What started as an “odd hobby”—dressing in Renaissance clothing and wandering through fairs across southern Ontario—slowly became something much more.
In the late 1990s, a chance encounter at Fort York National Historic Site introduced me to a cooper demonstrating the craft of making wooden buckets. That moment sparked a fascination that never really left, even if the path forward wasn’t clear at the time.
Years later, during the pandemic, my wife and I joined the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), where I began exploring historical woodworking in earnest. What started with carving spoons quickly grew into building furniture, feast gear, and eventually tankards and coopered vessels.
Coopering—the art of shaping staves and binding them into watertight forms—is a craft rooted in centuries of tradition. In the medieval world, it took years of apprenticeship to master. I’m still on that path.
This site is a record of that journey: learning the craft, building the tools, exploring the history, and sharing the process along the way.
By Stave & Hoop 