Return of the Sun 2022

Return of the Sun 2022 at Ravensborg was an event that will stand in memory for many years.
We had prepared for a cold, rainy weekend; instead, we got 80 degree sunny weather, 40mph winds, and ground the consistency of cottage cheese. 😂 The mud, wind, and sun caught us by surprise and made camping very challenging. Thankfully, all of the tents and camp gear in our group survived, more or less!

I was so busy with camp duties and so exhausted from setup (as well as dealing with an aggravated old injury) that, for the very first time in my event-going career in this community and others, I did not participate in combat. But doing so gave me more time to spend with companions and allowed me to day-drink, so I can't complain!

But primarily, I want to speak about the surreal experience I had as a vendor. I made an unusually large number of items to sell and sold almost all of them; I thus spent much of the event noticing other people wearing my work. I had half a dozen people, strangers to my eyes, who approached and greeted me, shook my hand, shared a drink, and showed me that they're wearing a tunic or pants or something I made for them some time back. Each of them separately told me they loved my stuff and several are pursuing new orders! Seeing people enjoying my work fills me with such pride and joy and instills in me such inspiration to do more. Great things are on the horizon.

Thank you all so much for your patronage and kind words. I am so utterly privileged to get to do what I do, even just as a hobby or side gig.

And big thanks to my group, my chosen family, St. Louis Early Medieval Association for the best damn camp and company around, and to my brothers in The Skjaldborg for all of their tireless work to make this event happen and run smoothly no matter the weather.

See you all at the next one!