Chainmail Is A Nerd's Best Friend

Chainmail Dice Bag by Tangled Metal on Etsy

It is true, I am a nerd. I am geeky. I love Sci-Fi and Fantasy. That is probably the why I started making chainmail in the first place. Only someone who has played Dungeons and Dragons could create the chainmail dice bag in the photo above. Sometimes the nerd in me takes over and there is very little I can do to stop it.

Chainmail Hacky Sack by Tangled Metal on ArtFire

It would seem that chainmail dice bags were not enough for me. I had to go and create a chainmail hacky sack. Now I will not take credit for being the first one to make one. I will however say that before I made my first one I had never seen anyone else make one. I had seen some juggling balls but they were quite a bit larger. About a year after I started selling these at Renaissance Fairs and shops, I started seeing them all the time.

Chainmail Coif With Mantle by Tangled Metal on Etsy

The above picture shows why I really got into making chainmail in the first place. I wanted to make armor for myself. I read The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy and the Hobbit when I was 12 or 13 years old. I wanted to be like the warriors in the books. I wanted to wear armor and wield a sword. I wanted to be like them. It is funny that I ended up the guy who makes the armor and not the guy who wears it.

Something Blue Chainmail Necklace by Tangled Metal on Etsy

As time went on I started making chainmail jewelry. There were many other chainmaillers out there making jewelry but I wanted to set myself apart from them. I started making things that I thought people would like to wear outside of just the Renaissance Fair. I wanted to create items that were everyday wear.

When I was on the Renaissance Fair circuit I would only have about six months with each new design before I started seeing them done by others. This gave me the opportunity to create new designs on a regular basis. I had to stay ahead of the game. And I did for many years.

I retired from the life of being on the road after the events of 9/11. Traveling just did not seem safe to many people and it was evident by the decline of patrons at the Renaissance Fairs. Though I sometimes miss being on the road I am happy to be in one location where I do not have to wear a costume or fake an accent. Being in one place has also made it much easier to create new items and designs.

Steampunk Pendant "Time Lord" by Tangled Metal on Etsy

As seen with this picture I have branched out from Medieval Times to the Victorian and Edwardian era. I guess the nerd in me will never die. Steampunk is my newest love. I take that back. I have always loved Steampunk but it hasn't always had a name. I do enjoy creating the pendants and brooches.

My father is going to retire from being a school teacher next year. He is going to teach me silver smithing. So, I guess I better get to selling some jewelry and armor so that I can afford to buy some silver. I am looking forward to learning a new trade that will help me with my current one.

What You Drive Says A Lot About You

My 1951 Nash Ambassador Custom

What you drive says a lot about you. It will define you in may ways. With the high price of gas today we often drive cars that have less to do with who we are and more to do with what we can afford. Sometimes, however, it is what you don't drive that defines who you are.

I have owned my fair share of cars over the years. From "Muscle Cars" to my "Soccer Mom Minivan" and everything in between. I currently own three cars: 1994 Nissan Quest Minivan, 1966 Ford Fairlane 500, and a 1951 Nash Ambassador Custom. Over the three only one is currently being driven. Can you guess which one it is?

I used to drive the Fairlane but ended up taking it apart for restoration a few years back. The economy got kind of bad so I have not done too much with it. I bought the '51 Nash last year to save it from going to the crusher. I just could not let that beautiful piece of art be destroyed. I drive the Nissan every day. It is a reliable vehicle that can transport all of my art, tables and tent to and from art shows.

I would love to have the Nash and the Fairlane on the road right now, but honestly, I don't think I could afford the gas or the insurance. I guess I am a bit of a dreamer when it comes to cool old cars. I can see myself in the drivers seat driving around town and at the moment, being unemployed and living in a bad recession, that is nothing more than a dream. Maybe one day...

Maybe one day I should sell the cars that I do not drive and just move on, but it is a difficult task. Bad economy means not many buyers. I suppose it does not cost me much by having the car sitting in the yard and maybe I can do some work on them, the kind of work that does not cost money.

Sometimes I feel like my art is sitting in the yard rusting. I have big dreams about my art too. I dream that it will one day soon pay the bills. I am hopeful that the economy will pick back up and I can afford to restore my other dreams and the gas to make them move.

ArtFire: Is It The Next Big Thing?

A View Of The ArtFire Front Page

Certainly by now you have heard of ArtFire. It is an online market place for handmade items, vintage items and more. It is very much like Etsy, and yet it is very different. The biggest difference is the fact that there are no ongoing fees. You pay a flat fee around $10 a month and then sell as much as you like. They also offer a free version, but there are some limitations.

You may think that paying $10 a month is a lot. But look at it this way, when was the last time you had a bill on Etsy for $10? With listing fees, fees when you renew and fees when you sell, the $10 mark is quickly met and surpassed by the 10th of the month, at least it is for me. My bill on Etsy this month is already up to over $40!

ArtFire is still considered by many to be in its infancy. There are far fewer users there than on Etsy, but that is something that they are in the process of correcting. They are off and running and making leaps and bounds trying to make it the next big thing. I believe that they have some great potential.

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There are some really great things that ArtFire is doing over Etsy. The item listing is done on one page. I love that. I have the pictures right there and I can see them while typing my description. It sure makes for a more accurate description. It also has a section for inspirational stories behind your item. You can also associate the item with an age group, holiday, or gender.

On the studio page you have some nifty tabbed sections right on your page, including a blog tab where you can do a blog right in ArtFire. Listing an item puts it into the search. You don't have to renew your item to be top of the search either. They have several different search criteria to make sure no one has to spend more money to be seen. A lot of good things happening over there.

It may be too soon to see if ArtFire will become as huge as Etsy but one thing is for sure, there is no reason to not have a shop on both sites. I have only made a few sales but because of their relationship with Google people were able to find me very quickly after my listing was made. So, I am endorsing ArtFire. Just do me the favor of going through me so that I can get a free month.

I'd like to hear your experiences with ArtFire. Please leave a comment and tell me how you are doing.

Art Show Tomorrow, Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Tangled Metal Showing Art at First Thursday Fayetteville, Arkansas

Tomorrow I will be showing my art and jewelry at a local art show in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Each first Thursday of the month from April until December they block off the streets on the square in Fayetteville.  Local and regional artists set up from 4:00pm until 8:00pm and show their wares.

I was there last month and I was accepted to come back again this month. It was a lot of fun even if I did not make much money last month. Hopefully this month will be better for me. Everything from fine art to, well, chainmail, can be found on the square.

Last year they only closed one of the streets off, but because of such a great turnout, this year they have closed off one of the adjacent streets. Maybe in the next couple of years the entire square will be blocked off and full of artists. The Fayetteville, Arkansas square plays host to the Farmer's Market every Saturday morning as well.

Next weekend I will be showing my art as part of Eureka Springs May Festival of the Arts. 13 lucky artists were chosen this year and I was one of them. Look for the my blog on the show early next week.If you find yourself in North West Arkansas tomorrow, stop by my booth and say hello. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to let me know.

Be Positive About Your Art!

Chainmail Armor Vambrace

When I was young I was quite gawky. When I got to be a teenager the gawkiness had pretty much completely set in. I was too tall for my weight and too skinny for my height. I was clumsy and awkward. Add to this entire mix that I had a strong like for math, science, SciFi and Fantasy. People called me nerd, geek and a few things I do not want to mention here. People bullied me and beat me up and made my life miserable.

I guess you might say that not much has changed. I am still quite gawky and awkward. Though now I am over weight for my height and under tall for my weight. People still call me names and if I had not found ingenious ways to avoid fights they would probably still be beating me up. And yes, people still call me names. One important thing has changed over the years.

When I learned how to make chainmail as a gawky, geeky, awkward 13 year old some my have thought that would put the final nail in the coffin so to speak. Here is a kid with no friends and not a really great chance of getting any making something that has been obsolete since about 1400AD Yep, that ought to get him some attention. And attention it did get me.

No one in the area I grew up made chainmail. No one in my area had any idea how to make it. And though there were not that many of my peers that were impressed a few people saw my work and loved it. They were so impressed by it that they asked me to make things for them. Over the years I have gotten really good at making chainmail. I have gotten very fast at it and have created things that people would want to wear in public all the time and not just at a Renaissance Fair or costume party.

Am I the best chainmailer in the world? In my mind I am quite sure that I am. Actually, there are probably a lot more people out there making chainmail better than me. There are probably people out there who make better jewelery than me. There are probably people out there who are much faster than me. But in my mind, I am the best.

My point is, I see a lot of negativity out there in the world. Know where I see it the most? I see it the most in crafters and artists who think everyone is better than they are. Why would anyone demean their own work? I think the whole point of doing what you love is loving what you do. Be the best that you can. I am not the best chainmailer that has ever lived anywhere except my mind. And I am 100% okay with that.

If you craft, if you create art, if you doodle, if you glue macaroni together in the shape of a cabin, more power to you. Even more power to you if you think that you are the best at it. Of course, keep in mind it may not be the greatest of ideas to tell everyone you are the best at something. (That little tidbit comes from experience.) But in your own mind you have created something. You are the creator. You should be happy about it.

You'll find that if you start taking pride in your craft/art that it will bleed into other areas of your life. It could make you a happier person in general. It will at least give you the knowledge that you are positive about your art. Ask yourself why you started doing it in the first place.