Spotlight On: Anders Eriksen of Nightmare Gloves
Have you ever watched A Nightmare On Elm Street and thought “I would love to have a Freddy Glove of my own!!”. I came across Anders and his site a few years ago before I started Cinema Deviant. As soon as I started this site I knew that I wanted to let others know (that may not know) of Anders great work and beautifully crafted gloves. I reached out to Anders and he was kind enough to answer a few questions for Cinema Deviant
CD: Have you always been a horror fan?
Anders: As far back as I remember, I have loved horror, but, I have been told that when I was just a few years old, I used to be afraid of the muppet show! That certainly has changed, but that might have been the root for my love and fascination for monsters today.
CD: Freddy has to be one of my favorite horror villains. What’s one of your favorite/memorable Freddy scenes?
Anders: There are so many to choose from, but every time I think, oh, it has to be the Tina’s death scene, I think, but the marionette kill was great, and then I think of Freddy’s look at the pool party scene in Nightmare 2, and then a dozen others pop into my head. I can’t really pick just one. They all show different aspects of Freddy -which is a reason he is my favorite, Roberts acting, combined with the effects and the imaginative dream sequences, is what makes Freddy, Freddy.
CD: What made you want to start Nightmare Gloves in the first place?
Anders: I had built my own Freddy glove with my father, and shortly after I wanted to build another one -one a little closer to the actual film glove, and then a friend (Darren Elkins) asked me to make him one etc. He then in return made the very first website for me where I could take orders and Nightmaregloves.com was born.
CD: Usually with products such as these these there tends to be backlash from the studio and they try to put a stop to anything they didn’t give permission for. Did you run into anything like that in the beginning?
Anders: Not in the beginning, I’ve had Nightmare Gloves for about 7-9 years before I had Eriq Chang reinvent the look of the Nightmare Gloves site and I think it was 4-5 years after that we got a note from New Line about licenses etc. Then that was put on hold, as Warner Brothers bought New Line, so nothing happened, and once that all fell into place, we sort of picked up where we left off with New Line.
CD: How did the partnership with New Line happen?
Anders: I think they could see that we have a solid history. Thanks to Eriq we have a solid professional looking brand, and Nightmare Gloves are the only gloves endorsed by Robert Englund. Altogether, I think that is why they were interested in us as licensees.
CD: When did you initially meet with Robert Englund and what did he say about the gloves when he first saw them?
Anders: I remember very clearly, the very first time I met Robert and Nancy.
It was in Malmo, Sweden. I had been standing in line that was going all the way outside of the convention hall. So I had been standing in line for a good half hour at least in pouring rain. I was just meeting him as a fan then.
They already knew of my gloves from online, and I had been emailing Nancy from time to time. But when I got to their table, I remember Nancy pointing me out, and Robert opened his arms wide and loudly exclaimed “ah, our internet friend!”
CD: I’ve seen other glove makers on the net and I have to say by far that the quality of yours are the most impressive and built beautifully. Having them endorsed by Robert Englund brings the credibility up 110% as well. How long does it take to build a glove from start to finish?
A Master At Work
Anders: First of all, thank you!
It typically takes me about 3 days from start to finish. most can be built in just one day but the aging of the leather and the metals is what really takes time. The finish, and detail work.
CD: I think I saw at one point an original zombie glove you created that looked fantastic. Is that something you are still making and are there any other custom designs like that in the works?
The Zombie Glove!
Anders: Thank you, I set my limit to 7 zombie gloves, and I am up to #6 now. So, if anyone wants it, they have to hurry 🙂
I love creating custom gloves- one thing that I won’t be doing from the new NightmareGloves.com site, but I will continue to do, if people just contact me privately, either through Facebook or dogheadstudios.com I’m just about to make a new tattoo glove, and got some other ideas in the works.
CD: Have you thought of branching out and creating any other horror props or are there any other projects you are working on?
Anders: Glad you asked. That is exactly why me and Asia started Doghead Studios. Asia wrote a script for a film titled “Cave Canem”
That is a big project that is in the works, and we just finished creating the main monster for an independent film called ” Hog Maul : The Legend of Abrams County” which is going to be a great independent film. It’s written and directed by our good friend Nap Bishop, it’s really clever and funny.
CD: How can one reach you to place an order for a Nightmare Glove?
Anders: Once we get the site up and running, you can reach me through nightmaregloves.com, but until then, find me on Facebook, Nightmare gloves, and doghead studios, both have Facebook pages, or email me through dogheadstudios.com
Comments
Love the gloves. Have seen them at cons and can say for sure they are top of the line designs and the quality is exceptional. Great article guys, thanks!
Thanks for visiting the site Malcolm!
[…] the history of the glove and people that make glove recreations including friend of Cinema Deviant Anders Eriksen and his wife […]
Just stumbled on this, I’m the chap Anders mentioned in this interview, Anders visited me in the UK many years ago an built my glove which is still in superb shape and an excellent piece 🙂
That’s so awesome! Everyone that I have come across that has gotten a glove made from Anders has said the exact same thing! He’s such a great guy that does quality work…..Great hearing from you!