[Hartwood] Ideas: Yule Gifts and Fundraising

[Danielle Bevan]

I had these ideas that I kicked around with a few people, and thought I'd see if the larger group thought there was any merit to it.

For Yule, I thought of doing a few small trinkets as 'gifts'; things like some braided lacings, a wire-woven bracelet, a little book, a few glass beads, etc, sort of scale. We could have them hanging on a Yule tree (real of fake, Jamie is checking the hall's policies), and our guests could pick a gift to take with them. Originally I had thought we'd all make a bunch as a symbol of hospitality, but that way lies madness -- we don't -always- want to be under a one month deadline for something! So a brilliant person suggested we put it in event copy for everyone to make one thing, and we all just make a few 'extras' in case some people can't bring anything. What do you think? And of course, we are expecting the Princess at the very least, and possibly her Prince, as well as the Baron/Baroness Seagirt -- maybe we should do something special for them?

My next idea is a bit more complicated. When I learned that the shires had amalgamated, one of my first thoughts was, 'I wonder what happened to all the newsletters?' Thankfully William has all of Ravensley's on electronic format; I'm fairly sure I can cobble together Cragmere's with a few friends help and set to scanning them. Anyone in Hartwood have large chunks of their old ones? The reason I'm asking, is because I figured we could put together volumes of collective wisdom from our past -- a cookbook, for example, or a book on armoury, or a memory book of events past, etc. The complicated part is tracking down all the authors to get their permission to re-print, and perhaps sell as a 'hot-damn-prospective-baronies-need-lots-of-stuff' fundraiser. Jean, do you have any advice on the legalities of it?

And how much cooler would it be if some of us hand-bound them? Cooler still if they were printed, but that's the sort of monolithic task I don't want to be volunteering Elspeth for.

Speaking of Elspeth's printing and our collective recent interest in books -- did you know there's a book-binder's guild? Would anyone be interested in forming a chapter up here?

~ Danielle/Cunegonda