Mardi Gras season with its parades, balls and parties is just around the corner, and we are fortunate to have one of the country’s premier custom mask makers right here in Shreveport-Bossier! San Francisco mask designer Dennis Beckman’s one-of-a-kind custom masks are featured in his sister, Deb Beckman Cockrell’s shop, The Enchanted Garden. A Shreveport native, Beckman, who has been living in San Francisco for the past forty-eight years, now calls Shreveport his second home. Last year after owning his own San Francisco shop, The Enchanted Crystal for 42 years, he closed his shop and came to Shreveport for what he thought was going to be a temporary stay, bringing some of his masks to display in his sister’s shop. When word got out about his beautiful custom masks, he received so many orders from locals and others around the state last Mardi Gras season that he has decided to stay here and make his masks throughout the Mardi Gras season.
San Franciscans have always loved having masquerade parties and events, and for 35 years, Beckman’s shop, The Enchanted Crystal, was known as the place to go for custom masks. His beautiful shop had an international clientele and was renowned for its creative fantasy decor and elaborate award- winning window displays, which he would completely redesign every few months. Mask designer Beckman admits that his creative mind never rests, and he loves designing and creating in both small and large scale. With degrees in horticulture and landscape architecture from LSU, he has designed large regional parks in Hawaii, Nevada and Florida. In San Francisco, he created his shopping street’s Fantasy of Lights holiday celebration where merchants and property owners light up their Victorian buildings and trees with tiny white lights to create a beautiful Christmas fantasy.
Twenty-five years ago, he also created the San Francisco Easter Parade and Spring Celebration, a family oriented event that continues to attract thousands of people. One of the most popular features of the event is the hat contest, and each year Beckman has created over twenty hats for friends and clients ranging from elegant to outrageous. He doesn’t serve as a judge, and each year many of his one-of-a-kind hats have won prizes for his hat wearers. A few years ago, his sister Deb, wore one of his creations, an elaborate four-foot wide hat covered with teal colored tulle and white cherry blossoms matching her dress, which won her the prize for best large hat. His foray into mask making came unexpectedly. In the early 1970’s while on a buying trip to Paris, he came upon a large collection of beautiful hand-made antique French silk flowers. The flowers made beautiful accent decoratives for his store’s displays of the vintage jewelry pieces he collected as well as the jewelry he created using vintage and Swarovski crystal beads. Women loved the flowers and asked if he would put them on combs and brooches so they could wear them.
“I love working with clients to create a custom mask that complements their gown or outfit and that looks great on them. When I design a mask, I begin with a general concept and color palate, selecting various materials that work together, then my creativity takes hold, and my eyes lead me in the right direction. Often using simple mask bases from Italy, I add feathers and sequins, a piece of jewelry, crystals and glitter or some other unique items.”
He also created sparkly crystal hair sprays for his hostesses to wear at several elaborate parties he and his partner hosted in San Francisco and Beverly Hills, which opened the door to a whole new venture. Brides wanted to wear his sparkly crystal sprays, and soon he began designing elaborate headpieces for brides and bridesmaids using silk flowers, crystal beads, pearls and sequins. Over the next thirty-five years, he created hundreds of headpieces for brides and women’s eveningwear. One of his celebrity brides asked him to create an elegant bridal mask to complement her headpiece in order to surprise guests and her groom as she came down the aisle. When others saw what he created, many also wanted their own custom mask, so he began collecting special jewels, feathers and different materials to add to the flowers, pearls, crystals and sequins he already had. Beckman loves to travel and over the years during his travels to Europe, India, Asia and throughout the U.S. he has amassed a huge collection of beautiful jewels and special pieces to use in his masks.
Creativity definitely runs in the family. His sister Deb’s beautiful shop, The Enchanted Garden, reflects her own creative style and her vast array of merchandise is evidence of her keen eye for spotting wonderful items. The brother and sister make a great team, continually bouncing design ideas off each other and laughingly say they are twins (born twelve years apart)! Their father, Mike Beckman, was also an artist. Dennis’ son, Stefan Beckman, is a renowned set designer creating elaborate events and museum exhibitions around the world as well as fashion shows and set designs for the ads of many of the worlds’ most prestigious designers, companies and celebrities. “I try to make every day an adventure,” Beckman says, “whether it’s the people I meet, the places I go, the experiences I have, or the creative projects I work on. Fantasy has always been an important aspect of my life,” he says, “I am living my own fantasy and have made my fantasy become reality. People love fantasy —just look at the popularity of the countless books, television programs, videos and movies that are pure fantasy. Putting on a mask opens the door to a fantasy world and allows the wearer to create their own fantasy.”
When selecting a mask, he encourages everyone to try on different masks. The mask eye shape and colors make their eyes take on a startling, very different look, sometimes exotic, sometimes mysterious, often sexy. His masks are very comfortable to wear and can also be designed to be handheld. Many of his mask collectors purchase them to be used as home decor. Most custom masks range in price from $18 to $68, although some of the more elaborate masks are more expensive.
Beckman feels that because of its creative visual environment, The Enchanted Garden is the perfect place to showcase his works of art, and he loves working with the shop’s wonderful clientele. He feels right at home in the city and loves the creative spirit of Shreveport-Bossier where he thoroughly enjoys the art shows, plays, and creative events like Christmas in the Sky. He is excited about being a part of Shreveport-Bossier’s Mardi Gras parades, balls and events and looks forward to helping make everyone’s Mardi Gras season a real fantasy!
