly from others in the mask-making community, but some of his own techniques are turning heads. Schell said he was impressed with what he saw.

“He introduced me to a material I thought was mind-boggling, a liquid nail that dries really thick and clear, so you can use it to create thick membranes,” Schell says, noting he’s been looking for ways to test it out in his own work.

Horror mask business
The demand for custom masks spikes around Halloween, with the National Retail Federation finding that in 2023, total spending on costumes reached a record $4.1 billion, up from $3.6 billion in 2022. But for serious collectors, Cole says horror is a year-round affair.

“Every day is Halloween for collectors. They buy masks whenever they want, so it’s not just a seasonal thing,” Cole says. Prices for his masks range from $200 for simpler designs to over $400 for more elaborate pieces, and he sells to customers across the globe through his Etsy shop and Instagram.

“This year at Mask Fest, I saw people buying masks that were $1,300.” Cole says he sold over 20 masks at the convention, and online sales have been enough to turn this passion into a full-time operation. “I probably work more now than if I had a typical 9-to-5,” he says.

As Cole’s business has grown, he says he’s learned a lot in the last year, including how to value his creations. “I had to learn that my time is valuable. It’s easy to get caught up in the joy of making something, but I have to remember this is a business, too,” he says.

Another big learning curve is international shipping. Cole sent one of his creations overseas, and his client kept asking him where it was. Cole says he found out it was held up at customs. “They cut open this box that I had to Frankenstein together and looked inside and saw a corpse woman. I guess they quickly shut it down and were leery about what was going on in there.”

The craft
For Cole, creating a mask begins with an idea, often inspired by classic horror films or iconic moments in the genre. “The horror community is rampant when it comes to collecting things they’ve seen in movies,” he explains. “I made a mask inspired by the split dog from ‘Return of the Living Dead,’ and it was a hit. Collectors love that kind of nostalgia.”

However, his masks are not mere replicas; he says they are reinterpretations of classic horror motifs, infused with his unique touch.

Each mask starts with sculpting, which Cole says is his favorite part, followed by molding, casting and painting. This process can take weeks, depending on the complexity of the design, and Cole says he sells about 10 masks per month.

Despite his love for the craft, there are parts of the process that Cole admits are less enjoyable. “Mold making is a huge pain, but it’s worth it because, in the end, you have a permanent piece you can use over and over. Once you have the mold, you can just pop out another mask and paint it,” he says.

As he looks to the future, Cole plans to continue refining his craft and expanding his product line. “I’ve started prepping for 2025’s Mask Fest already,” he says. “I truly love this.”