Empud's Blog
Items are only available wherever Ye Artisans Lair attends.
01.01.24
It’s 2024, and Ye Artisans Lair is going through changes to now expand to multiple venues! Our Mystery Pouches will be known as Dice Bags with a gift at the non-Renaissance Fair events. All of our 180 knot work creations will now only be on Satchels and Book Covers. We are keeping our Hat Bands, but the bracers had to go. Our store booth will also be downsizing to a 10’x10’, since anything larger is not cost effective. May you all be blessed with the one thing Artists always need. Motivation. Enjoy your new year!
Happy New Year's, all! We hope everyone enjoyed their holiday of choosing as we now enter the new year 2023. As written in the Calendar Events page, Ye Artisans Lair will be taking this year off to create more items. Updates will continue to be made, but it may be a little longer to roll on out. A human can only do so much in a day. Until then, see you again in the next blog update!
Another satchel done! Time for a break. A new write-up FY2023 - 1st Qtr had also been added for Religion: Words from the Hai Druid.
Alright, folks! I AM working on a Satchel right now, but no WIP image will be uploaded. I am still rethinking how to do some images.
Whoa! Hello, World! Sorry about that little blip there earlier today with the website being down. All should now be back up and in working order.
Got a new image up in Works-in-Progress that shows the planning stages done before punching holes in a Satchel bag's straps. All of the work done is "By Our Own Hands," including the sewing! Now using the method of the good ol' saddle-stitch. ^_^
A few updates here and there. Another satchel is finished, along with an image update on the Contact Us and home pages! Also, another link has been added under Words: Additional Information.
Religion: Words from the Hai Druid has been updated with a new segment, "Fiscal Year 2022 - 4th Quarter"
Well, I finally got an image up again in our Works-in-Progress page! Yes, even the stitching is done by hand. Along with the hole punching, marking, cutting, and Artwork! ^_^
The website's new design is now Live. Older pages and links have been removed as new ones will be cropping up, in due time.
Man...
It's been eight years, already! Starting out, I was getting my feet wet in experiencing the Renaissance/Medieval Fair life. It was most definitely a joyous adventure and had been a learning experience all around. The business is back down to just John and I, for the time being.
Now, I am returning to my grass-roots. :)
The website will be going through some changes throughout the years ahead. We are discontinuing some items as their tabs will disappear in time. A limited supply is available, so get them while they last from Ye Artisans Lair - Where everything is made, "By Our Own Hands."
Whelp, Satchel bag Type #3 will be making its debut in Arkansas! I wasn't done with the sewing to make it in time for Heavener, but multiple satchel types will be available next year! =)
To make all the content in Words more user friendly, they have been put on their own page with links to each of the philosophies. Enjoy! It took almost a week, but I finally got them up. Sometimes the brain just needs a small push to get going again. ;)
It is confirmed! We are heading to Heavener, OK (Oct. 9-10) and Hot Springs, AR (Nov. 5-7) this year! We also have a new tab to the left name Satchels for all of your traveling needs! See you all then!
Ye Artisans Lair regrets to inform all that we will not have another event till 2021. But please don't worry. We have a bunch of supplies and funds to get more. When we come back to the fair circuit, we will have twice the stock and more than one new type of item. Those that wanted satchels will be quite pleased with some of our new creations. See you all then.
As of 31 October 2020, custom orders for Bucklers will no longer be accepted. We will still have some at the shop, but bucklers will no longer be available for custom order.
UPDATE! The Hot Springs Renaissance Faire has just canceled their 2020 event.
Thor's Hammer is now being worked on as a Bodice Belt! Check out the updates at Works-in-Progress!
You know, I just thought of something. With how the News & Updates and my Blog pretty much say about the same thing, I'll be moving my posts of what has recently been made to this page. The News & Updates will be just that. Any important news and feature updates made to the overall website. I may have to create a new feature so you know what has recently been updated.
And without further ado, I have now completed the dragonfly Bodice Belt! See the work at Works-in-Progress!
Well, we've made our decision. With how the COVID-19 is spreading along with the summer temperatures, we are changing our event for Heavener to October. We will hopefully see you all again in the fall! Until then, stay safe and healthy!
Just updated the Videos page with some pictures of how we do our work! You will be getting a guaranteed hand-made piece of art! ^_^
Well, I just finished the butterfly bodice belt mentioned in the previous post. I think the next design I'll be working on will be a dragonfly. Things are feeling a little shaky here with events canceling and postponing. What can I say, though. Gotta keep creating artwork to keep myself busy. If anything, our stock will finally be built with our end goal in mind, lol! We may actually have time to get the da Vinci canvas knots painted, too.
Heavener is planning on combining the RuneFest with their Steampunk festival in June as their first multi-weekend event, June 13-14 & June 20-21. Things are still undetermined, if we plan on going or not. I do have Multiple Sclerosis (MS), so the weather is a factor. Not only that, but we are not sure how long this COVID-19 pandemic is going to last, let alone, if people will want to head out to event gatherings and spend money, let alone, if they have money to spend. -_-; So many factors in this... And/or if it'll be a bust for us to head on over, hardly make anything, and have to drive on back.
I know I'm probably sounding pessimistic about this, but this is the reality of what we are facing. That, and this is a blog, so I'm going to write down how I feel about some things. Granted, most of this blog has been repostings of our News & Updates, there are a few extra things I've added in the past.
I suppose that's it for now, though. I will be updating the Calender Events page with Heavener's dates, but as said, that event is truly tentative in whether we go or not.
A butterfly has graced itself onto our Bodice Belts collection! See it here at Works-in-Progress!
A Valknut design has been added to our Bodice Belts in our Works-in-Progress page!
Added a Bodice Belt with the trifoil design in our Works-in-Progress page!
UPDATE! The Medieval Fair of Norman has just canceled their 2020 event.
Added some spine tooled medium sized books to our Book Covers!
Book Covers and Works-in-Progress have been updated!
Just a quick update. With the current schedule of things, the second canvas knotwork of da Vinci may or may not be colored by our next event. Aside from that, we got our acceptance letter for The Medieval Fair of Norman! Hope to see you all there!
Happy New Year, All! And welcome to the new decade!
First and foremost, HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY to all who've served!
We had a great time at the Hot Springs Renaissance Faire in Hot Springs, Arkansas! Thank you, everyone, who showed up to their first amazing year! We will see them again next year, November 6-8, 2020!
Pages have been updated after returning from Heavener's Viking Fest! We hope to see you all at our next event, the Hot Springs Renaissance Faire in Hot Springs, Arkansas!
The website is going through an update. Update may last a while, so please be patient with us! Thank you! :)
As we are preparing to head out, we will not be taking any orders until Norman, so FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE at Norman's Medieval Fair, April 5 - 7, 2019!
Big update with lots of photos for spring season! Be sure to check them out by looking through our web page!
Head/Hat bands and Vambraces are almost finish! Now they need dyed, punched, and laced! See the soon-to-be products on our WIP page, and visit us April 5, 6, & 7 at Norman's Medieval Fair!
After some technical issues, we can now continue posting updated images in our WIP page.
Finished tooling another headband, yesterday! You can see the work and others on our WIP page!
Just finished tooling a headband! It just needs cut out, dyed, highlighted, and laced. You can see the work and others on our WIP page!
Doing a bit more throughout the week! I tooled and finished the DNA Vambrace set in the WIP page, sewn more pouches, and cut out some deerskin laces! Time to heaad to bed now, though. Night!
Chapter 2 for The Way Back Machine has been posted!
An update has been made to the website to add a possible subtext beneath the page subject.
Still working away with adding to inventory! Wonder what will be in these mystery pouches... ;)
09.10.18
Another productive day! At least, I think so. I edited some work on the story The Way Back Machine, and started/finished another large book cover. Less than 19 more days until fair at the Great Plains Ren. Fest! Still so much to do!
Another spine-tooled book cover has been made! Yes, these hand-sewn book covers will have the Noble Virtues on them! Collect them all!
08.31.18
Another spine-tooled book has been made, along with updating the book covers, and WIP pages!
We have been accepted as a merchant for the 19th Annual Fall Great Plains Renaissance Festival!!!!!! See you all in Kansas!
Also, a new book and WIP has been added to their respective pages!
Alright! I'm slowly trudging along, but I've done half of the over-and-unders (textured bevels) on half of the vambrace set! It's starting to take form! <3 I just hope I can get as much done before our next event date at the end of September!
Ye Artisans Lair is pleased to introduce a currently ongoing fictional piece of work entitled, The Way Back Machine. Hope you all enjoy it! And no, it will not be taking us away from our leather work. Think of it as a side project. ^_^
It's been a while since the page has been updated, but I am getting started on tooling leather again! You can see what I am working on in works-in-progess! A break was needed for a bit, but now I should be getting back into shape with having things updated! Our next event will be in Wichita, KS at The Great Plains Renaissance Festival, Sep. 29-30! See you all there!
Leather tooling will continue in a moment, but until then, I am working on getting some more pouches done. A limited amount of new colors are now available! First come, first serve!
Whew! Ok! Getting some projects down. Switching between working on some more books along with tooling more leather. The works-in-progess page is updated periodically with current work progressions for tooled items. Aside from that, I'm also cutting out some leather pouches. A lot to do! And this is only what I am doing. Kudos to Selena and Kim for all of their hard work as well!
Finished some more books so we have something to show for fairs! Two more flasks are also in the making, along with anything else we can get done. Until then, see you at The Medieval Fair of Norman 2018!!
Whoohoo~! After what seemed like forever, I am now done with the tooling/cutting portion of the headband! What color, now, is the question... See more work soon!
A bit of optimism.. I may get the headband finished this month! And if we're lucky, I can get another one in before Norman, OK! ^_^ We shall see what gets finished before then.
Quick update about the photo in the previous post: The photo will change to the most recent work on the headband.
Aside from that, we'll see how much I can get done. I feel far behind on the work, but slow and steady does it! My arms do feel sore and spent, but that's why you do work little by little, day by day. ^_^ The headband should be finished sometime this month.
Slowly continuing with leatherwork again. This is where I'm at with doing a new headband! See what else I'm working on at yeartisanslair.com/wip.
02.05.18
Note to self -- L5, 1 section of 3 takes approx. 30 minutes rn.
See you all in Norman, Oklahoma! We have been accepted to participate in The Medieval Fair of Norman 2018!
Our spot is still the same (Booth 418), so we hope to see you there!
A bit of a confession... I have not been doing leather work in a while. Gasp! Well, actually there's a really good reason for that. We're cleaning up the house! So with this hiatus on leather work, the house is getting cleared up for the new year.
Hope everyone enjoys their New Year celebration, and we'll see you next year!
We at Ye Artisans Lair would like to wish everyone a Happy (insert your holiday here)! As for us, today is Yule.
Turkey will be in the oven shortly, and remember, our free shipping lasts until midnight, New Year's Eve.
If you get any cash for the holidays, try to remember Ye Artisans Lair!
Artists have to eat, too! :)
-Grace, John, Metztli, & Selena
P.S. We will see everyone next year at The Medieval Fair of Norman!
Working on part of my own accessory for the Renaissance/Medieval/Viking Festivals! Current WIP's are on hiatus until this gets completed. ^_^
Just added a new design in our Design Book! A few updates and edits will be done to some designs. Until then, see you all at Heavener's Viking Festival!
Still so much to do! 3 more days until the Texarkana Renaissance Faire, followed by Kiefer, OK's Medieval Faire, and Heavener, OK's Viking Festival!
Catch up with us on our Calendar Events page, and we hope to see you all there! =)
Goodness! After what seems like drama with my medical health, I haven't gotten far with my tooling this break. U_U; A vambrace set is still getting worked on, and I may have part of my own garment accessory made before the fairs. Don't know until the deadline rolls along!
Until then, come visit us at Texarkana, AR; Kiefer, OK; and Heavener, OK!
Finally finished beveling the vambrace set! What to continue on next, now...?
A bit of an update from last time I posted. I am starting to work on leather again after spending some time working on canvas. Our structure is going to be improving for the fall season, so expect a slightly different look! A vambrace set is almost tooled completely. I still need to do a bit of beveling, but until then, you can find the current Works-In-Progress here!
Got done undercutting some vambrace sets. Tooling will begin sometime in the future! To see what I'm working on, head on over to the Works-In-Progress page!
Happy 4th of July, all! I finished undercutting a set of vambraces, so I may take a break tomorrow/today. I'm about to head to bed, so yeah. xP The butterfly kids bracers may/may not be completed for the time being due to me working on other projects at the same time. I will update the butterfly photo with any progress, should I work on it in the future. Good night, and enjoy the day today!
Alright, got the undercutting done! Tooling will be done sometime in the future.
Just got done transferring another butterfly image onto kids bracers! Will probably cut the design into the leather tomorrow/later today (when I wake up). Not sure if I'll undercut the same day or wait it out. We'll see. Until then, check out the Works-In-Progress page!
Alright, starting to work with leather again. To see what I'm working on, feel free to check out the Works-In-Progress page!
Well, aside from slowly doing leather work, I guess I'll be working with the website to make it look better fitted.
Just got done updating the website! Now to relax for a bit before working on more leather. =)
Wow, March 1st is already here! And to think that Norman's Medieval Fair is just around the corner at the end of the month! We hope to see everyone there!
And yowza! If you haven't seen our Works-In-Progress page, you should check it out! We got some pretty neat designs in there that may be done for Norman!
Update! After hearing when Texarkana will be having their faire, we are proud to announce that we will be attending three fairs this fall season! Texarkana, Kiefer, and Heavener!
You can still catch us in the spring at both Norman and Heavener if you can't wait that long! ;)
Alright! Just got done with a new product we're selling! Next working task: a set of dragon vambraces!
We got our acceptance letter earlier today to be at Norman's Medieval Fair! I may have a break from now until Saturday. Got some stuff needing to do. Oh, and I've added 2 more designs to the design book! It seems to be growing with each creative outburst. Until then, hope everyone has a great day!
Just finished bracer set #12! I'll probably be taking a break for a day or two now before beginning with another leather project! John is busy carving out our new headband designs. Until then, you can check out our Works-In-Progress page to catch up on what I'm working on!
Whoa! Talk about motivation! 13 new designs are now in the design book labeled as DNA (Demons N Angels)! Come take a look when we're in the area!
I am proud to say that I have added two of my own designs in our design book! ^^
A few more designs are being added to our design book as leather work is slowly coming along. Pouches are slowly, but surely getting cut and prepared to be sewn to add more to our supplies!
More designs are being added to our design book for a more customized leather piece! To see some of what we can do, visit our Archives page!
Editing the web pages and getting rid of Restructure status!
-pants- Two weekends finished... Now to get ready for the third! Heavener's Viking Festival, you're next! :D
Four more days until Texarkana! We are currently dyeing the leather, so we will see you all there!
So much work still needing to be done before Texarkana's Renaissance Festival! The deadline pressure! xD Ah, the life of an artist...
Butterfly Kids Bracers!
MAN, they're such a pain to do, but it's well worth it!
5" x 3" (approx. 12.7cm x 7.7cm)
09.03.16
A few page updates have been made. Can't wait to see you all at Texarkana's 5th Annual Renaissance Faire!
And for those wondering, the website is still under restructure. Dx
Doing prep work, still. We have a new intern, and she's doing great at sewing pouches! That means more holes needing punched. x3 I'm going to stop for tonight/this morning, but it is a continuing job!
05.27.16
Repost from Facebook: Just a quick update.. House is getting an overdue cleaning, but we're still making items, just not any tooling at the moment.
05.06.16
I got some white crocodile print hide and made my personal traveling bag for my leather tools when on the go at Renaissance / Medieval / Viking fairs! I'm so proud of myself! x3 But yeah, I decided to slow down on the butterfly bracers. They're not being video recorded this time. Hope everyone has a great day!
05.01.16
Happy Beltane, all! We now have a new tab added to our website for our videos. I actually did it, though! My first time-lapse video while working on leather! <3 The tooling for the vambrace is finished now, and it just needs to be dyed and laced. Now to start on some butterfly medium bracers...
Phew! It still takes a while to update the website, but I finally got some of it down! Don't mind me as I just... rest.. here... -plop!-
1 week for us to prepare for the Norman Medieval Fair! Crunch week officially starts NOW! x3
Well, that was unexpected! We all had a wonderful time at Cowley County, but the weather seemed to want to challenge us! During the last few hours of the fair, a rain storm wanted to pay a visit. I told that little Indian in my head to stop doing a rain dance! -smacks head- Anyway, a majority of everything got soaked while our floor was a nice podge of wet mud. xD Since returning home, everything's been laid out to dry, but we still have more to do! We're currently working on some more pieces to bring with us to Norman's fair, along with filling up some more mystery pouches! We will see you all, next time!
xD Whoo! Less than a week until Cowley County's Renaissance Festival!
We are proud to announce that the first public display of all six of Leonardo da Vinci's knot work designs drawn by John J. Kouns will be at the Norman Medieval Fair on the 1st - 3rd, April 2016. The display and the documentation for educational purposes will be in our booth during the fair's hours.
The six knots of Leonardo da Vinci are hand drawn with archival ink on archival paper.
Knots #1-6
18" x 24" Ink on paper.
To see more of our work, visit yeartisanslair.com.
By John J. Kouns
01.28.16
I'm excited. The text may not show it, but I'm excited. x3 I just saw today that Norman has mentioned John Kouns (Ye Artisans Lair) for reproducing Leonardo da Vinci's knot work designs. One of his pieces can be seen here if you scroll to the first post listed on June 21st, 2015 (06.21.15).
http://www.medievalfair.org/SchoolDay.html
As mentioned by post, we are listed under "Must See Presentations & Demonstrations" under "Vendors". I just feel a brush of excitement on my part. I still have to cut out more pouches, but that will be accomplished! x3
~Snip, snip~ Cutting away to make/prepare some leather pouches~!
OMG! I feel like I just finished a major task at hand! I changed/put the Ye Artisans Lair website into a .css file format!!! It makes updating the website a lot easier, I can tell you that for sure. Go ahead and visit the newly designed website!
yeartisanslair.com
Alright! A new year and new designs!!! Introducing two ankh designs now in our custom order book.
2016
10.03.15
Another quick location! We will be heading to Heavener, OK to attend the Heavener Runestone Viking/Celtic Folk Festival! We will be there for only one day: Saturday, October 10. Give us a visit if you're in the area!
So much has happened! We now have a trailer for the business! Cowley County's Fair was a great event while making new friends. :) Like the post before this one, 32 days left until Texarkana's Renaissance Faire!!! See you all, then!
Update! UPDATE! We will be heading to another fair before Texarkana! If you are near the area, give us a visit at Cowley County's Renaissance Festival, August 15th and 16th! Just 32 more days left!
77 more days until Texarkana's Renaissance Faire!!! So much work to do with bracers, pouches, books, etc. and such little time!
Phew! I'm getting there, but here's a look at my first go in making the mystery pouches! All pouches sold at Ye Artisans Lair are hand-sewn, so you'll be sure to get a high quality product.
Stitched with Love <3
06.21.15
Greetings! Welcome to Empud's blogging lair. Here, we will be updating our current activities with Ye Artisans Lair, whether it be current works-in-progress (WIPs), or just even our mood for the day. All pictures that are posted are copyright protected. Do not use anything without prior permission. With that said, enjoy your time here!
Oil on Canvas, 30"x40"