A Fresh Start

As the Kalamazoo Living History Show approaches, I have started updating my inventory lists and begun checking supplies - gotta have enough small bags for maple cake sales! (And some big ones, too - I think my record sale is 30 maple cakes to one person.) 

I need bags for the blackened beeswax ornaments and sleeve buttons, food handler's gloves for when I am handling maple cakes, and the list goes on.

I also decided that it was time to update my business tools. I headed to VistaPrint, the place where I get personalized stationery, business cards, and even my family photo Christmas cards.

It was a difficult as well as poignant choice to redo my business tools. The reason? My business is named after Abby and she has always been the figurehead of the company.

As a result, she is all over my business tools.

When Abby was living, it was fun to have people comment on my business cards and ask about her. I loved sharing about my girl and I met a lot of other horse lovers and owners as a result.

But after she died, it became painful. I didn't want to answer questions about her because she was gone and it hurt a lot to share about her. And those I did tell about her death were shocked and expressed disbelief and horror at such a freak accident.

It was all meant kindly, but it dredged up a lot of sadness for me. And I just don't want to do that any more at events.

Because I needed an outdoor sign to identify Jolis Chevaux to customers, I designed an 18th century style wooden sign that I first used at the Feast in 2024.

It made sense to put that on my updated business tools.

My notepads,

my business cards,

and the price tags/fabric information 

on the hangers of clothing that I make.

I suspect that one or two of my long time customers will notice and ask about the switch, but overall I anticipate a smooth transition.

While I feel sad and nostalgic that Abby is no longer on my business tools, it makes sense to have them coordinate with the sign that identifies my business at events.

Abby will always remain the "heart" of the business, its namesake, and that will not change despite the fact that she is gone. A reminder of my sweet girl remains in the very name of the business and that is enough to lift my heart.

It will be okay.

The Growing Pains Dilemma

Second Post of the Day

"Mom, you have so much knowledge about the model horse hobby and especially its earliest history, you really ought to start sharing it in videos or as a podcast."  

Lisa said that to me Friday night when we went out to dinner.

It's not the first time she's said that. She has filmed most of my BreyerFest workshops and another one that I did about making snow globes for the Collectors' Club. She's been offering to film a vlog version of Horsiemama for over a year now or to help me set up a YouTube channel.

Lisa continued. "Just think of how many people you could reach - videos and podcasts are how the younger generation gets their information, and you have so many things you could talk about that would be of interest to them. You really ought to do it."

I countered that I see myself as a writer ("But you could write a script and use that!"), that I'd rather not speak live or in person (Mom!! You're a teacher!") and that I just didn't have the time to write a script and then film.

Of course, Lis had a logical response to that one, too. "We could  film the episodes in batches and you can release one a day or every couple of days, however you wish. I'll help you."

Sweet Lisa - she really would do all that it took to help me get such a big project going.

But, it's not going to happen. Am I intrigued by the idea? Yes. But I just don't think I could hold up my end. The research that that would involve to get the hobby history accurately shared is time I don't have right now.

But the research is not the only hurdle in moving to a video format. There is an even bigger one, and that is time.

How often do you hear me talking about the haversacks I've recently made? The last time I made a haversack was probably last October. I didn't even take any to the Happy Trails Dan Patch Show!

I have a large stash of horsey fabric available to use, but I don't have time to sew them right now. The reason?

Jolis Chevaux.

With the exception of maple cakes, I make everything that I sell.

All the clothing, from cloaks to chemises, to shirts and petticoats, bum rolls, panniers, and pockets, and more.

The beeswax ornaments,

the sleeve buttons, 

and the pin pillows. I am Jolis Chevaux's only creator.

I only do two events a year, The Kalamazoo Living History Show and The Feast of the Hunters' Moon. It takes an enormous amount of time to sew and pour and plier enough items to sell.

This press of time to get things made is a fairly recent issue. I started Jolis Chevaux in 2021, and it was in 2023 I noticed that I had a core group of customers who always came to my booth and who always bought something. In 2024, that group had grown and more things were selling.

Last year, 2025, I sold more at Kalamazoo than ever before. (Including the 336 maple cakes I'd brought. All gone!)  A note was left on my table when I arrived that so-and-so wanted the green shirt and would be back with the money, someone else needed this, and so on. I came home with only a few items of clothing left, a couple of custom orders, and a lot of sewing ahead of me for the Feast, just six short months away.

At the Feast, 2025, it was the same thing. People were ready to buy before I even opened up. For example, because I was presenting about horses in the 18th century to the School Days children, I had my tent flap mostly closed to indicate I was not open for selling at the time.

Nonetheless, former customers slipped in behind Belle and me and went shopping. 

And when I did open (officially) on Saturday, my clothing racks emptied fast. 

See those empty wooden hangers on the left rack? They are from clothes that were on the taller rack and sold. (That taller rack had been full when the event opened.)

By the time the Feast was over, almost all my clothing was sold. And there's the problem and why I am not making haversacks or think that I'm up to doing a vlog. I just don't have the time. 

It's sewing the clothing that is so time consuming. For chemises, bedgowns, and shirts, I allow two days per item to cut one out and stitch it up. And when you need ten chemises, five bedgowns, and twenty shirts, that's a lot of time. (70 days, just for those articles of clothing.) And then there's aprons and pockets and cloaks and panniers and more to make.

Having a growing and loyal customer base is a very good thing. That means I also get custom orders at events or even here at home in between events. (Right now I have four shirts, a cravat, a stock, and a bedgown for people who'd like to pick them up at Kalamazoo.)

But the down side is, I'm not making haversacks nor have I made that first cute little outfit or anything for Elsie Mae!

Please don't misunderstand. I am NOT complaining. I am thrilled that people like what I make and grateful that my clientele is growing. Many of them have become friends in the process, a lovely bonus. And I love Jolis Chevaux and the creative outlet it gives me.

It's that I'm just not sure that I can keep this pace up unless I make a change of some sort. And what that change might be eludes me. 

Stay 'tooned on this one, that's for sure.

Don't forget the Give Away! Comment to enter on any blog post published 2/9/26 - 2/ 12/26 by 11:59 PM. Guess which model I might get in my replacement Vintage Club set - the Scratching Foal or the Running Foal or, if you've already done that, just make any sort of comment you wish.

(The previous blog post has more information about the book. Check it out!

The Jolis Chevaux Sign

My 18th century sewing business, Jolis Chevaux ("pretty horses" in French) has been in operation since 2021. It's doing well and I have a strong customer base that is growing.

I have been lacking a sign that identifies my tent (at Feast) or my tables (Kalamazoo.)

Shelly, my high school best friend, is a quilter and she gifted me this beautiful horse quilt block that she hand appliquéd and quilted in January of 2022. (Isn't it beautiful?) I've been using it since she gifted me with it.

It doesn't have my business name on it, but it is an unusual and very identifiable sign that works well at indoor events.

But, it doesn't work well at outdoor events - it's fabric and so it blows and twists in the wind if I hang it outdoors. (Shelly never intended for me to use it as a sign - it's a wall hanging.)

After three years where things have been selling well and my name has gotten out there to customers, it is time for a business sign, one that works both indoors and outdoors and with Jolis Chevaux on it.

Leslie and Rick's block print fabric business is Chien Noir ("black dog"), named after Mawkwa, a big, black Newfoundland that she owned years ago.

She has a wooden sign that she hangs outside her tent so her customers can find her more easily.

Wanting something like that, I started thinking about my own sign and how I wanted it to look. An 18th century horse in profile was common on signs in that time period, so I began by looking at photos of extant artwork. (I also needed the horse to be from the public domain so I could use it without breaking copyright laws.)

I came up with three different choices.

The first two were okay, but they were not quite what I wanted.

And then I found this one - a lady riding side saddle! Perfect - I wear riding habits so that would represent me on the sign!

The business making my sign sent me a few mock-ups and I liked these two best.

(I quickly got a email apologizing that they'd misspelled "sundries" and that they'd fix it.)

This one is the one I chose. It is exactly what I had in mind.

Choosing the colors, though, is hard for me. I do best when I can see what something will look like post-painting, but I can't imagine it well before the color is added. And the sign company I am using can't colorize the mock-up for me.

So, I am asking them to match Leslie's Chien Noir sign (we are sisters, after all!) with the horse and rider a black silhouette, the lettering in black, and a red border. Oh, and I need to be able to hang the sign, too. (I will get their suggestions on that.)

I'm really excited to have this sign to display at Feast. Hopefully it will be done in a few days - I'll share it when it is.

Stay 'tooned!

Jolis Chevaux - Prep for a Show

(Second post of the day.)

March 18 and 19 is the 2023 Kalamazoo Living History Show.  My sister Leslie and her husband, Rick , own the show and this is its 47th year. Teacher Daughter Lisa and I will be attending for our second year as vendors.

Lisa and me at the 2022 show.

The fabrics I use most for the 18th century clothing are imported hand printed block prints. Here are some things that I've made since Christmas and will be taking up to Kalamazoo to sell. 

An 18th century bedgown (from the back.)

And from the front.

A men's shirt with bone cuff buttons.

This one is actually a custom shirt and sold but I include it because it is an unusual "medallion print." You can't see it here, but when the shirt is worn, the pattern on the fabric forms a complete circle around the arms and body. It is a little tricky to get everything matched up when sewing, but worth it in the end.

Another men's shirt. The shirts are usually worn with a belt of some sort.

You might think that this shirt has a paisley pattern, but that' s not paisley. It's called "Botha" and is a very, very old pattern.

The patterns and colors vary a lot on the block prints.

I really like this pattern - it quite different from the other cotton block prints I've got.

I finished this one yesterday - it has horn cuff buttons.

I'll also be selling women's shortgowns,

chemises (also called "shifts"),

bum rolls,

hussifs,

 

an opened hussif (for storing sewing supplies),

panniers, 

pinner aprons, and lots more.

If you are a blog reader who happens to attend the show, please come find me and say hello. I may just have a little gift you you...

Leslie and me at the 2022 show.

Jolis Chevaux: Blackened Beeswax Ornaments

While isolating at home with COVID, I have put that time to good use. Not only did I complete an order of 20 Stablemate haversacks and a set of show drapes for FAMulous, I will be taking Jolis Chevaux to the The Feast of the Hunters' Moon in October and am preparing for that.

To be specific, I have been doing an 18th century German tradition of making blackened beeswax ornaments.

Sorry for the poor photo - it was taken at 5 AM in my kitchen and I did not want to move the ornaments to a place with better lighting as they are still curing. (That odd angle is because that was the only way to keep most of them out of the shadows.)

You start by melting beeswax (which makes my kitchen smell so good) and pour them into molds. As they begin to set, you add hangers to the cooling wax. (That's the hardest part - wait too long and you'll have to throw that ornament back into the pot and melt and pour again.)

After a bit more cooling but while still warm, you pop the ornament out of the mold and dredge it in cinnamon. This is the blackening process.

I learned very quickly to not brush the cinnamon off with my fingers or even a small paint brush - if you do, you will get uneven blackening.

Or leave a big spot like I did on this one here.

You can see the excess cinnamon in this photo. I will shake that off when these have finished curing.

The ornaments are not difficult to make and an added bonus is that the scent of beeswax and cinnamon wafts through the house while I make them.

Interested in trying them yourself? Go to Carolina Honeybees for directions.