For crying out loud

The Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained almost 50% since its March low, but for those who prefer to cry about how far the stock market fell before March, there is nothing quite like the Dow Jones handkerchief. Embroidered with bright red stitching showing the descending path of the index over the five-year period from March 2004 to March 2009, the Dow Jones hankie is likely to give some buy-and-hold proponents something to cry about. The hankie is one of 15 “idea-based” products offered by Design Glut, a firm launched two years ago by industrial design graduates Kegan Fisher and Liz Kinnmark. “We want to express ideas on everyday products, and the handkerchief just seems appropriate for a chart showing the Dow over that five-year period,” Ms. Kinnmark said. The “recession hankie,” as it is known colloquially, sells for a recession-friendly price of $28. For $95, Design Glut will customize a hankie to illustrate the performance of any portfolio over any time period. Ms. Kinnmark said that the object of Design Glut is to create products that make political or cultural statements. There is, for example, the $850 Homeland Security Blanket, a 100% virgin wool blanket adorned with the five different threat advisory levels. A strong statement about cigarette smoking is made with the $140 Smoking Gun cigarette holder. The brass-coated holder is designed so that the barrel of the gun is inserted into the smoker's mouth while inhaling. There is also a collection of jewelry, ranging from $80 to $160, that commemorates the January 2008 date when price of crude oil reached $100 per barrel.