The Witch and the Wanderer

19/08/2024

Farewell Merriwick! Thanks for another season of fun, friends and side quests. See you all next year!

13/08/2024

During the 4th weekend of a few lovely guests asked me what my advice would be to someone getting into

It turns out I wasn't ready for this question. Nobody had asked me that before and I appreciated it so much that my decision making abilities went right out the window. I cobbled together some generally solid advice like "don't try to reinvent the wheel" and "get familiar with the basic tools before investing in fancy stuff", but that didn't feel very personal.

I've had some time to think (and a good night's sleep) and now I have two genuine bits of advice for new leatherworkers. Keep in mind I am nowhere near an expert, but since some folk asked:

1. Don't be afraid to ruin some leather. Buy a discount side and just go to town. You'll make mistakes, but that's the only way to figure out how hard you need to hit the tools, how deep to push the knife, how much water to use, and so on. You may even discover a nifty trick that will make your work stand out down the line.

2. Make stuff for other people. This is what works for me, anyway. I find it easier to avoid procrastination and keep my focus on quality when I'm making something for someone else.

There's plenty of other good advice to be had, but those two bits have served me well. So good luck, keep at it, and have fun! (wristband in progress included for scale)

08/08/2024

We're ready for a wild weekend of warriors and... another "w" word! Come by and see us; we're near the medic tent and a spacious shaded seating area. Maybe we'll have finished our alliteration by then!

05/08/2024

Our witch is hard at work preparing all the tiny mushroom terrariums! Moss and flowers preserved from our own gardens, each mushroom sculpted and painted individually, on display the next two weekends of Come say hi!

02/08/2024

We're set up for the last three weekends of the .Come find us for magical wares and enchanting handmade leather goods. We are at the crossroads near the first aid and information booth. We can't wait to see all of your lovely faces, huzzah!

22/07/2024

Our faithful popup served us well for the past couple years, but this year we got crazy and built a stall from scratch! Plenty of dressing still to do, but we are excited to set up shop at the for the 3rd, 4th, and 5th weekends! Come check out our new digs!

22/01/2024

If your leather comes out of storage looking like this, don't panic!

Many leather goods have a beeswax topcoat to condition them and protect them from moisture. Sometimes there may be excess wax on the surface that will oxidize.

While it's a mistake to leave enough wax for this to happen, it's an easy mistake to make. Fortunately, it's also easily corrected. This layer of wax can be broken up with normal buffing methods and either worked in or wiped off, depending on how much is there.

A horsehair brush is the choice tool for buffing leather, but a cotton cloth will work as well. You can also improve your results by warming the leather up in the oven for just a couple minutes at the lowest possible setting before working the wax into it.

06/09/2023

We're experimenting with aspen leaves thanks to a wonderful custom order request. Pictured next to the lone maple leaf left over from our ren faire stock. We're very pleased with the results and we're looking forward to working with this design!

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24/08/2023

Our fierce little tent, stripped down to its bones during the Monday teardown. This part is always bittersweet. We look forward to our shower and bed and kitchen, but also it means there's a whole year before we hear the horns of Merriwick sound. Even moreso this year as it may be the last time for our first tent.

This thing has been a trooper for us and it may be called to serve one last time, but we are beginning the hunt for an upgrade so we can have a larger, more thematic, and more comfortable space for you to visit us at future faires.

15/08/2023

Weekend 3, here we come! We're taking advantage of the week to finish up anything we can before the last week of the Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire. Looking forward to cooler temperatures and a fantastic weekend.

10/08/2023

Every time we drive away from the faire, we kind of just want to head right back. But this week we're taking advantage of the week to crank out a few more items before the gates open on Saturday. Can't wait to see you folks there!

04/08/2023

It's here! Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire 2023! This year we will be set up for multiple weekends and can't wait to say hello to any and all comers! Come browse our wares, show off your sick garb, and have a chat.

24/07/2023

We are pretty terrible at keeping up with social media, but we have been hammering away at our preparations for the in just a couple short weeks! A variety of keychains are just one of many products we'll have at our booth; hope to see you there!

18/04/2023

Our cutting phase is complete for this year's ren faire! Approximately six sides of veg tan from went into our inventory this year and we're looking forward to sharing the phases of our process.

We create all our own patterns and use only the tools pictured in our cutting and trimming phase. Next up will be edging, grooving, and punching, all of which are very satisfying tasks and should make for interesting posts in the days to come.

20/03/2023

Don't mind us, we're just over here creating an army of tiny terrarium bugs...

02/01/2023

Happy New Year! Our Wanderer didn't get to spend much time on leather after our Renn Faire, but a few projects did get done!

We made a custom pouch for one of the fabulous people we met at the faire, custom handle wraps for the espresso machine at our Witch's coffee shop Fog & Fern Coffee House and some leather cup sleeves for the same!

Now that the new year is here, we're getting back to the grind with some leather leaves. We can't wait to see everyone in a few short months at the 2023 Washington Rennaissance Faire!

18/12/2022

Little mushroom earrings coming to next seasons renaissance faire!
Had a lot of folks asking me to make these, so shroom earring there shall be! Excited to have these on display for you next August

#🍄

15/08/2022

We are tremendously grateful to every single person who stopped by our tent at our very first Renaissance Faire this past weekend. Whether you were just looking, stayed to chat, or found something to buy, you all made our experience absolutely magical. We only had enough inventory for the one weekend this year, but we plan to be back next year for all three weekends with more of the things that resonated with you lovely folks!

13/08/2022

We're open today and tomorrow at the WMRF!

12/08/2022

Washington Midsummer Renaissance Fair 2022, here we come!

05/08/2022

Today we're working on assembling the last batch of pouches before we head to the Ren Faire next weekend! Assembly is pretty simple since the pouch itself is one piece, but there are a whole lot of stitches between now and the finish.

And, just because we like a challenge, all our stitching is done by hand. Saddle stitches for days!

03/08/2022

One of the finishing elements we like to include in all our leather goods is burnished edges. Our burnishing agent of choice is Tokonole and it's all done by hand!

24/07/2022

Using vinegaroon to turn leather black. This old world method chemically reacts with the leather to change its color without actually using any pigmentation. It's science y'all.

16/07/2022

Bloody Marys and wristband tooling make for a pretty good Saturday.

30/06/2022

30/06/2022

Raspberries fresh from the garden for sustenance. Homemade plum wine from last year's harvest for fun. And a blank piece of leather ready for tooling. This could very well be a productive afternoon.

04/06/2022

Pouch inception! Our Wanderer has been working on different sizes, colors, and designs so no belt-storage need will go unmet.

29/05/2022

Practice makes perfect, so our Wanderer went to work on this design in as many colors as we have dye for.

23/05/2022

Our Witch is wrapping up a batch of smudge sticks from our home-grown sage as the Faire looms ever closer.

07/05/2022

Our Witch has a new batch of tiny mushrooms ready for their tiny terrarium homes.