Meet the team!
Alex
I’ve been going to renaissance festivals for a number of years. I love the mixture of fantasy and history you get when going to this style of festival. How Jaxson Gourds and Scale started was a mixture of bordom and stuborness. I had always loved the look and scalemaile but could never afford to buy it myself. One afternoon at a well known festival I love to go to I ended up sitting and watched an artison build a custom piece he had been comissioned and after hrs of sitting there and chatting with him I decided I just had to do try it. After that the rest is history. I not only found some of my closest friends at fair, but also my amazing wife. I could have never guessed that me buying that first bag of scale would have led to what it has, but I wouldn’t change it for anything!
Emily
I have attended renaissance festivals since I was born, and worked at them for over 6 years. In 2013, I met the Jaxson Gourds and Scale family through a mutual friend at the Sherwood Forest Faire and the rest, as they say, is history. I am a self taught leather worker who is always up for a new challenge and to learn more about my art form. Since joining Jaxson Gourds and Scale, I have stretched my creativity and keep finding new ways to mix the mediums of scale maille and leather work. I enjoy creating new designs and patterns, so if you have an idea reach out and talk to me!
Paul
(AKA Dad)
I got pulled into this wonderful world of fair by my loving wife and eldest son. It first started with helping my wife at a friends shop. After a few years of that I was further dragged into it when I took a phone call from my eldest son who needed help with an order he had never expected to be taking. I enjoy working with my hands and being able to come up with solutions when creating new patterns which is relaxing to me. One of my proudest accomplishments is our dragon tails. After spending countless hours trying to find a way to build a scale tail that had a natural movement to it, late one evening I finally figured it out. I attempted to share my excitement with my wife, unfortunately she was not as excited about my discover at the time as I was. It may have had something to do with being well past midnight and I had turned the lights on in our room to show her what I had just done, but I can’t be sure since I ended up on the couch that evening. Since then we have grown into a thriving shop and I couldn’t be happier. I get to enjoy a hobby with my family, meet lots of new people, see friends on a fairly regular basis, and not only create new things but see them leave my shop only to visit later down the road.
DeAnna
(AKA Mama Gourd)
Also Know As the Fairy Gourd Ma, Gourd Goddess, and Mom. I’ve been married to my best friend, for over 25 years but less then 100. We have four incredible children, three “off the chart” kid-in-laws, and three “grander” kids. I am a self taught artist. I enjoy losing myself in the process of art. While the scale weaving gives my spirit the organized, precise patterns, the art I do on the gourds can be whimsical and not structured. How lucky am I to have both sides of my soul nourished with what we do?! While I don’t have a “style”, I often draw inspiration from historical pieces and love to explore the different art styles of cultures around the world. It gives me great pleasure to have a customer ask for a custom piece especially, if its not something I’ve tried before. And then there are the dragons…
Becca
I became an enthusiastic patron of Renaissance Faires in 2000 and spent many years enjoying running around festival enjoying all the sites. Later I was lured into the participant/ vendor world in 2012 when my best friend convinced me to work with her. Since then I have done a number of amazing jobs all across the scale from selling CD’s for fantastic artists to helping organize the chaos of a henna booth for great friends so they could focus on their art. I became a professional knitter in 2014 when I was discovered by the Jaxson Gourd. It was quite by accident that I was seen sitting and knitting a pair of gloves while wearing a set that Alex came sheepishly over and introduced himself seeing if I had built the pair I was wearing and if I’d ever made them with dragon scales on it. I had not at the time but being part dragon myself and always up for a challenge I decided to attempt his request. Since then I’ve been building specialty gloves for the Scale fair-mily and I still to this day get excited to see people wearing the them!