Braymere Custom Saddlery: 2018

Monday, December 31, 2018

Parting shots

I took a lot of photos this year. Here are a few I am especially proud of. Enjoy!

Sunday, December 30, 2018

2018 model year in review

Every year at the end of December, I write a post reflecting on my hobby year. I am happy to report that by most measures, 2018 was a pretty good year.

The year got off to a great start with a January trip to Austin, Texas for Shannon Southard's top notch A Mid Winter Night's Ball live show. I had a great time judging performance...

and spending time with old and new friends.

February was NaMoPaiMo. We painted four hundred fifty four models. It was amazing.

March was all about writing notes, shipping boxes...

and preparing for Heather Malone's wonderful Rocky Mountain Spring Fling, which took place right here in Aurora, Colorado.

I showed one Purdy pony...

in thirty one classes. It was an epic performance, but not one I need to repeat anytime soon!

The rest of April and May and June were all about real life. The week after Rocky Mountain Spring Fling, my best friend, Carol and I went on the best road trip ever.

In May, Ryan graduated from high school....

and Carol moved out of her house and into mine before heading off to Germany. Goodbye, Carol. I still miss you.

I was supposed to go to BreyerFest in July, but stuff happened. Fabian, Teresa and I had our own NotBreyerFest celebration instead. That was almost as fun. Well, not really, but I can pretend!

In August, my real horse activities, which had been pretty limited most of the year, suddenly came roaring back to life. It was really hard to focus on models with so many wonderful horses to ride, so mostly I didn't.

I did, however, managed to attend day one of the Backwoods Two Day Show in Divide, Colorado in early October.

In December, I had the most enjoyable performance showing experience of my life at Renae Keller's Clash of Colors/Battle of Breeds in Centennial, Colorado.

In the last twelve months, I've added six new models to my herd, five via purchase/trade/gifts...

and one that I painted myself.

I also acquired several new pieces of tack, a few dolls and other assorted 1:9 scale items. All told, it was a pretty good year on the collection front.

One thing I didn't do this year was make a lot of tack. I finished a few old projects and a lot of small projects, but this wasn't my best year, at least not in this respect.

Still, it really has been a pretty good year. Thank you for everyone who's spent it with me. Here's looking forward to an even better 2019!

Saturday, December 29, 2018

Medallion sneak peek

Nope, it's not the new NaMoPaiMo medallion. This one is attached to the other big event on my 2019 hobby calendar...

In 2016, we awarded busts to the sectional champions and reserve champions. Everyone seemed to like them, but very few were painted. Because of that, we've decided to go with something a little more market friendly this time. Do you recognized this face?

Yes, that's my favorite "person"!

Thank you, Jennifer Scott, for immortalizing dear, sweet Santana in clay. I am so excited about this medallion and the 2019 Jennifer Show. Start making your travel plans now, everyone. It's going to be a fabulous show!

Weekend Showcase: Van Gogh

A couple days ago, Kylee Parks sent me a sneak peek of the 2019 NaMoPaiMo medallion in progress. It is absolutely amazing, and I can not wait to share it with everyone. Before that happens, however, I want to take a moment to celebrate the 2018 medallion, Van Gogh. Here he is in all his painted glories. Thank you to everyone who made NaMoPaiMo 2018 such a huge success. I can't wait to see what you paint in 2019!