Product Information

I am not an artist. You will not find any of my work in a museum or private collection, at least not yet; give me a hundred years or so. My work is that of a backwoods craftsman and is built to withstand the test of time. Everything is handmade, just as it was two hundred years ago. Nothing is pre-distressed or aged. I have two reasons for this. In the seventeenth century when a man bought a piece of equipment it was new. When I buy a new gun I don't want it aged for me. All the scratches and blemishes my equipment acquire are from use. Each and every mark came from use on a hunt, a trek, or a re-enactment. Each mark is a memory. I can look at my gear and recall all of the great times. As I get older those memories become more precious. Marks that someone else puts on a piece of equipment mean nothing to me, they hold no memories for me.

On the right is my hunting pouch. It has features, such as the knife sheath on the back of the pouch and the small pocket on the strap for my powder measure and vent pick, that I will be putting on other pouches in the future.

I use the finest material I can find in all my goods. The hunting pouches are made of moose or elk hide. Knife sheathes and tomahawk covers are made of heavy cowhide. Any trim on the pouches is of deer or elk. All the leather is hand cut and saddle stitched by hand with linen cord. All stitching is back stitched with no knots to come undone or alter the lines of the piece. As I was once told, if it's worth sewing, it's worth sewing by hand. The lining is of linen or cotton. The straps are made of leather, jute, hemp, cotton or linen. I use only material that would have been available to me two hundred years ago.
I use moose or elk, rather than deer hide, for my pouches, for durability. Both have the soft molding quality of deer but are much thicker and stronger. Also, in the eighteenth century moose and elk were more prevelent then deer in northern Michigan. Linen, cotton, osnaburg and block printed calico, as well as linen thread and cord were common trade items. All buttons are brass, pewter or antler. All bead work is done with pony beads rather than seed beads. The smaller beads were not prominent in the trade until much later. All bead work is traditional to the tribal groups of the Old Nothwest. The bead work is lock-stitched for durability.
The design of my pouches and other equipment, while not being museum replicas, are of the time period of the early trade and colonial period. Most pouches, with the exception of those of Native American design, come with small pockets sewn in for spare flints or tools. Each pouch is hand-made, one at a time. As a result no two will ever be exactly alike.

Our calico cloth is as close as we can make it to 18th century calico. All of the work is done by hand. The fabric is either block printed using original hand carved blocks from the Far East, or hand painted designs. The fabric we use is linen, cotton or a blend of linen and cotton. All the inks we use are color fast. We sell our fabric as fabric. The usual size is 3yrds. All the fabric is pre-washed to eliminate as much shrinkage as possible. Yardage of this size is usually more than sufficiant for most clothing patterns. Because of the hand work involved each piece is a one of a kind. Even if we were to duplicate the pattern there would be inherent changes that would make it unique. The printing and coloring of calico is work intensive. It will take us time to build up a large inventory, so keep watching the site for new pices to be added.

I am not a rich man and I don't believe my customers are either. I price my goods to cover the cost of materials and make a little profit for myself. Making these things is my way of relaxing and making a little extra money to afford my hobby. I don't plan on making a fortune, so if you want to brag about the price you paid you are at the wrong spot. If I were to charge you my hourly wage you couldn't afford it.
As to avaliability. As I said, I make each piece one at a time. I have no apprentice or assistant. Each piece takes as long as it takes to make. If I have the time and energy, I make more. If not I make less. As a result the number of pieces avaliable at anyone time may vary. If you see something you like, and it is marked sold, or has no price, or like the style but would like some changes, contact me.  Any of these pouches can be duplicated at least the style and design.  The colors of leather will vary as to what I have on hand, or can get. Because each pouch is hand made it is truly one of a kind.  Nothing that is hand can be duplicated exactly.  Each pouch will be unique in its own way. 

               CUSTOM WORK

Do to the demand for special features on a pouch or a special type of pouch, I am doing custom work.  I will make a pouch to your specifications if you can tell me indetail what you want.  That is the size in inches, what features you want on the pouch, such as a knife sheath ect., the length of the strap and anything else to fit your needs.  Custom work takes time, so you may have to wait.  The price will be determined by what you want, but it will always be resonable.  I'm not out to make my fortune.  I will work with you until we have come to an agreement on what you want and how much it will cost. 

At this time, I am only accepting personal checks or money orders for payment. Nothing can be shipped until a personal check has cleared our bank, about 10 days, sorry for the inconvenience. This may change in the future, so do check on this.

Prices on the calico will depend on the amount of material and work involved in each piece. At this time we are not taking special orders. The color of the cloth is dependent on what we can find.

NEW PRODUCTS

From time to time we are adding new products to our site.  We have resently added a line of wampum accesories and hope to expand them.  Other items will be added as we have time to make them and get them up, so keep watching.  If you have an idea for something and don't see it, write us and ask we may be able to make it for you.