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Company of the Staple

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25.01.2022 A couple of weeks ago, Roxy McDonald put up some notes from a talk about Campfire cooking, and using ceramics on a cooking fire. We've now got the audio recording from the talk availble for people to listen to attached. A link to the notes is in the comments

23.01.2022 Did you know that Hugh McDonald makes his own coad for shoe making? He has experimented with trying to make the perfect coad and has shared some thoughts here

22.01.2022 Super cool video from the Royal Armouries in Leeds doing an interpersonal video of I33

22.01.2022 We're having a picnic! This free, lawn-based meetup will incorporate emergent impromptu breakout workshops, crowdsourced distributed catering, lap-mounted makerspaces and peer networking! Open to all, from keen Staple members to interested bystanders. This is the first of our monthly picnics, with further dates and locations to come.

20.01.2022 Richard has made a new tool! It splits straw to make hats!

20.01.2022 When were sewing leather (e.g. making shoes), rather than waxing the thread we use coad. Medieval coad was a black wax likely made with pine pitch, rosin and beeswax. Coad because the rosin and pitch act as a glue to seal our stitches in place and stopping the thread from rotting, while the wax keeps the coad malleable and lubricates the thread so it can be pulled through the stitch holes. This video shows how to make coad, using a more modern white wax recipe. We use this instead of black wax because its hard to get good pitch, and white wax is much less messy when sewing at home!

19.01.2022 Were making some oak shavings in preparation for the St Ives Medieval Faire next month. Whats everyone else up to on this fine Sunday?

19.01.2022 The latest video is done! This video is a quick look at the tools we use for medieval leather sewing on projects like shoes, purses and scabbards. Coming soon will be a series of videos covering each of the tools in greater detail. We hope you enjoy watching. Please give it a thumbs up on YouTube if you like, and subscribe to make sure you dont miss our upcoming vids! https://youtu.be/snJPXYlzzCY

18.01.2022 Dying with indigo - Richard Bowden-Reid takes us on a slightly more modern experiment of this medieval craft.

17.01.2022 Armour in our period involved a lot of mail, as the primary defence of common soldiers or to fill the gaps of the man at arms. Elden's getting all of his favourite mail research bookmarks in a pile.

17.01.2022 Less than two weeks to go to the Blacktown Medieval Fair, on 19 and 20 of May at Nurrangingy Reserve. Company of the Staple will be there again this year, so look forward to see everyone there!

16.01.2022 Roxy McDonald struggles with redacting quince marmalade from Le Menagier de Paris. Keep up the delicious work, better luck next time.

16.01.2022 Blacktown Medieval Fair is next week so some members of Company of the Staple are busy cooking. We have the smallest two in a chopping production line

15.01.2022 Sharing information and resources that we use is really important to us. Here's the start of the books that we use when researching for our portrayals. https://companyofthestaple.org.au/reference-books/

15.01.2022 It's been a minute between videos, but we have a new one on silk facings for the neckline of a cote or kirtle. If there's something we do that you'd like to see in a video, let us know!

13.01.2022 Company of the Staple is well known for it's campfire cooking skills. Recently, Staple member Roxy McDonald, spoke about Campfire cooking, and cooking with ceramics in a campfire situation. There is a recording of the chat, which we hope to post up soon as well, but Roxy has also put her notes into a document in order to share freely this information with everyone.

12.01.2022 When we’re sewing leather (e.g. making shoes), rather than waxing the thread we use coad. Medieval coad was a black wax likely made with pine pitch, rosin and beeswax. Coad because the rosin and pitch act as a glue to seal our stitches in place and stopping the thread from rotting, while the wax keeps the coad malleable and lubricates the thread so it can be pulled through the stitch holes. This video shows how to make coad, using a more modern white wax recipe. We use this instead of black wax because it’s hard to get good pitch, and white wax is much less messy when sewing at home!

12.01.2022 An old project but worth sharing - Elden McDonald shares with us the making of his Bocksten Man shoes. With some extremely helpful feedback from William de Wyke as well.

12.01.2022 Nearly picnic time! Come along and say hi on Saturday 11-3 at Petersham park.

08.01.2022 We've been hard at work making pies in preparation for the Blacktown Medieval Fair which is next week at Nurragingy reserve.

07.01.2022 What colour were medieval clothes? Well... it depends. Get a primer on good colour choices for your fourteenth-century outfit.

06.01.2022 Lyl Dun, Dianne Melville, Elden McDonald and Roxy McDonald are having a blast telling people about St Ives Medieval Fair (September 22 and 23) at Festival on the Green

06.01.2022 We love our bellows. They are so extremely useful, and a necessary part of cooking with charcoal. We have some tips for using bellows which might be of use to others who want to start using bellows as well.

05.01.2022 What a fantastic event St Ives 2018 was. Once again, Company of the Staple went above and beyond to help feed our fellow 14th century village dwellers. the 2018 menu is attached. If we've previously written up the recipes used, the link to the recipe has been included.

04.01.2022 We're going to be telling people how awesome the St Ives Medieval Fair will be this year at the Festival on the green this Sunday.

03.01.2022 At Rowany Festival and Richard Bowden-Reid is making a plane iron on his portable forge

03.01.2022 Update on today's precook: We precooked so hard that we broke the oven.

03.01.2022 This weekend I was trying out a new recipe from a new to me 14th century Italian cookbook. Very garlicky!

02.01.2022 We share some tips and experience for reducing food waste at medieval feasts, by looking at some of the preparation and planning that goes into cooking for large groups of people.

02.01.2022 How hard is it to grow your own flax? Richard Bowden-Reid takes us on a photo tour of the process.

01.01.2022 We sure do love woodworking.