Rennie Memories 1988 & 1989 (KCRF years 12 & 13)

[grnvixen]

My apologies for not getting to this last week, it was just to hectic. Here we go:

1988: Sept 3 – Oct 16. Attendance 153,763. K&Q: Jim Stamberger & Verna Atkins as King Martin and Queen Verity. Merlin’s Berm. Coronation the first weekend, Royal wedding the last weekend between Prince Charles of England and Princess Jacqueline of Friance. Children’s Realm. P & P now the operating mangers. General manager Tim Ruedy. ED: Brooke Terry.

1989: Sept 2 – Oct 15 Attendance: 169,000. K&Q: ditto. Swill pond. Great hall. 3 stage shows by Martin English, including swill pond show

These were the last two years I had the shop and they kind of run together. Some memories stand out but I’m not sure of the particular year. Cut for length

Unfortunately, one of the first things I remember about these last years with the shop was how burned out I was getting with sewing. It had gotten so bad that I rarely touched my machine for the first 6 months after faire ended. I always had a good plan to just sew a few shirts a month to build up the stock so I wasn’t having to sew-like-the-wind all during faire, but could never stick to it. I think the time with the shop had two very positive effects though: the quality of my sewing improved and I learned where my real interests in costuming lay.

Before the shop I had never really sewed costumes that someone paid me real money for. I had sewed costumes for friends in fandom and SCA, and learned a lot, but never really had to price my work. That first year at the shop I realized I was expecting/hoping someone would actually PAY me for something I made, therefore it had better be the best I knew how to make it. Not that I think I was a sloppy seamstress before but the years of sewing for the shop sure sharpened my awareness of the job I was doing and I believe the quality of my work benefited from it.

I also came to realize, thanks to the burnout, that sewing just to produce inventory was not my costume calling. I really enjoyed the research and developing the pattern (‘my’ shirt pattern was based on 16th century patterns) but if I then had to sew shirt after shirt after shirt (on top of still maintaining a full-time job) I would pull my hair out. I have great respect for T’ger for having been able to do this over the years. He is very disciplined but tends to develop new pieces to relieve the boredom, hence the addition of doublets, cloaks, hats, kilts, etc. :).

One memory I have is from the first year of the swill pond show, especially the last show that year. Just for a lark, I had made a shirt out of an obnoxious Hawaiian print. It didn’t sell, but it sure attracted a lot of attention. For the last swill pond show that year I let Robin Hood borrow it to wear with the fishnet tights he had dyed green for the occasion. For this script, RH was supposed to arrived at the swill pond through the audience. He usually had no problem making his way through the crowd before with a polite “excuse me, I’m Hood”. For this one however, the audience did not seem to believe him and he had to add “…really” J. It was a funny last show but I understand ME was not to happy with it.

And I think it was the last year when I was coming back to the shop, one day late in the run, and there was a dapper little man standing outside the shop. Even with his back to me I could tell he was wearing a very expensive suit. It was an overcast day and the thought that this lovely piece of tailoring was going to get ruined had just formed in my mind when he turned around and I saw several very real order medallions pinned to said suit. It was Michael Riley! Our former Cardinal who dressed from the used-pope-shop. He had succeeded his grandfather to the family estates (the Dukedom of Parma) and come to KC to visit. Apparently it was a lengthy ceremony (over 4 hours) in which he had to be invested with all sorts of titles, estates, etcs., then had to give them away again. It was so great to see him and, come to think on it, this must have been the last weekend as we were doing our usual potluck and even had some wine to offer him. When given a choice of red or white his response was “I’m a Dago” and reached for the red . I always loved his sense of humor!

In some ways it was very hard to make the decision to leave the shop, in fact I 'leased' it to some friends for two years afterwards in case I changed my mind. It had also been very much a part of DH and mine's relationship up to this point; we started dating the first year I had the shop and were married by the third. I miss it still but it was time to move on. There was also plenty lurking on the horizon to keep us busy but that is the next post.



Ok, now don't forget to let me know if you are posting memories as well!

Comments

MR

[cepblionhearth.livejournal.com]

I confronted MR on this subject years ago-- before the internet-- having done some good old fashioned book research about the dukes of Parma-- He has a deep hatred for the Bourbons, as he is the Farnese heir to Parma. The Dukedom was usurped by the Bourbon, & his family never accepted them, along with the people of Parma. He has inherited the family estate & apparently quite a chunk of change from his grandfather, as he now spends several months a year in Italy at the estate above Parma-- the centerpiece of which is the villa built in the 14th century. I have seen the photos of his investiture at the villa, it was quite a big deal there. I suppose, even though it is an empty title, as most are these days-- it holds great meaning for him & his family. Also, if my family operated under the same guidelines, a much closer relative would be sitting on the English throne. Too bad that Tudor Bastard killed my Ancestral Uncle Richard !!! ;)

Re: MR

[rougewench.livejournal.com]

Most interesting...


D.