Holly Celeb's Gossip: November 2011

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With a short command, Maven Lore prompts his customer to open his vampire Hair Stylemouth.

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He shines a light on the man's teeth, examining his vampire Hair Styleworkspace.

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Relax, Lore says as he turns around and begins digging vampire Hair Stylethrough tools in the black and silver hard-sided case sitting on the kitchen counter in his New Orleans home.

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The two make vampire Hair Stylesmall talk as Lore pulls out an artist's drill and two small pieces of pre-molded dental acrylic. These are the simple tools of the trade for a "fangsmith," an vampire Hair Styleartist that sculpts vampire fangs for daily wear.

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With dark hair down vampire Hair Styleto his waist and a stocky build, it's easy to see Lore, 36, fitting in to the New Orleans vampire community using his dark and often deadpan style of humor.

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Lore is stone-faced as vampire Hair Stylehe takes the customer's left and then right index fingers and tells him to hold up his own upper lip.

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The customer complies and Lore vampire Hair Styleshoves the two soft pieces of acrylic onto the man's upper canine teeth.

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Stay like that for vampire Hair Styleabout 10 minutes, Lore said.

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After about five minutes, vampire Hair Stylethe customer reaches up to feel the acrylic drying. Lore slaps the customer's hand away and jokingly chastises him.

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A few minutes later, Lore tugs the vampire Hair Styletwo acrylic pieces off his customer's teeth with a faint "pop" and sets to work shaping and smoothing with the drill.

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Five minutes later, Lore hands his vampire Hair Stylecustomer two freshly minted, vampire fangs that fit snugly over the man's canines.

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For 14 years, vampire Hair StyleLore has created custom-fitted vampire fangs for an eclectic range of clientele, from not only members of the small New Orleans vampire community but also tourists, business people, lawyers and law enforcement officers.

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I have always been into (vampire) vampire Hair Stylemythology, Lore said. "I bought my first set of fangs when I was 22 and as I was walking home, I felt different, like there was something more to this than just pointy teeth."

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A graphic designer and artist, Lore began making vampire Hair Stylefangs at the urge of his roommates while living in his native New York City when he was 23.

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I was living with a bunch of vampire enthusiasts at the vampire Hair Styletime and they saw the fangs I had gotten a year before, Lore said. "I started making them fangs and it turned out I had a knack for it."

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Soon after, Lore lost his job with a graphic design firm. Low on cash and spending his time couch surfing, Lore decided to move to New Orleans in 1998 after working that year's Endless Night Vampire Ball as a guest fangsmith.

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Lore easily found a vampire Hair Styleplace and a clientele among the city's vampire community.

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There is a lot of interpretation of what it actually means to be part of a vampire community, Lore said. "For some people it's a religion; (for others) its about being part of a group; still others see it as a philosophy; and, of course, there are others who just like the fashion aspect of it. There is no one definition. The biggest connecting theme is just the love of vampire Hair Stylethe mythology. That's a jumping-off point for everything else."

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For Lore, the philosophy and strength of the vampire figure are vampire Hair Stylewhat attracts him.

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Lore said before vampire Hair StyleHurricane Katrina, he knew of hundreds of vampire enthusiasts who formed a helpful community within the city. Since then the number has dropped drastically to maybe a dozen, he said.

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Now, there aren't as many vampire Hair Styleclients living in New Orleans; it's mostly tourists or strippers, Lore said. "The clientele I do have is a small group that saves its money to get fangs. These are luxury items."

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Lore charges anywhere from $100 to $200 for a pair , depending on the style and time needed. On average, Lore can finish a pair of fangs within 30 minutes, but said his personal best is five pairs within an hour.

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With his case in hand, Lore can make fangs anywhere, but on the vampire Hair Styleaverage day he sets up his workbench in the back of various French Quarter shops. He can often be found working in Boutique du Vampyre and Wicked Orleans.

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Marita Jaeger, owner of Boutique du Vampyre, said her shop has hosted vampire Hair StyleLore for nearly six years and recently has seen an increase in business for his fangs because of the surge of interest in popular vampire shows and books, like "True Blood" and "Twilight."

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The vampire hype and media are bringing more people out because they see it's cool and acceptable, Jaeger said .

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Jaeger said customers normally would buy fangs only for costumes and Halloween, but now she sees more people wearing them to vampire Hair Stylenightclubs and bars in the city.

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