Edgar Eiotown (left, in photo above), a respected artist and the longtime and award-winning visual display coordinator for AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s ‘Out of the Closet’ thrift store chain, lands first place on HBO Max’s ‘Craftopia’ program, Season 2, Episode 2 (“Bow-Wow Ween”)
LOS ANGELES (October 12, 2021) The longtime and award-winning visual display coordinator for AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s (AHF) Out of the Closet thrift store chain, has won first place in a crafting and design competition in a special episode of HBO Max’s innovative reality program, “Craftopia.”
Edgar Eiotown, a respected artist who has designed windows and other visual displays for AHF’s 21 ‘Out of the Closet’ stores for over 20 years, triumphed over two other “Craftopia” contestants in a special Halloween-themed design competition that was the focus of Episode 2, Season 2 of the HBO Max program titled “Bow-Wow Ween.” Eiotown learned of his victory just prior to HBO Max’s streaming of the episode, which began streaming last week.
“For over twenty years, Edgar has worked his special magic with our Out of the Closet windows and visual displays harnessing his keen artistic sensibility and real-world practical design skills in his work helping to raise funds and awareness about AHF and our mission delivering HIV/AIDS prevention, care and services,” said Jonathan Kreuyer, General Manager of AHF’s Out of the Closet Store chain. “I am thrilled to learn of his win here, a well-deserved recognition of his unique talent and vision.”
In the “Bow-Wow Ween” episode of “Craftopia,” Eiotown went up against two other artists, all of whom were given two crafting assignments. The first was to create a Halloween costume for a dog (which another contestant prevailed at), and second, to create a piece of wearable art representing the concept of ‘split personality.’ Eiotown handily won this portion of the competition, creating an elaborate black, red, yellow and white costume featuring a Venetian- or Kabuki-style face mask designed with two intricately painted and distinct halves. To underscore the concept of split personality and heighten the impact of his artistic vision in his presentation to the judges, Eiotown’s mask also opened at one point right down the middle, top-to-bottom across the nose line, to reveal that he had made his face up and painted it identically as the mask—however, each half of his painted face was now the reverse of the beautifully handcrafted mask.
“Edgar: on behalf of all your Out of the Closet and AHF colleagues, we offer our congratulations and are so proud of you for your spectacular work on HBO Max’s Craftopia,” said AHF President Michael Weinstein. “Out of the Closet remains a powerhouse brand and not-so-secret weapon for AHF. Your visual artistry over the years on our behalf has been equally remarkable, adding fun to the shopping experience while helping us honor our mission of service. It is particularly amazing that you could do that much beautiful and intricate work under that kind of time pressure on your Craftopia episode. You are much more than a craftsman you are an artist. Bravo!”
In addition to his work for Out of the Closet, Eiotown is indeed also an artist whose work can be viewed at his eponymous website: www.eiotown.com. Eiotown marked his 20th year working for Out of the Closet this past April. AHF’s Out of the Closet thrift store chain celebrated its 30th anniversary last October. The OTC stores—all of which Eiotown oversees for visual display—consists of 21 stores in seven states (with another outlet set to open in San Diego at the end of October).
Over the years Eiotown’s design work for Out of the Closet has been officially honored with awards and recognitions in Los Angeles, Chicago and Dallas.
Out of the Closet Thrift stores provide people a fun, cause-worthy place to shop and donate gently used goods in support of the fight against HIV/AIDS. Many Out of the Closet Thrift Stores make HIV testing easy with fixed-site testing in stores. Many Out of the Closet sites are also connected to an AHF Pharmacy, providing a convenient one-stop experience for clients to shop and pick up their medications.
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