Rosalie Gilbert

 

Had a blast curbside collecting yesterday and gathered a bunch of nice leather in a few different colours, and it struck me that amongst the reenactment crowd (and also nice for the Mother's Day stall) might be a few vegan, cruelty-free options made from high quality fake leather that looks and feels like leather. 

Not many reenactors have an aversion to using leather in a historical sense, whether new or recycled, but perhaps there is room in my supplies to cater to vegans. I know their purchasing options are far more limited, and perhaps it might be nice. 

There are some really awful fake leathers, but also some very, very nice ones, and yesterday I was able to collect some nice real and I-can't-believe-it's-not-real leather from couches and chairs. I'm always careful only to cut up the ones which are really damaged and leave the good quality ones for needy people (students) who are furnishing their homes on a budget. 

Pic to follow

Getting closer to God.

From my collection. Lamb of God reliquary. The original had glass at the front, which can be seen in another extant find which matches this one. 




Reliquary Case

with Lamb of God
RE01

Object: Reliquary case
Culture: Medieval. 15th century
Area of Origin: Britain
Material: Pewter
Size: height 26mm, width 15mm
Weight: total 3.98 grams
- case: 3.51 grams
- lamb: 0.47 grams



Notes: The frame and the lamb are seperate, intact and in complete condition. Petwer is complete and intact although the glass is absent. Front frame has singular raised border and row if raised dots. Lamb looks backwards towards the angled cross.

This little reliquary case is used to hold a precious item of a religious nature.

Condition "very fine."

 

Medieval Household Hints:
Advice on Running a Household From The Middle Ages Which You Still Need Today

The household advice in this petite coffee table style book is taken from the pages of actual medieval manuscripts is as relevant today as it was back then.

Photographed with an array of modern women and handcrafted reproductions of historic artifacts, this little book makes a perfect little gift for your favourite modern person.

This book is proudly Australian written, photographed, processed and printed in Australia by Australian businesses right here in Brisbane. 100% Australian every step of the way.

Book specs:
Medieval Household Hints
Advice on Running a Household From The Middle Ages Which You Still Need Today.
Genre: Petite Coffee Table Book
Paperback: 64 pages
Illustrations: 60 photographs
Format: Full colour
Printed: InHouse Publishing, Underwood, Brisbane
Language: English
ISBN: 978-0-646-73501-6
Product Dimensions: 20.3cm x 20.3cm
Weight: 370 grams 

NOW AVAILABLE!
Buy from the InHouse Bookstore

Things are afoot!  I've met with my last time printer, and have a meeting tomorrow morning with a publisher, so things are moving at a great pace!



I've made some adjustments to the cover art, bought the ISBN and the barcode, so I officially have a second book in the set! I have preemptively set up the website pages, with the book landing page, banners, headers, About The Book, reviews and promo pages and where to shop, although that page is incomplete until I know who is printing it and where it's being published or if I'm self publishing this one.

I'm very excited! 

I'll be getting the models together and planning a little launch party, of course along with a slew of social media.

Well, there's book things afoot and with some news I received from my publisher yesterday, I'm now in overdrive with the second of the medieval quote books, Medieval Household Hints: Advice on Running a Household from the Middle Ages Which You Still Need Today and getting that out. Here's the sneak, peek of the cover:



I had originally hoped my existing publisher would pick it up to compliment my two non fiction books, but there have been... issues... (friends only post about that shortly) and they aren't taking new books at the moment, and while mulling over a bunch of things, I've decided to see about having the next Medieval Hints book published here in Australia.

You might remember that I self published the first quotes book, Medieval Wisdom For Modern Women: Advice From The Middle Ages That You Still Need Today, which was good but had a few drawbacks. The book itself was printed here in Brisbane, supporting our local industry, but unfortunately, the printer was just that- a printer, not a publisher. My plan was to sell online via postage and at events and see if I could get small amounts into local books shops, all of which worked well to a varying degree.

Now that the USA is off limits for postage and international post is very expensive, it just isn't feasible to post out. I'm holding more stock that I wanted to, which I paid for up front, of course, but I will just chip away at it over the years until it's all gone.

Yesterday I discovered a Brisbane printer who also taps into the publisher network, promotes the books on their online book shop and does some online sales from there. It's not a print on demand situation. Tapping into the book shop network, getting a book sent out as a new release in mailings and promo is absolutely vital for getting things into places. From what I can see, I feel like I'd need to cover the cost upfront for printing etc and they take a percentage of online sales and store an amount of stock in their warehouse also for posting out and promoting on their own online bookshop, which, quite frankly, is fair to me. It's a lot of work to do all that, and it helps support a Brisbane family-run business. I'd have the rest of stock on hand for book signings and events for sales.

Anyway, I've sent them an email about prices, and if things aren't too bad, I might proceed with that asap. I have Mother's Day markets coming up and it would be fantastic to have it out for that! 

I've had a really busy few days planning and gathering images for my first ever After Dark with the Abbey Museum of Art & Archaeology. I've done a heap with the Queensland Museum for the British Museum which had a touring exhibit at the time called Medieval Power: Symbols & Splendour.

Last time I was giving my rather thrilling medieval sex talk, Between Linen Sheets: The Very Secret Sex Lives of Medieval Women (which turned into a book) but this time I'll be talking about medieval craftsmanship in dress accessories. It seems to be another topic that everyone feels they know about, but in reality, original artifacts are often much smaller or larger or better made than expected.

I'll have a look at some originals and compare them to some reproductions in regard to artisan skills and think about where we get our information from; artifacts, extant finds, art and so on.

I'll have some artifacts on display too, along with some reproductions of them for comparisons.

It's not until April, but since January is just about over, it's coming up fast!

You are STRONG. You are CAPABLE. You are the BEST BOY.

That aside, just look at that mirror! Another red bordered one, so likely painted.