Faire Holiday Season – Part Deux

As I mentioned on the last post, since we had so many different vendors, I didn’t want to load all of the information on one post.

Here are 12 more vendors that I hope you can support during this lovely Holiday season that supported Winslowshire last June (and hoping they come back for next year of 2010!)

1. Storied Threads (www.storiedthreads.com) has beautifully hand made attire for both men and women; including hats, accessories, embroidery and more.

2. Lost Art Chains (sorry no website information) has great hand crafted metal ware for chain maille and other things like bracelets or even things made for stuffed Bunnies.

3. Antika Nueva  (www.antikanueva.com) has wonderful hand made jewelry, soaps, some amazing healing goo (trust me – I love the Raw Shea Comfrey Goo – I swear by that stuff!) and other really cool things – plus she is just really cool.

4. Aetas Designs also makes wonderful hand made quality renaissance attire as well as wedding renaissance attire, so those of you who might be getting married, would want to check them out their website is aetasdesigns.com

5.  BlackSwann Masques (sorry no website) have amazingly beautiful leather masks.  We bought two at the Connecticut Renaissance Faire and we got so many compliments on them!

6.  For those of you who like magical things, you would most want to check out Alchemy magicalalchemy.com who also has some great trim for those of you who are the crafty types

7. If you are in need of a special kind of cloak or cape, look no further than our friends from Fairie Tailor www.myspace.com/fairietailor who makes one of a kind cloaks and capes just made especially for you or your loved one!

8. For the musicians of the house, you might want to look into Drum And Whistle www.drumandwhistle.com- wonderful renaissance instruments that you could play today!

9. Do you love fantasy art? You should then check out Fantasy Dimensions www.fantasydimensions.com – this artist Kirin Stein Heller is a most wondrous and amazingly talented artist!  She starts with one medium and then adds another and another which then makes her art very interesting and lovely.

10. Ravensbeck www.ravensbeck.org is a bunch of artisans that co-op together, so I’m sure that they make that would be great as a last minute gift for that someone special

11. Emry’s Fynery www.etsy.com/shop/EmrysFynery has some beautiful hand made jewelry which includes some cameos and other things.

12. Treasures is just a place where you can get some kitschy items for the Pirate lover in all of us.  They don’t have a website for that, but for those of you who like tattoos, you should definitely check out her shop  www.artgeckotattoos.com and support her business as she is just a wonderful person and can help you decide on which tattoo you should get!

Okay, that’s it for part deux – more to come hopefully next week!

Have a Faire Holiday Season! (Part 1)

First of all, I would like to say Happy Holidays for all of you that are reading this blog, who have supported me or Winslowshire!

For those of you that didn’t get a chance to come this past June of 2009, we ended up with over 40 different vendors and as a Holiday Present from me to you, I am listing all the different vendors here so you can go and support them.  I would also like to say that not all of our vendors that were at Winslowshire have websites (well, it IS the Renaissance), but I can get their information if you would like to get it.  Since we had sooooo many vendors, I will list 10 today and more hopefully this week.

Here we go:

1.  Cloak & Dagger http://www.cloakmaker.com is having their Yule tide Open House THIS Sunday 12/13/09 and here is the invite:

Come and play dress-up! Visit a bit and enjoy our hospitality.

- Clearance sale with extra 10% savings on all garments on the rack.
- 20% off hoods and mass produced shirts!
- New cloaks, clasps, and circlets. Maybe some sneak previews.
- Special pricing on trim remnants.
- Orphan fabric box – adopt a piece and take it hom…e!
- Free bags of scrap also available for crafts.
( We’ll try and deter the fabric hogs who showed up the day before )
- Munchies & Refreshments.
- Supervised kids-in-tow welcome – ours will be there at least part of
the time.

We’re just off 495 in Littleton,MA, about 10 miles due south of
Nashua, NH. An hour from the Maine or Connecticut borders, minutes from Hampshire. Address: http://www.cloakmaker.com/contact.html

Directions: http://www.cloakmaker.com/directions.html
Park in the upper lot where our sign is.
Leave a comment or drop us an email (info at cloakmaker.com)so we can
gauge how much food to prepare.

2. CornerStone Creations http://www.myspace.com/gargoylepete has great handmade sculpture to fit anyone’s outdoor fantasies including naughty gnomes!

3.  For those of you getting started with Renaissance Faires or have been to many in New England then you must know about Silvermane http://www.silvermane.com as they have everything for beginners and advanced Renaissance collectors.

4. Potted Fox is a great place to get your leather bodices (suede no less) and other pouches.  Their website is http://www.pottedfox.com and they have really nice people that are there to help you with your purchase should you not be sure of what to get for yourself or for someone you love.

5. Materialis (sorry no website information) but they do have interesting gypsy wear and other items

6. Shaine Stainton from Red Dog Forge http://www.forgedknives.net can make you anything that is from metal including door knockers.

7. Silverleaf Leather www.silverleaf-leather.com has some nice leather bracers and pouches and of course some armor (all made by Silverleaf)

8. Wolfshead Whatever www.wolfsheadwhatever.com has some SCA items as well as hand made crochet items, fiber items and other nice stuff

9.  Hickory Arms www.hickoryarmsonline.com has great wooden wasters, my personal favorite marshmellow cross bows and of course now tapestry needles (I am going to get one -one day!)

and for now my good friend and greatest supporter of all

10. Good Quill Hunting www.goodquillhunting.com has fabulous hand made beaded items as well as kits you can make yourself for your tweens and other people you love (wife, ahem…)

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Rufus – The mud beggar

At first you think you are not sure that he is a real person.  A figment of your imagination, if you will.

Rufus is covered from head to toe in mud.  Now, there are other mud beggars out there, and while they are good at what they do, Rufus is the best!

Rufus by the red house

Here is a great picture of Rufus by the Red House.

Now Rufus will try to sell you a free stick for a dollar or ask you for a hug or a kiss while covered in mud.  He’ll even “stalk” you with some celery or whatever he has on hand.  He is really funny and very clever.

Rufus does perform at other Renaissance Faires too, such as The New Hampshire Faire http://www.nhfaire.com and some in Maine (sorry, I don’t have more information yet).

We love Rufus at Winslowshire and we hope to see him “stuck” with us next year.

Resa Nelson – Author of Dragonslayer’s Sword

We were so fortunate to have our first author (local one at that) to sell her books (and signed copies too) at Winslowshire!  She is putting out a new book and soon!

She is currently selling her book on her website, and now also at King Richard’s Faire in Carver, MA.  She is a really nice person and I heard that the book is a really good read too.

Author Resa Nelson sold her novel, The Dragonslayer’s Sword, at Winslowshire for the first time this year.  If you didn’t have a chance to meet her (or if there’s someone on your holiday list who likes fantasy novels), check out her special 1-day promotion.  Anyone who buys her novel from Amazon.com on October 13 will get lots of free gifts from Resa.  Go to www.resanelson.com and look for the link to her special promotion page.

Go now to check out http://www.amazon.com and find The Dragonslayer’s Sword and buy it today!

Delicious Snacks that we had -Dave’s Mini Donuts and JW’s Kettle Corn

Winslowshire Festival was really happy to have two great food vendors that served more than their fare (ha! a pun!) share of delicious goodies, that I haven’t wrote about yet.  They were Dave’s Mini Donuts and JW’s Kettle Corn.

Oh my goodness, Dave’s Mini Donuts http://www.davethedonutguy.com/index.html are so delicious even one bite just sends you to heaven. 

I believe that they will be at The Connecticut Renaissance Faire (http://www.ctfaire.com) and if you get a chance, do go over and have a donut or two, or three, or six…yummmy…

He also makes really good hot apple cider and coffee.

JW’s Kettle Corn found us and requested if they could come and serve Kettle Corn and boy were we lucky to have them!  So great and tasty, salty but sweet kettle corn.  I don’t think they have a website, but I can get their e mail address and if you really enjoyed their kettle corn, I heard that they will ship it to you.  (No, not the shipping corn, the real stuff).  They are local in Carver, MA so I think shipping should only take a few days.

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Pretty cloaks, capes and hats by Fairie Tailor

Fairie Tailor has been making hand made velveteen cloaks, capes, hats and other things for many many years, and currently you can find out more about them on Myspace on this website http://www.myspace.com/fairietailor You can also find them on http://fairietailor.angelfire.com

We were really lucky to have them for Winslowshire, and I do remember Linda Taylor (see, they used their name for the business…clever…) telling me that someone actually purchased one of their more expensive cloaks at Winslowshire.

I also remember seeing a patron walk in her booth with a jean jacket and coming out with a small cape and hat to match…that was a pretty fabulous transformation if I say so myself!

They are really great people and could probably do anything your wish or which your mind imagines.  I really like the fact that these cloaks are washable!  (Hand washed, but still…great news for us who actually perform in the rain, mud and otherwise not so pleasant weather!)

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Other New England Faire news:

CT Renaissance Faire is starting very shortly, do visit their website for more information.  http://www.ctfaire.com/

King Richard’s Faire is also starting very shortly, do visit their website for more information.  http://www.kingrichardsfaire.net/

Create a magical outdoor space with Cornerstone Creations

If you are looking to spice up your curb appeal with something a little different, try CornerStone Creations.  http://www.myspace.com/gargoylepete Is their Myspace page where you can find many of what they offer, which also includes how to actually make these wonderfully creative stone pieces that fit in your garden, patio or even on your front porch!

They also have a facebook page as well, so if you are on facebook, do become a fan, so you can keep updated on what they are currently doing and making.  http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Sturbridge-MA/Cornerstone-Creations/98548080582?ref=ts

They also make “Tree faces” and these Tree faces are faces that you put on your trees to give your trees some character to them, and let me tell you, my Uncle Pat has one in his yard, and it took me two looks to figure out that it was just a tree face…very funny, but appropriate.

They make all sorts of things from benches to garden gnomes (including a naughty naked gnome) and Concrete signs as well.

I’m sure they can do anything you put your imagation to, and if you don’t see anything you like, I’m sure that within reasonable request, Pete should be able to make it for you.

So, contact them today, or the next time you see them at a Renaissance Faire, do stop by and take a look at all their wonderful creations, you’ll be glad you did.

Amazingly Talented Windborne Duo

If you did come to Winslowshire, then hopefully you got a chance to hear the amazingly talented Windborne Duo. http://www.myspace.com/windborneduo These are two individuals make one unit of music sound awesome and inspiring. 

My husband actually bought their CD and it is just acoustically aestically pleasing to your ear (and believe me, I have heard some really great CDs in my time).

Not only are they musically in tune with one another, but they happen to know more than over 300 languages!  I didn’t even know there were so many!  From Italian, to Gaelic, to Croatian, to Russian, to American Folk songs and so on.  These two are just really something to see and watch. 

We know that most likely that they will be traveling through Europe (again…) and singing their music in many other Countries…so great for them!

Please do go visit their Myspace page and if you are on Myspace, become their fan…they need as many as they can get!