Matt's Gallery

I live up in Wenatchee, Washington, and go to many of the RenFaires in the area.

Exotic Maille Dancer

Aaron also does solar woodburning with a hand lens, and made this for me. Warning! Excessive use of this sign results in double-takes, crowd stumbling, and occasional tips, depending on dancing ability!

Dreadlock Skullcap

Jamaican-style dreadlocks in maille are not exactly period appropriate, but they are pretty cool. Okay, so they have a Predator-ish quality to them, and how many people can say they have a metal mane?

Skullcap Closeup

Coifs must start somewhere, and unlike larger pieces the size of the circle must vary as it gets larger. These rings are all steel, so it weights quite a bit.

Braids Closeup

These are my dreadlock braids, European 6 in 1. If you are interested in putting braids just remember that they leave a lot of weight on one side. Eventually I will do a piece with braids all around.

Castles Design

This is a tapestry that I did for a local Vendor friend (Magic City Costumes) in Wenatchee. The tapestry is about two feet square. The rings are colored coated copper wire that I used from various supplies of stuff I found at craft stores and online sights. The design evolved over time. The Rings are each ¼" diameter. The next tapestry piece I do will be much larger.

Cherry Tree

A small banner that I did for another local Ren Faire booth, yet this one was a true experiement as it was my first attempt at a banner. The rings were 1/8" diamter, and it was very time cosuming. Some pieces really help you grow your talent.

Hot Pad

Even old people like chain maille! Here's a hot pad that I did for a good friend.

Table Runner

Another "old people" favorite, a table runner! (Youngster translation: cloth that runs the length of the table but doesn't cover the sides.)

Templar Tunic

The knights templar never had it so good! Made this for a friend for his birthday, but ended up selling it instead. (He still got something cool). This piece was European 6 in 1 with polished aluminum rings and red anodized aluminum rings. Although this piece isn’t armor quality, it looks really cool.

Loincloth

Why keep your weapon hidden? With this loincloth, you can proudly display your sword without getting things thrown at you. The loin cloth helps protect a lot of things below the waist, and really helps to protect from accidental blows.

Loincloth

Another shot of the loincloth.

Chevron Ring Shirt

This ring shirt is very colorful, and very decorative. I would not advise going into battle since this easily makes you a target, but the ½" diameter aluminum rings really make it light.

Chevron Scale Shirt

I got in the mood for alternating scales on a shirt. It was until the third row that I realized it had chevron potential, and now it looks like this. Although I recommend using different colored scales to produce something, color always costs more.

Purple Scale Tunic

Purple, the color of royalty. Just be sure you order enough scales, otherwise you might wait half a year before they do another batch. Some day this tunic might have an identity crisis and become a shirt.

Purple Scale Shoulders - Closeup

Before I had enough purple scales I developed two purple scale shoulders, and these are them. Once I realized that the shoulders were not going to fit the other shirt I had, I decided to get more scales. I developed this pattern into the Purple Scale Tunic. Scales are not difficult, but just as time consuming as the rest.

The Maille Cloak

My first large piece. I made this with aluminum rings, since steel would weigh far too much. The two holes on the sides are for my swords to stick through, so they don't push the cape up in the back.

The Maille Cloak

Another shot of the cloak.

Green Holy Cross

A tunic I designed to study the effects of shading and shadows. The pattern came out beautifully.

Green Holy Cross Tunic

Here you can see the entire tunic.

Green Holy Cross - Closeup

The shading effects were accomplished with a darker shade of green rings.

Shinguards - Closeup

Having some leftover purple scales, I mixed them in with some silver to make a set of shinguards, or greaves.

The Firesword Tunic

This is my old friend Ben, and the tunic I made him for his birthday.

Ribbon Weaves

Decorative Ribbon, Blue

I have also worked with ribbons, weaving them into decorative patterns. A far easier and more lucrative skill than maille, but really I just did it to see if I could.

Decorative Ribbon, Purple

Purple weave.

Decorative Ribbon, Red & Green

Red and green weave.

Decorative Ribbon, Transparent

Worked in a transparent ribbon for this weave.

Decorative Ribbon, Purple & Blue

Depending on the length of your ribbons, the weave can be as long as you want it to be.

Decorative Ribbon, Red & Black

Red and black weave.
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