As seen in 'Goodbye Bacelona'

Last year I hired some of my leather equipment amongst other bits and bobs to the Musical 'Goodbye Barcelona'. It was about volunteers to the Spanish Civil War, and was on at the Arcola Theatre in Dalston, London, below is one of the promotional pictures with the leather pouches just visible.

Hats by Helen

My friend and fellow La Columna member Helen makes Spanish Civil War hats and other accessories. She can also take comissions. Here is some of her work:

Pasamontanas*

This can be worn as a peaked cap or folded down in balaclava style, size of opening can be determined by the buyer, very open face so it just keeps the ears and neck warm or small so just the eyes and top of nose are showing.

£35

Chambergo*

 This can also be made Army of Africa style with an even size brim all the way round

£30

Various Arm bands

Button closure

£15 

Gorillo Side Cap*

Available in red with lettering of Anarchist Black/Red without lettering

£20

Flags

POA dependent upon size etc.

 *Head measurements needed for hats, take from just above ears and eyebrows keeping level around head.

Spanish Civil War Bandoliers now in my etsy shop!

My reproductions of canvas and leather Bandolier as seen in photos of the Durruti Column are now available in my etsy shop for £45 with a leather strap. I will also shortly be adding a version with a canvas strap for £40.

Details of my reproductions:

Seven ammunition pockets

Brown Leather straps for each pocket, with corresponding stud.

Leather strap, rivetted to main Bandolier

100% Cotton Canvas, sewn with extra strong linen thread.

Made entirely by hand

And for comparison, the photo they are based upon.

Spanish Civil War Bandoliers progress

I've been working on canvas and leather bandoliers, based upon those in a photo of the Durruti column, for the past few days. I've been using heavy 100% cotton canvas in off white, and durable brown leather for the straps. The whole thing has been made by hand, with extra strong linen thread.

As you will see from the photos, I have not yet added a strap. This is because I am unsure of the length at the moment. I am also considering making the strap from canvas to keep the cost down. My predicted price for these when finished will be £50 with leather strap and £45 with canvas strap. Both straps will be fixed and not adjustable.

Spanish Civil War Equipment: Canvas/Bandoliers & Grenade Belts

Today I am starting my next project, that of reproducing Spanish Civil War Militia Canvas and Leather equipment. Specifically I am making bandoliers and Grenade Belts as used by the Militia. These were seen in use particularly in the first half of the war by Militia and later by those units of the Popular army formed from old Militia columns, especially those made up of Anarchist CNT-FAI members. Here are a couple of pictures:

This picture shows members of the Durruti column (CNT-FAI supporters) early in the war. They wear bot the bandoliers and the Belts. Its hard to tell, but appears that at least the belts may have been made specifically for the Militia in the cottage industry that sprung up in the first months of the war. Its hard to tell, but I think there are 7 or 8 compartments in the bandoliers, and 6 in the Belts. For these I have some course Cotton canvas and vegtable tanned leather.

This picture is one I have posted in a previous post and shows a female dynamiter in the Militia. The belt is different to the ones above, but still follows the same basic scheme. This would support the theory that they were made as and when they were needed and not mass produced.

Anyway I will post up pictures and info during the week as I make them, and should have a finished prototype in a week.

Mini Melodeon

I have always thought it would be really cool to have a Melodeon that would fit in my bag. For those that don't know, a Melodeon in is a diatonic button accordion. Put simply it works like a mouth organ, but with buttons and bellows. There are already some existing miniature Melodeons, made by for example Dino Baffetti. However although these are lovely, they do have a couple of weaknesses for my puposes.

First, I want a Melodeon that is suitable for English Folk Music and Morris Dancing, which I play the music for. This means that the key the Melodeon is in should be G, where most of the existing miniature Melodeons are in D.

Second, the existing mini boxes are in the top octave. This makes them very high pitched, which is not really to my taste.

So with this in mind I set out to build my own miniature Melodeon, and here it is:

 A few details:
The constructon is entirely in Ash wood, with the mechanism made from Ash and Brass. The Bellows are made from Card and Leather. The Reeds are Cagnoni Machina.

18th Century

18th century fashion, particularly the Rococo style, is my absolute favourite type of historical clothing. For the very rich styles of that century think bright colours and lush fabrics. Paintings such as those by Gainsborough and my personal favourite Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, show some of the best examples from the later part of the century. Museums such as the Kyoto Fashion Institute and V&A also have wonderful collections of ornately decorated clothing. Here are some examples:

I started making my own 18th century clothes about a year ago. As I am a reenactor or living historian I love to know how things are made. I am currently working on a striped silk polonaise gown circa 1770. Although not quite as exciting here are some of my finished 18th century items:

1780s Hat

Silk Stays

Hoop Pockets

 Bum Roll

Embroidered Pocket

Thinking of new projects

On this blog I will post pictures and updates of what I am making and how far I have got along. I specialise in Reenacting and Living History reproductions, so here is where you can pictures of my work and info about what I'm working on.  If you are looking for anything Spanish Civil war related, or an item you don't see either here or on my Etsy shop please get in touch!

Today I am thinking about what new items to make for my Spanish Civil War reproductions for reenactment and living history. I have started by looking at period photographs, to see what ordinary soldier of Militia member carried with them. Odd bits and bobs seen in photos are often the most hard to find and also the most fun to make, I especially like the items that relate to republican women, so here are my initial ideas.

Grenade Belt

This looks like it would be fun to reproduce and supplement my leather pouches with, think I may have a go at making bombs out of tin cans as well! In fact there is an interesting link to the story of Rosario Sánchez Mora a republican dynamiter here.

Sam Brown

This is the belt with a cross strap often seen used by British/Allied officers from the First World War onwards. Although the British ones are much more elaborate than these. They are particularly commonly seen in pictures of female fighters, as in those above.


 

Spanish Civil War Webbing

I have started to make complete sets of Spanish Army leather webbing, as used in the Spanish Civil War. The straps and pouches are iconic of the war and can be seen in many of the most famous pictures of Militia. For example:

And here are my reproductions:

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my new blog. Here I will post images and updates on my latest creations. I work primarily with Leather, fabric and wood and can take commissions. My speciality is in Historical reproductions, such as these Spanish Civil War Pouches:

Check out my Etsy shop for these and other items for sale!