Historic Projects

In early 2025 I looked into the history of animal-fat-burning lamps in northern Europe. I made reproductions of Viking-age and Anglo Saxon ceramic tallow lamps using clay I dug and fired myself. Photos below show the green and fired results. My full article about these lamps was published in The Oak, the Arts & Sciences newsletter of the SCA Kingdom of Atlantia.

After a few decades of making various historical recreations as a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, I’ve decided it is time to start putting my work all together in one place so I can more easily share what I’ve learned. This blog I hope will provide that place. I may also share other projects with interesting but more modern methods.

I work with a wide variety of materials, but most often use wood, metal, leather, or textiles. I also enjoy food and find it is worth growing and studying. Though I am interested in a variety of times and places, my main interests are focused on the Migration-era and Viking age periods in northern Europe. I also have some interest in the early Iron Age and in the sixteenth century.

Quite a lot of related topics interest me within these time frames. These include alchemy; archery and making archery equipment; blacksmithing, bladesmithing, and metal casting; open-fire and early-period cooking and baking; forestry and related activities of the Kingdom of Atlantia Royal Forestry Guild; dyeing fiber with natural dyes, particularly dyes derived from mushrooms or lichens; sewing, both by hand and using vintage industrial sewing machines; and tablet weaving.

I’m still learning how to do things on this site, so please bear with me as I strive to figure it all out. I hope you enjoy learning more about my projects!