Custom Coronets by Cathyn

06/12/2024

Another really fun piece, Baroness Constance Davies wanted a design that incorporated the "en tremblant" pearls which I have used a could of times now, suspended in some very cool pierce-work, and accompanied by sprigs of mistletoe from her device. Brass, with the mistletoe rendered in nickel and pearls.

06/12/2024

After completing both the Coronet of the Holy Roman Earl and the Baronial Coronet of Namur, I was able to return to a project which had sat on my workbench for entirely too long. Baron Enzio had held the Lands of Madrone with Baroness Spike. This design was exceedingly fun, being nickel, with twisted brass wire accents, a Latin motto rendered in brass lettering and soldered on, garnets between each word, and silver Swarovski pearls.

06/12/2024

Countess Patrice du Couer Fidel. We had talked a couple of years ago at AT/WW, and I was honored to take the commission. Being as things came up right around the time it was completed, I managed to capture only one photo. This piece incorporates all Her Excellency's coronet ranks, her being a Countess of the West, a Viscountess of the Mists, and a Baroness of the Court of the West.

06/12/2024

And then there was this lovely piece for Baroness Kateryne Hindscroft. We had discussed doing a coronet for her at An Tir 12th Night, and for some (very dumb) reason, I did not take notes. I asked Her Excellency if she'd like to come over and discuss designs, and she did. During that chat, I was able to show her a period statue with an elegant low profile coronet. She was smitten. What else could I do? The amazing Laurel Medallion is, of course, the stunning work of Mistress Fjorlief.

06/12/2024

Next up, Viscounty Coronets for Neil and Kelsey for their reign in the Mists. I did these in nickel, and once again tooled dragons into the bands. While they look great in pictures, the design really fades from view over a very short distance, so Their Excellencies asked if I could modify the design to make it more visible. I cut and riveted over 100 dragon scales in thin brass for each Coronet, and now they really pop!+

06/12/2024

Seems I've been pretty lax about getting pictures posted, so here's a bit of a photo dump. Expect several posts with pics of the things I've done since before being offered admittance to the Order of the Laurel. It looks like the last things I posted were Gigi's Diadem and my Masterpiece. Sorry, this is gonna be bigger than I thought.

First up, Baroness Spike, recently Baroness of Madrone. Nickel, teardrop pearls mounted "en tremblant" (or as close as I can get to it with such large stones) and the repeating waves with wavelettes from Her Excellency's arms hand tooled into the metal (I hesitate to say "engraved," since doing so would likely be an unkindness to actual engravers).

01/20/2024

I have been reviewing my wait-list, and frankly, I'm a bit embarrassed. The list is very long, and a few of you have been on it for too long. My aim this year is to address my backlog, and turn out quality Coronets for everyone on the list that still needs one. As such, I will not be adding any new names to the list in 2024. I am not going out of business, quite the opposite, I believe I will be working harder than ever before. I greatly appreciate the patience that has been shown so far, and for my potential new clients that will be disappointed by this news, I appreciate yours as well.

11/17/2023

After a great many rejections, I have decided that I am no longer going to prepare responses to RFPs. Much time goes into their creation, thinking of a design (Because most RFPs only present a vision, rather that concrete design cues), drawing that design, creating a spreadsheet with the cost of materials, estimating the time for construction, etc.. It ends up being close to $200 of work for which I never, ever get compensated. Then I submit the "bid," and wait for a committee to decide if I get the job or not. It's a thing I have done fifteen or more times, and have been selected one single time. That's a great deal of wasted time, and I just can't afford it anymore.

09/05/2023

Very rarely, I apply the little I know about metalworking to the creation of award medallions. I got this image from some excellent research by Sharon Rose, and decided to see if I could replicate it as a mounting for a Laurel medallion I hand carved out of carnelian, which was one of the most common stones used by the Romans for intaglios. As one does, I made this piece for my loving wife Laina Worth.

09/01/2023

08/27/2022

Chain for sale. Though it's not my primary art, I do make chains, suitable for those in Fealty, or, if you ad a pendant, for everyone. This one is heavy copper, starting from a whole 1 pound roll of 12ga square copper, twisted, turned into rings, and linked into a 42" spiral-pattern chain. $250 plus shipping.

07/23/2022

Baroness Talia wanted a coronet that was wearable both with and without a turban, but without being split at the back, which is a solution, but for which no period examples seem to exist. The piece also should denote her rank as a Baroness, and carry forward a 12th Century Seljuk feel, without necessarily falling into the SCA's "Six pearls/points denote a Baronage" custom. To accomplish this, several design choices were made. First, the decision to make an eight point coronet. Second, to accommodate the turban, two choices were made; not to decorate the band itself, which would be hidden by the turban much of the time, and for when she would be wearing it without a turban, eyes from the flat style hook and eyes would be soldered into the band such that the hooks could be stitched onto a cloth liner that could be attached to make wearing it alone comfortable. Her Excellency provided an architectural image that I was able to base research on to identify "Seljuk Tree of Life" motifs for use as decoration on the points of the coronet, which also incorporated two spheroids each, which we decided would be a perfect place to put the expected pearls.

07/23/2022

Dame Kinehild of the West contacted me about making a Baronial Coronet for her, with her motto in Latin, "Nunc Invenite" - "GO RESEARCH!" We created a design that would showcase the motto in brass letters on a nickel band devoid of points, in keeping with early period style (see the Kunegunda Crown, as an example) and include denim lapis between every two letters.

07/23/2022

Now that she has been elevated, this is the Roman Diadem I created for Mistress Fina's Pelican ceremony. I had never done any sort of gemstone carving before, but have been making some cabochons, and decided that since Fina was embarking up a new phase of her SCA career, that of a Peer of the Realm, I too, should try my hand at something new. The intaglio you see is my first attempt at stone carving. I got so excited to deliver the diadem to Fina that I failed to get better photos of it that this, and am hoping that someone managed to get some good ones of her elevation that they won't mind sharing.

06/15/2022

05/11/2022

Hopefully it's a temporary thing, but Russia's (unjust, illegal, immoral, etc.) invasion of the Ukraine has, among the many other things, raised the price of materials used in Coronet making. I just priced a single 6"x24" sheet of 16ga nickel. Last year this cost around $80. Today, well in excess of $200. Color me shocked.

02/06/2022

Ana De la Sara's Court Barony. 20ga nickel sheet overlaid on 22ga copper base. Bound together with nickel "double half-round wire" and edged with 10ga half-round wire. Accented with alternating silver-plated cast bronze bees and cast bronze skeps* on the points, and each point topped with a 12mm Swarovski Pearl. The nickel overlayment was also hand-sawn with Her Excellency's Motto, "Quarite Lux Vestra."

* period straw beehives

02/05/2022

Viscount's Donnan's replacement for his original Viscounty Coronet. 18ga brass, 16ga twisted brass wire edge, copper Compass Star, pewter Howling Wolf from original coronet.

10/08/2021

The happy client, off the Throne of the Mists and receiving her Coronet.

02/28/2021

My first ever unboxing video!