Saturday, April 21, 2012

West Coast Horn Fair

If you are a regular reader then, you know that one of my interesting niche markets is with those who do living history re-enactments.The American Fur Trade Era re-enactors often wear sashes and use straps for all sorts of things like:  rifles, powder horns, canteens, shoulder bags, quivers and tying up bundles of gear.



This year we decided to look for some new events to attend. While searching around the web, I came across this most interesting one, The West Coast Horn Fair. It will be in Morro Bay, CA next weekend, April 27 & 28. I jumped on this one, wrote to the organizer and we are in! This is the second annual and it will be attended by folks from far and wide who make powder horns for the old guns. Mostly often the horns are decorated with carving (or scrimshaw) work. Educational sessions will be given both days and include topics such as:
How to choose a horn, period correct scrimshaw, how to fix mistakes, the Golden Mean and how it pertains to horn design, and finishes. (The Golden Mean is a current topic of much interest to me and you will be hearing more about this in upcoming posts.)



If you want to see some fantastic examples of powder horns then check out this website for the Honourable Company of Horners.  You might remember seeing this post a few months ago showing my husband's first attempt at doing scrimshaw work on a horn himself. He did a good job and made me proud!

This strap sold last week and the customer immediately upon receipt attached it to the horn which he just finished. It is very rewarding when customers send photos of how they are using their strap or sash. Thanks, Jeff!

4 comments:

  1. Going through all the pictures of the different horns on the website I just kept imagining how amazing your straps would look with them. What a fantastic niche. :)

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  2. Thanks, Kiersten. Weren't the powder horns cool?
    ~A

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  3. Never would have thought of straps for horns! Fascinating. Can't wait to read more about the Golden Mean. I did a stint in interior design school a few years back and learned of it as it relates to interior design and art. Intrigued. And I love the green, grey, and orange band!

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    1. Thanks, Jennifer. I've been interested in the Golden Mean and Fibonacci numbers. I need time to study and absorb all of the math, though. So many things are tied together through these equations.
      That band you like sold today! Yay!

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