With graduation still months away, senior diplomacy major Marianna Eboli has already begun reaching out to students, offering to design their caps for graduation. In fact, on Feb. 13, within the first day of posting the offer on social media, three students had commissioned caps from Eboli.
She explained that her first experience designing caps came last year after she decided to design a cap as a present for her boyfriend, Mitch Torrence, a Seton Hall graduate. He requested an image of Kanye West’s “Graduation” album cover for his cap.
Eboli went on to say that, because of the many layers and colors that went into the design, the hand-painted recreation of the album art took her four days to craft.
Considering the time it took for Eboli to test the material of the cap with different colors and patterns, Torrence said the final product reflected the amount of work that went into it.
“When I saw the cap for the first time, I was just in awe,” Torrence said. “I felt so proud to be wearing it.”
Eboli said, depending on the complexity and materials in the design, a project can take one to four days to complete. For example, Eboli said that she may be able to do a rhinestone cap in a day, while it can take three days to complete a hand-painted image. Because of this, she often works on a few caps at once while she waits for layers and materials to dry.
However, she does not appear to mind the workload.
“We’re all very conflicted about politics or life, so I think it’s a good way to help people express themselves,” Eboli said.
Eboli has a wealth of experience expressing herself through art as she often paints wood letters and posts her work to Instagram.
Students seem to be considering many ways to express themselves in their graduation fashion.
Senior public relations major Gabriel Fiore explained that, if he decides to decorate his cap, he will likely include Pokémon-related themes or artwork, as he has always been a fan of the franchise. He added that he may consider asking Eboli to make his cap.
Eboli also explained that, with all of the controversy surrounding graduation this year, even if she does not make them herself, many students are likely to express their discontent with their caps.
“I think that people will try to make a statement,” Eboli said.
She added that, in addition to the current social climate being politically-charged, students tend to be more open with their opinions.
According to Eboli, she still has eight spots open for students and her services cost anywhere from $20 to $35 depending on what materials are needed, such as paint, stones or stickers.
Julie Trien can be reached at julie.trien@student.shu.edu.
