Spider Pillows That Will Make You Crawl

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Natali makes and sells spider pillows to arachnophobics but, please, go see a doctor if symptoms persist.

The craft artist has been making waves online with her gigantic spider pillows made of scraps of faux fur for environmental reasons. Natali is saving the world, one giant spider at a time.

And she makes them quite big, up to almost three metres, using flexible metal wires underneath the fur, for flexibility. Natali spoke to Junkie about her quirky “sculptures”:

“I make my spiders from real fur and wireframe.

“I do not use whole skins in the manufacture of spiders, but only the residues of production of fur clothing.


“I take away these residues in the fur workshop so that they do not turn into garbage in a landfill and, therefore, the demand for real fur does not increase. My work with fur only decreases the amount of waste.”

Credit: @lifelike_spider_art

Natali says that many of her clients have arachnophobia, a serious mental condition that makes someone terrified of spiders.

If while reading this article, you experience dizziness, sweating, rapid heart rate and sweating, this is not just a sign that you should start going to the gym, it might be a sign that you suffer from arachnophobia.

If arachnophobia is when someone is terrified of spiders, an aracnophile, on the other hand, is someone who LOVES them, and Natali is certainly one of them.

The artist also makes spider broaches and hairclips (!) and had always been fascinated by the wildlife, much like her clients. “People like big spiders and I make it for them” – she says.

According to experts, the fear of spiders can be due to our cultural background, a trauma like having a spider bite or maybe an evolutionary reaction to the threat of a poisonous little crawler trying to kill you.

Yes, the body is right and arachnophobia can be a precious evolutionary lesson. After all, poisonous insects can cause illness and infections. Therefore, our fear of being bitten is our body responding to a natural threat.

Clinical psychiatrist Alan Manavits of Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, USA, has spoken about the evolutionary reasons for us to cringe at spiders:

“We know many species of spiders are poisonous and bite, and we know this from direct experience, science, biology, TV, and seeing other people get bitten, therefore, when we see a spider near us, a natural response is to feel fear and avoid the spider.”

But evolution doesn’t explain everything with culture playing an important role. For example, in certain areas of Africa, people are terrified of spiders, whereas in South Africa they eat them.

According to the clinical psychiatrist, people with extreme fear of spiders might choose to leave the house instead of cleaning their cupboard. He added:  

“When it causes such anxiety that it stops us from participating in activities that we want or need to do, or manifests itself in such a way that it can be physically and mentally debilitating, we know our fear of spiders has become irrational.”

In other words, if you’d rather leave the country than deal with that spider in your windowsill, maybe you should buy one of Natali’s peculiar pillows – or seek medical treatment.

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