Blog

Matt Schonwald and his father stopped by David Morgan to get fitted out in new Stylemasters. Looking great! Matt is the owner/Lead Guide for Back Country Adventure Guides.

BC Adventures

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Stylemasters

Mother’s Day is just over a week away (May 10th.) Flowers and jewelry are always nice, but David Morgan’s collection of unique items lets you give Mom a unique gift. Native American themed art is very popular. Here are three gifts designed by Native Americans from the Pacific Coast.

Moon Catcher Notecard

Cards

These notecards, designed by Marvin Oliver, show the killer whale with a raven dorsal fin, the raven holding the moon in its beak. The moon is embossed. The eagle is portrayed beneath the raven in a subdued fashion, as are the waves of the ocean.

Salad Servers

Salad Servers

These salad servers are designed for balance and lightness. The eagle, killer whale and wolf, Corrine Hunt’s symbols for air, sea and land, are portrayed on the salad servers.

Lovebirds Necklet

Lovebirds Necklet

This modern cross-cultural necklet is designed by Odin Lonning, a Tlingit from Juneau. This necklet displays the lovebirds, eagle and raven, in a traditional form within a heart shape.

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Notecards

Items for Hearth and Home

With spring officially here (but not necessarily here for much of the country), it’s time to cover your head with the cool comfort of a straw hat. Our Panamas are made with toquilla fiber. This is the straw from Ecuador that has been used for generations in a genuine Panama. Greats such as Teddy Roosevelt and Napolean III sported these hats and made them the fashion icons that we know today. The fiber from our hats is woven in Ecuador, then shipped to the US where they are blocked and finished. We have several varieties of Panamas.

Darwin Panama

Gambler Panama

Panama Fedora

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Summer Hats

A customer dropped by the other day with his newly acquired hawk. He was here to acquire kangaroo leather. Falconers enjoy using this leather because of its durability.

For all those interested in falconry, we recommend Mike’s Falconry.

St. David, Dewi Sant, is the patron saint of the Welsh, and March 1, his feast day, is celebrated as a patriotic and cultural festival by the Welsh in Wales and around the world.

Dewi Sant was a Celtic monk of the sixth century. His mother was Non. The ruins of a small chapel dedicated to her memory may be seen near St. David’s Cathedral. His father was Sant, a son of Ceredig, King of Cardigan. Little is known for certain about Dewi Sant, but he founded several religious centers in Wales and western England, was consecrated archbishop during a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and led an ascetic life. An account of his life was written towards the end of the 11th century by Rhygyfarch, a monk at Llanbadarn Fawr near Aberystwyth. Many prophesies were said to have preceded the birth of Dewi Sant, and many miracles were attributed to him. One miracle often recounted is that once when Dewi was preaching to a crowd at Llandewi Brefi those on the outer edges could not hear, so he spread a handkerchief on the ground, and stood on it to preach, whereupon the ground swelled up beneath him, and all could hear. A short account of Dewi Sant has been given by Nona Rees in St. David of Dewisland.

March 1, the date given by Rhygyfarch for the death of Dewi Sant, was celebrated as a religious festival up until the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. In the 18th century it became a national festival among the Welsh, and continues as such to this day. The celebration usually entails singing and eating, which may mean a meal followed by singing, or much singing followed by a Te Bach, tea with teisen bach and bara brith. Y Ddraig Goch, the Red Dragon, is flown as a flag or worn as a pin or pendant, and leeks are worn, and sometimes eaten. In schools in Wales the boys take leeks to school, status being given to those who bring the biggest leeks, and eat them earliest in the day.

The heraldic emblem of Wales is Y Ddraig Goch, the Red Dragon. The emblem of Wales is the leek, arising from an occasion when a troop of Welsh were able to distinguish each other from a troop of English enemy dressed in similar fashion by wearing leeks. An alternative emblem developed in recent years is the daffodil, used and preferred over the leek by the English government as it lacks the overtones of patriotic defiance associated with the leek.

St. David’s Day meetings are not boisterous celebrations of democracy and freedom in Wales, but rather the subdued remembrance allowed a captive nation under colonial rule.

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Tenby Daffodil

Daffodil Tile Jewelry

Much to our surprise, we received an award from the The Hat Jack. For twenty-two years, The Hat Jack, of Calhan, Colorado has supplied us with their trusty hat stretcher.

Early on at David Morgan we decided to sell hats up to size 64 (that’s an 8 in US sizing). We asked The Hat Jack for the size large, and they immediately accommodated us. And if you happen to need a 65 (8 1/8), we carry the Snowy River in that size.

Hat stretchers are perfect for keeping your hat’s shape, especially if you happen to be a long oval. It also works if you store your hats for a long period of time. For example, if you store your fur felts over the summer, you may want to keep them in a stretcher.

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Hat Stretchers

We will often get requests for hat color descriptions. This is understandable because a picture does not always capture an item’s true color. While we can do our best to match a catalog photograph with an item, it is much more difficult on a computer screen. With monitors, each person has a slightly different setting.

Also, a hat color can look much different depending on the type of light. A hat under fluorescents will bring out different colors than sunlight.

With those caveats in mind, we’d like to show you the difference between the Bushman’s Nullarbor Tan.

This is the standard photograph that you’ll find on the David Morgan website:

And this is the color when outside on a clear, sunny day.

There are many variables with hat color. Just one more factor to look at when choosing a hat.

St. Dwynwen is the patron saint of lovers. Her feast day is January 25, “Dydd Santes Dwynwen”. If you are Welsh, or the one you love is Welsh, January 25 is an opportunity to express your affection and say “Dwy’n dy garu di”.

Dwynwen was a daughter of the 5th Century saint Brychan Brycheiniog. She fell in love with Maelon Dafodrill, but displeased him when she rejected his sexual advances prior to marriage. She prayed to God for deliverance from her situation, and was given a sweet drink which released her from her heartache. The same drink was given to Maelon, who was turned to ice. Again she prayed, and was given three wishes, the first that Maelon should be unfrozen, the second that she should never again desire marriage, and the third that God should answer all requests by her on the behalf of lovers.

She became a nun, and founded a convent at Llandwyn, on an island just off Anglesey. A freshwater spring there, Ffynnon Dwynwen, has become a place of pilgrimage, not only for lovers, but also for those seeking her help in healing sick and distressed animals.

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Celtic Jewelry

Celtic Art & Lore

Celtic Crosses  

Celtic Brooches  

Ruf Duck Rain Gear is made in the Northwest, where people know rain. Designed by a retired logger, these garments are durable, lightweight and functional, suitable for the toughest outdoor environments. Over the past 20 years, Ruf Duck has developed a following with dairymen, commercial fishermen and others who need practical rain gear.

The fabric is made on the East Coast to Ruf Duck’s specifications. Flame-resistant oxford nylon, 200 denier, was chosen because it is stronger than conventional weaves and lightweight. The nylon fabric is coated with a proprietary polyurethane waterproof film. The waterproofing is on the inside, protected from wear. The seams are double-stitched and reinforced in the back with extra vinyl to prevent leakage through the seams. The design of the garment acts like bellows, circulating out perspiration laden air as you walk and work. The Ruf Duck Rain Gear is 100% waterproof.

Ruf Duck Rain Gear should be sized to fit over the bulkiest garments you will wear under the rainwear. The garments are designed to allow easy movement of the body and natural ventilation as you work.

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Ruf Duck

Steve De Paulis, one of our Akubra retailers, sent us a link where he is featured at the Reno Rodeo.

The "Wildest, Richest Rodeo in the West," the Reno Rodeo is a 10-day event held each year in June at the Reno Livestock Events Center. It is one of the largest rodeos in the West, and participants come from around the country to participate. If you ever wanted to see a real, western rodeo, this is the place to go.

Look for Steve starting at the 1:20 mark.