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Working on some bright masks for Rave wear to sell on my stall at confuzzled. They're all UV reactive, hopefully I'll be able to get some photos to work under black light soon.

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Sculpting a Weasel mask for a commission, but the design will be available on my website and in my Etsy store soon

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sculpting a weasel mask for a commission, the final design will also be available in my store soon

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Sculpting some teeth for this alien hybrid commission using miliput epoxy putty

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2024 in review and what to expect in 2025

With a big convention line up, 2024 was a big year for me hitting the road and showing off my wears live, this was a goal I had at the end of 2023 and while I didnt hit it with the expectation I had set out with, here are the conventions I did manage to work:

LARPcon 2nd-3rd March & 2nd - 3rd Nov

Super local, relaxed, and well organised, LARPcon is a great convention, I love chatting with people there and I always learn something new. 

I didn't get a photo of my final setup for the November LARPcon for some reason, but my last con of the year was a blast, I spoke with lots of people who had traded with me through the year and enjoyed their costumes during the LARPing summer season. I also scored a huge box of leather scraps ready for more dragons in 2025

The Alternitive Convention 7th April

This was a new convention for 2024, I saw it advertised and thought I would give it a try for experience if nothing else. It was very interesting with a different enough crowd to showcase to a broader audeince of costume enthusiasts, but not so different that my stall was completely out of place. I don't believe I'm likely to do this convention again as I have a lot planned for this year now.

UK Games Expo 31st May - 2nd June

I was very excited for UKGX, but also super nervous because it's the biggest and most professional convention I've vented at (for now?). My biggest worry was that I would be totally out of place, but everyone was very friendly, particularly fellow vendors who were more than happy to offer tips and advice that I will be applying to my stall in the not-too-distant furture.

What about the furry conventions?

I don't want to talk too much about the conventions that I didnt get into, but as I've mentioned in the past about wanting to do Scotiacon again, and Confuzzled being my staple convention, I thought it would be worth a mention too.

Scotiacon was simply a logistcs issue, my van was in and out of the mechanics for various issues through all of Q4 in 2023, I couldn't afford a new van and I wasn't sure it would get me to Scotland without a tow truck, so I didn't risk applying. With Confuzzled I got caught up in the cogs of the new application process and was left on the waiting list. But, despite my vending list being smaller than I'd hoped, It was probably a blessing in the end as I was able to try out some new conventions. 

Conventions 2025

Alongside my new staple of LARP con, I'm really pleased to say that I will be vending at Confuzzled in 2025, as well as Fantasty Forest Festival!

I will also be vending at various actual LARP events over the year, I have spoken to some organisers, but not finalised anything yet so I will confirm which games I will be vending at at a later date.

 What else I got up to in 2024

My favourite project has been working on all these Dragons, as time-consuming as it is, it is a fun and relaxing process that I've enjoyed and I hope to make more going into 2025

I had a lot of fun experimenting with some new masks as well, including working on a mossy wood elk ready for Fantasy Forest. I only got to attend one day at FF in 2024, but I had a great time wandering around as this branchy antlered beast, I didn't even take it off when I was skanking to the Whiskey Rebellion at the Dragon stage.

Launching several new base designs, I also made lots of animal LARP masks as pre-mades and commissions, A few people shared images with me of them wearing their masks in full character, which was cool to see

I did do some more work on my campervan, this might be Irrelevant to my work, it did interrupt it a bit over July to be fair as I was getting ready for Noisily Festival, but it's also going to be necessary this year if I'm going to be travelling to more events.

What is more irrelevant to my work is that I then spent the next few summer months laying the groundwork for our wildlife garden which I'll be finally completing this year. It's been so slow because I've been basically skip-diving for most of the materials as I go, but It's going to be worth it for all the little newts, bee, birds, hedgehogs and all the other critters that come to visit, they're going to be in a safe and more welcoming environment, and the workshop is going to be surrounded by nature

What's in store for 2025?

More: playing - creating - sculpting 

My biggest goal this year is to see more of my work out in the world, so while I'm out attending festivals and events, I'll be keeping my eyes out. If you know I'm at an event please don't hesitate to seek me out, or send me some photos, I'd love to create a whole page on my website to show off your characters and how you've brought my work to life.

I have a few new sculpts that I'm working on, the main priority is a Stoat / weasel design, I'm also working on an Owl, these should both be ready at least before May, but I'm hoping to have them done in time for LARP con in March.

I haven't abandond slimline head bases, there are two new designs (Fox and a Dragon) that are ready for listing in the next week or so once I have taken some photos. I will be sculpting two more in the run-up to Confuzzled, one will be a Hyena as I've been meaning to work on that for many months, and the other is yet to be decided.

I also want to finish this Highland bull, and I have plans for a couple of others in different colours and with different horns.

Finally, I have caved and started using TikTok over the last few months, so please give me a follow if you use the platform. I don't post there much yet, but any followers would be great

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A tragedy in two parts

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When you're ready to start working on orders and new ideas for 2025 but your bones have other plans...

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Last orders are out, now it's time for the office party

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Showing off the hand hooves I've made for the highland bull, I'll be making hoof shoe covers and a tail before I put them up for sale 🐄

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Imagine being the person who owned the date flask, I wonder if they showed it off smugly and people were wowed by it for a while, like a novelty star-wars mug at the office.

....

because I can't stop thinking about this little date flask, I had to look more into it and found this:

"During the 1st century AD, cast glass was a novel form that was a luxury for the Roman household, but by the end of the century, the innovation of blown glass allowed for less labor-intensive and less expensive production, which meant people of lesser means could afford it. Blown glass became so popular it nearly supplanted ceramic and even bronze wares in the home.

With the invention of glass blowing came the possibility of making molds to produce multiples, enabling mass production of popular designs. Whimsical shapes, like this date, enjoyed great popularity. While most molds were made of clay or plaster, it is likely that the mold for this flask was made from an actual dried date. Dates were not only a staple of the Mediterranean diet, used to sweeten food and wine, but were also a symbolic gift given at the New Year."

[The Art Institute of Chicago] (https://www.artic.edu/artworks/119084/flask-in-the-shape-of-a-date)

I love things like this, things that connect us to people in the past, their lives were harder than ours in a lot of ways, but they weren't just surviving, eating, fighting and passing on their genes, like the picture a lot of history re-tellings paints for us. They lived day-to-day lives, they were silly and novel, they made jokes, and they had fun. It's nice to be reminded of that some times.

1. 19th century sealskin thong, Greenland

2. Pazyryk swan made of felted reindeer wool, circa 400 BCE, Siberia

3. Child’s hat with bird, nalbound cotton and wool, 1000–1476 CE, Chancay culture, Peru

4. Knitted cotton sock from Egypt, 1000-1200 CE

5. Sidonian flask shaped like a date, 1st-2nd century CE, Syria or Palestine

6. World’s oldest surviving pants, woven wool, circa 1300-1000 BCE, China

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As a kid in the 90's, I used to draw on a program similar to MSpaint on my Amiga600. All I had to draw with was a rollerball mouse, so I got "really good" at drawing digital art with a mouse before I got my first tablet in 2011.

I don't know what reminded me of that, but I decided to try drawing in photoshop with my mouse today to see if I still could. I think all the benefits of photoshop, like layers and transparency, helped a lot, but I'm really surprised that I haven't lost the muscle memory.

as my secondary school art teacher would beg me to stop drawing dragons, I thought it would only be fitting to draw a dragon.

Anyway, here is my dragon doodle, done with a mouse :)

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Mocking up the fur hood

Painting the highland cattle pre-made mask

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How Not to Break Your Sewing Machine

I work in a shop where we repair sewing machines (a LOT of sewing machines), and unsurprisingly we see a lot of the same problems over and over again, so I'm here with some advice on how to keep your machine running longer.

When you break a needle, dig around until you have found the broken piece. If you leave it in there, it can end up in the wrong place at the wrong time and break something vital.

SLOW DOWN. The function of your sewing machine depends on the different moving parts ending up in the right place at the right time. Having to go through a lot of/heavy material slows the needle down, but it doesn't slow down the mechanism underneath the needle plate. If you try to go your usual speed, the needle will arrive too late and collide with something it shouldn't, breaking either the needle or the bobbin case. If the material is especially heavy (say you're sewing several layers of denim, or sewing webbing onto canvas), take your foot off the pedal and turn the machine by hand.

Clean out the bobbin area after each project. Really. Your machine comes with a little brush for this purpose. If it doesn't, a little dollar-store paint brush will work just fine. Remember what I said above about things being in the right place at the right time? Everything needs to be able to move freely for this to work. I know it looks like it's just a little dust and fluff, but it will jam up your machine eventually.

If you can, get your timing adjusted by a professional. I know most people don't have a sewing machine repair shop in their neighbourhood, but if you can do this, it's worth it. If the machine's timing is good, then you're more likely to have a little leeway for heavier fabric or a lintier bobbin case. When the timing is just a bit off, it takes less of an obstacle to put the needle in a place it shouldn't be.

If you can, buy a machine built before 1980. If it's still working 50 years after it was made, it's gonna keep working. Those older machines are made with metal gears and therefore weigh a ton, so they're definitely not a good choice if you don't have a permanent setup for your machine, but it means they basically last forever. Newer machines are made with plastic parts, and no matter what you do, they will break.

Don't buy a Singer Heavy Duty. I'm sure those machines have their benefits, but they are absolutely not heavy duty. We repair more Singer Heavy Dutys than any other single model of sewing machine. If you're already stuck with a Heavy Duty, then follow my advice above even more scrupulously, and start shopping around for a replacement if you can. You can get a used sewing machine of better quality for significantly less than a new Heavy Duty.

To keep things working properly, make sure you're:

threading your machine properly

using the right kind of bobbin

adjusting your tension properly

and using the right kind of needle for the fabric you're sewing!

(These things are unlikely to break your machine, but they will keep it from sewing properly.)

Other than that, get your hands on your machine's manual and read it carefully. If you can, bring your machine in for a cleaning and adjustment now and then. Your machine will need repairs every once in a while: it's a lot of little moving parts! But these are some basic precautions you can take to avoid some common problems.

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Painting the highland cattle pre-made mask

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Every year

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I don't think I'm going to be able to ship this one when they're done