How did this all start? A question often asked of me....
My interest in all things Ned and Kelly Gang has been with me since primary school , my sister in-law's family told me a story of their family who lived in the Beechworth area , and harboured and fed the Kelly Gang when they were on the run , this made a great impression on me as a kid of 8 or 9 ,I had a Galah called Ned when I lived in Mt Gambier around 1979, and although the interest was there I never did anything with it. Mark ,my young bloke and I went for a trip to Glenrowan around 1992, Mark was aged 12 at the time, we were very disappointed in the souvenirs for sale as most were either made in China or any Locally made pieces , although quite good were very expensive. On our return home , we found some stout leather and a mallee root and some gum tree sticks and fashioned a Ned ,a souvenir of our trip. which I still have today , a few years ago many people showed interest in him that I started making the occasional Ned as gifts,from there I was told several times that I should be selling them, it took a while ,but when Shirl and I were holding Market Stalls with our shop Chasing Rainbows ,I made a few pieces to sell and was pleasantly surprised to how quickly they sold. Shirl had the brain wave of a Box set , a three dimensional picture frame she said, I had trouble getting my head around it ,so I went out into the shed and made one ,it sold in the first few days of being in the shop, It wasn't long before I was selling on E-Bay 52 different numbered and signed boxes later they are still a great seller. All my early Neds were made of treasure I had collected over the years and coffee cans for the armour , My brother in-Law said I have an order for you ,I want 2 letterboxes , my reply was I don't make letterboxes, I make miniature armour , with that he said do you want the order or not, so I started to make and design my own Letterboxes. I then Made a couple of full size Helmets out of scrap tin and then my first full size suit of Armour , sold Dec. 2007, and people keep coming up with new and different ideas , I have made miniature armour of the whole Gang, Full size armour Kelly Gang Helmets in 5 sizes, money boxes,letterboxes,business card holders, leather armour sculptures, Stubby to bin,a door bell (rabbit trap) with Ned helmet, wine bottle holder Poster frames , limited edition Ned coin double sided frames and a 3d scene of the original silver-plate photograph of the armour after the siege in 1880, wooden Colt 44/40 pistols and Winchester 1873 Rifles , tow ball covers Harley horn covers ,a 4 post version of the Glenrowan Inn (our shop display and a tail light for a custom bike.
My passion for the craft has made me keep changing the design of the Helmet to get to as close a replica as possible . My aim is to own a Forge and be able to make 4-6mm helmets and armour like the original.
Below are some of my firsts. Unfortunately I didn't photograph the pieces I gave as gift or sold at the market..
My passion for the craft has made me keep changing the design of the Helmet to get to as close a replica as possible . My aim is to own a Forge and be able to make 4-6mm helmets and armour like the original.
Below are some of my firsts. Unfortunately I didn't photograph the pieces I gave as gift or sold at the market..
How my Helmet design has changed...Current series 7
