One of our mugs won at competition!  We attended the International Federation of Leather Guilds trade show in October in Butler, Pennsylvania.  Our leather guild, the Gateway Leather Guild, became a member of the federation this year.  Eight members of our guild submitted entries into the competition, and we are proud to say that five of the entries won awards.  Click on the picture to see closer pictures of the mug I submitted.
	Our first Renaissance Faire/Pirate Fest Booth!  Darlene Earles, the manager of my local Tandy Leather store and I combined our leatherworking companies, Legendary Leatherworks and The Duchess Earles, into The Legendary Duchess.  We were able to have a booth at the 2006 St. Louis Pirate Festival and sold pirate mugs, wrist cuffs and wristbands the kids could stamp themselves.  Click on the photo for more information.
	We recently attended the Bristol Renaissance Faire in Wisconsin at the end of July.  We took our son, Chris, with us, and he and Ali wore their pirate garb (yes, Chris was The Dread Pirate Roberts from The Princess Bride).  If you click on the picture, you'll see a better photo of them, along with better picture of Ali's leather pieces of her costume.

Ben is a charter member of the Gateway Leatherworking Guild and is currently serving as a member of the board.  He's been able to bring a bit of his expertise in leather hardening and armor crafting to a diverse group of leatherworkers, from died-in-the-wool cowboys making saddles and chaps to artists and crafters in the guild.  He never expected how quickly the others would pick up on his ideas and even surpass him in experimenting with hardened leather.