Event Review: Virginia Renaissance Faire 2017

July 25, 2017July 25, 2017 ~ Cynthia Abernathy

We love participating in VARF, and were happy to return for five weeks this May to June! Of course, with an outdoor fair and the growing Virginia heat, there are always some hiccups.

First weekend, I was madly trying to track down our new tent with absolutely no info coming from the company as to an ETA. So, week of we went ahead and bought a car port from Harbor Freight and some canvas for side walls so we would have something.

So when did our new tent arrive? The day before show opened, so too late to get it set up for first weekend.

We did get it all set up for second weekend, thought we were hot and tired and did not realize it was inside out until it was all up. We left it that way for the show. Last hiccup? We were in our usual spot, but with a larger space it was clear just what an odd hill it was. The tent stayed well, but we were constantly having to accommodate for the lean. Next year, we’re adding a platform and an in-tent fan!

20170513_122221 — Our temporary tent on the grey first day of faire.

20170514_114022 — Second day – sunny, and Nathaniel’s huge sword from Artomatic is raised to gain attention to our odd space.

20170521_122327 — Second weekend – new tent raised… inside out. Oops!

IMG_20170521_122820_736 — Nathaniel working on armor at our demo table.

IMG_20170528_112532_382 — Drawing the eye however we can – a new sign with our new logo, and a new colorful ribbon cape.

Event Review: Steampunk World’s Fair 2017

July 13, 2017July 13, 2017 ~ Cynthia Abernathy

This was our second year doing Steampunk World’s Fair, and we were happy to move to an inside hotel room space. This set up is unique as far as shows we have done – the first floor hotel rooms become vending space, small boutique shops that have creative set ups. Fortunately a vendor friend pointed out we would need to bring more lights, because hotel rooms are not meant to be bright. We also thought to buy a lot more vertical displays, because this was not a good space to try and bring multiple tables in and have multiple customers at a time.

Only things we’d change for next year? Confirm all details with the hotel so we don’t have any check-in issues like we did this year, get something eyecatching to put outside our room, and make some advertising posters including that we do costume repair.

20170506_111452 — First wall you see when you come in – our refinished water guns, the popular flasks, and more.

20170506_111501(1) — Fully into the room – waist cinchers and masks.

20170506_111543 — The grid wall and extra lighting really made a difference in our display.

20170506_111554 — My first holsters, and a continuation of my leather and lace series.

20170506_111559 — More swords and the giant flask. Our eye catching corner.

20170506_123125 — One of the takers on our repair services. Love to corgi themed costumes!

20170506_181905 — The costumes are definitely one of the highlights of Steampunk World’s Fair.

20170507_134319 — Nathaniel’s plasma caster – huge steampunk mod. Can you guess what this started as?

Event Review: Southampton Renaissance Faire 2017

July 11, 2017July 11, 2017 ~ Cynthia Abernathy

Fall and Spring are always chancy times of year for weather. We’ve been fortunate this year in having better luck than last thus far. But this small faire in April got interesting.

First, creativity with set up. We had not yet received our new tent, so we made something up quickly with two 10 x 10 canopies and a quickly sewn cover. The set up this year was odd. Flow did not make obvious sense. One of the reenactor groups was so far away they seemed like a private encampment. But the crowds on Saturday were decent and people had fun as usual.

Just in time for the evening feat it started to pour down rain. Fortunately the feast is in the big garage building of the fairgrounds. We had a good meal with friends, then decided to pay for a night in a hotel.

Good thing we did. We came back Sunday to find our tent was standing in a lake. The organizers allowed people to move into the large building and use table space for Sunday. So I started opening us up for sales while Nathaniel took down our tent and helped out neighbors.

So for all that the event ended up unusual for a renaissance faire, the move indoors ended up being a good thing. Maybe it was that the vendors were now moved together and easier to find. Maybe it was the small remaining group of people staying closer together and making the building festive. Either way, Sunday went even better than Saturday. So, pouring rain but a good show. Thanks everyone!

20170422_110306 — Our makeshift pavilion, in its odd spot near the pony rides. Out of main traffic, but not the worst location.

20170422_110316 — Nathaniel getting all ready to show his wood weapons.

20170422_110331 — My leather bottles were a hit at this particular fair.

20170423_150228 — Our indoor Sunday set up. Took a little table and made a booth. Odd but worked!

Artomatic 2017

July 6, 2017July 6, 2017 ~ Cynthia Abernathy

Here’s a little change from our usual shows. Artomatic is one of my favorite recurring art events in the DC area. Every couple of years, they take over a vacant office building. The space is first come first serve to artists for whatever they want to create and share. It is a great opportunity to meet other artists and jump start your creativity.

This year Artomatic came back to Crystal City, and we managed to get a three person room. We split it between the two of us and another gamer artist friend, Kat, who does lovely comic style art. Doing a room together made us seem like a small, curated gallery. People loved stopping by and seeing our work over the month the show was running. So here’s what we displayed in our awesome room.

IMG_20170319_184658 — My big project for the winter was to make a leather dragon. I made her head first, which means scaled up she was 13 feet long. Final assembly had to happen in place… so here she is while I am still adding scales.

IMG_20170319_213702 — Up close on the dragon’s face. So many pieces of leather!

IMG_20170319_213717 — And done! Ahdraga drew many people to our lovely gallery room.

IMG_20170319_213729 — My additional leather work, these shadow boxes were all inspired by vintage lace patterns.

IMG_20170319_213744 — Kat’s wall! Wonderful and fun ink and watercolor pieces.

IMG_20170319_213746 — Another view for Kat.

IMG_20170319_213752 — Nathaniel made weapons of modern gods. These got a lot of chuckles as people read the snarky captions.

IMG_20170319_213758 — Hard to tell from the photo, but this sword is huge!

Show Review: Madicon 2017

June 23, 2017 ~ Cynthia Abernathy

On to March in my review catchups! We enjoyed doing Madicon at James Madison University again this year. It was the first show for our new logo design tags and redone displays, and we were really happy with the new look.

IMG_20170310_174630 — We’ve started doing more shows with more space this year. So two table display!

IMG_20170310_174638 — Fun with red, black, and gold and all new signs.

IMG_20170310_174651 — Wyrd and Wired has a new logo as well for my dice jewelry.

IMG_20170310_174657 IMG_20170310_174710 IMG_20170310_174716

Show Review: Glimmerdark 2017

June 22, 2017June 22, 2017 ~ Cynthia Abernathy

Yeah, I am way behind. Glimmerdark was in February, a fantasy and dark fairy convention that took over from Wicked Faire. It had it’s issues as a new/revised event, but I look forward to seeing what it becomes.

So to catch up more easily, I’m just going to sum it up in pictures. Enjoy!

IMG_20170203_181000 — All set in the ballroom. We had to be a little creative since our booth opened on three sides.

IMG_20170203_180940 — My new lightup cloak! Playing with sheer materials for the fairies.

IMG_20170203_180920 — Masks and light up blades. The light ups were a hit – one area where occasional darkness was to our benefit.

IMG_20170203_180911 — New sign, and lots of cloaks.

IMG_20170203_180905 — Green fairy backpack flask.

20170205_110847_001 — Happy barbarian fae with her new club!

20170204_204607 — A view down the aisle, for a bit of the show feel. We don’t get out of our booth much.

Welcome 2017! General Updates from Wyrd Armouries

February 8, 2017 ~ Cynthia Abernathy

Hello Wyrd Armouries fans! We hope 2017 is treating you well thus far. We’re busy planning an amazing year, and wanted to take a moment to share some updates with you.

Our first half of the year in shows is set. Look at all these fun places you can find us this year:

March 10-12: Madicon, Harrisonburg VA. Link.
April 22-23: Southampton Renaissance Faire, Courtland VA. Link.
May 5-7: Steampunk World’s Fair, Piscataway NJ. Link.
May 13-14, May 20-21, May 27-28, June 3-4, June 10-11: Virginia Renaissance Faire, Spotsylvania VA. Link.
June 16-18: Awesome Con, Washington DC. Link.
June 30-July 2: BlerDCon, Arlington VA. Link.
July 21-23: Scares That Care Weekend, Williamsburg VA. Upstairs. Link
September 1-4: Dragon Con, Atlanta GA. Link.

New year, New Tent… and displays, and tags, and…

We have bought our new tent! The new tent will be 19 x 13 feet, with red and white stripes. So you can still spot our red tent at fairs! I will totally be sharing photos once it arrives.

On top of that, we are revamping our display looks and our product tags. So stay tuned for the awesome new looks!

A pause in custom orders, but new things to come.

Nathaniel is in the middle of moving, so his workshop is currently closed. So, sorry to say no custom orders for the moment of weapons or woodwork. Other custom orders are still available.

But it shouldn’t be closed for long! Stay tuned for the announcement of when the workshop will reopen.

Thanks everyone, and here’s to a good year to come!

Event Review: Misfit’s Witch’s Bazaar and Ball

December 16, 2016December 16, 2016 ~ Cynthia Abernathy

Sometimes, we’ll take a chance on a new event. That was the case with this one – we received an invite through our Etsy store, and it sounded like fun. It was a two part event. In the daytime, a family friendly witch’s bazaar. At night, an adults only party.

While the event was fun, it was not really successful for us as vendors. Traffic was low, and the two events with the break between them didn’t really seem to work for crowd energy. I think this event would do better if it decided what it really wanted to be and focused on it.

The site was a fun park, which in the daytime was great to wander and see all the vendors. At night, not all of the vendors stayed… and unfortunately those that did weren’t all clumped together. Which also meant as the October evening temperatures dropped, people stopped wandering.

The costumes were cool and the people were fun, but this was one of very few events that we have left early.

img_20161022_111249 — I was feeling witchy for the Witch’s Bazaar! So I made myself a new leather waist cincher for the occasion.

20161022_123205 — Our tent (a cheap Walmart buy after our recent tent disasters) in the cute park courtyard.

20161022_123213 — Anticipating a cold evening – cloaks!

20161022_123250 — Our across the courtyard neighbors.

20161022_123342 — Displaying our wares to be seen from as many directions as possible.

20161022_213945 — Showing off the glowy items at night!

Don’t forget – we really need your help to buy a new tent! Your help with our fundraising efforts is massively appreciated.

Event Review: Harvest Faire 2016

December 8, 2016December 8, 2016 ~ Cynthia Abernathy

Each show has its challenges, but we never expected a hurricane to be one of them. This year, we spent the week leading up to Harvest Faire watching to see if Hurricane Matthew was going to hit near Virginia Beach. It didn’t, but the rain and winds that make up the edge were problem enough.

Still, we were there! Some vendors never showed, but there were still plenty of people around on Friday to make the show worth it. We came well prepared, with side walls and multiple tarps to try and stay as dry as we could.

Friday night was fine, and plenty of people came by, even in the dark. Saturday, as the day went on, the weather got worse. Rain picked up, and the weather report was threatening the coming winds.

20161008_145455 — Mad dash from the rain! At least inside the tent was nice and dry.

The organizers were awesome, and sent people around about 4pm saying that vendors were welcome to pack up if they wanted, and come back Sunday morning. Our work is fine with a bit of damp, but neither leather nor wood is great with a soaking rain. Plus, we did not want to try and stay on site with what the forecast had in store.

So, we packed everything up (thank you friendly helpers!), found a cheap hotel not too far away, and went to stay warm and dry.

Good thing we did, because apparently it hit the site viciously. At 11pm the organizers had canceled Sunday – the site was so beaten up by the weather it would not be able to host traffic the next day.

We came back the next morning, through towns with no power, to pick up the little bit we had left.

20161009_103659 — Poor mangled steel tent! The only tents that survived the night were the full reenactor tents.

Traffic getting home was an adventure due to areas of flooding or no power, but we lost none of our inventory. Just another poor tent.

Which we are still trying to replace. If you can spare a moment and/or a dollar or two, please take a look at our Go Fund Me page. Any little bit helps!

Help Us Buy a New Tent!

December 5, 2016December 5, 2016 ~ Cynthia Abernathy

Hello friends and visitors! We’ve had a great couple of years bringing our handmade goods to shows up and down the east coast. We’ve reached a little financial hurdle and are asking for your help.

It started in May, when we set up at the Virginia Renaissance Faire after days of pouring rain. Our gazebo tent sank into the mud and bent as the weeks went on. Parts of it are now broken and unusable.

20160521_123349 — Next weekend, more rain and mud. Did the best we could to keep it off our visitors.

Then, Steampunk World’s Fair in late May fought with both wind and rain. Our good easy-up canopy was one of the lucky ones, but it still bent in the bad weather. That tent lasted a couple more shows, then snapped while being set up at NoVa Pagan Pride Day.

Then, Harvest Faire in Newport News VA over the same weekend as Hurricane Matthew. The direct hurricane didn’t hit us, but even the edge winds were enough to completely mangle our all steel backup canopy.

Harvest Faire showed us something else interesting. There were broken canopies scattered all over the site. Even new ones with thick poles were bent to unusable. Which ones were still completely intact, and all inventory – even blown glass – unharmed? The actual medieval style tents.

Well, we’ve been wanting to upgrade to a better tent for a while anyway, so this is the perfect time. Hence we are asking for your help! We are raising funds to buy a new, medieval reenactment tent.

Donate to our campaign and you can even get some cool custom stuff, so please take a look! Any donation or share will be a big help.

Thanks!