I met Christine at the Markets at Round Lake in August of 2023 and then by October, she contacted me about creating a commission from her Dad’s 60-year old Marine Corps uniforms. When we met up – she handed over 2 bins of uniform clothes – shirts of various weights and colors, dress uniform of navy and royal blue with red stripes, pants, lined raincoat (with removable wool liner), duffle bag and a leather braided lariat-style belt. Plenty of creative fodder!
The total commission consisted of tote bags, cross-body bags, bif0ld wallets, glass cases and a new item I had never made before – Dop kits (toiletry bag). I made every effort to include as many patches, and instances where his name was stenciled to make the items very personalized and identifiable for the family to relate to. Some would be gifts for the whole family, while other items were items for Christine to use. A good amount of the commission was delivered in time for Christmas giving, with the exception of the toiletry bags, which I still had to work through prototypes to perfect the design that I wanted to use.
I received a lovely note from Christine right after Christmas:
“I just wanted to share that my family members were overwhelmed with joy with your transformation of my dads’ uniform . My sister burst into tears and everyone was so impressed with your craftsmanship and skill. We are all so happy with everything so far and look forward to the next installment of your work!!
Thank you again for creating these useful items and lasting memories from his uniform. We will cherish them forever.”