Blackfaces

My dad was a prize-winning stick dresser. He also taught the art at night-school and judged at shows on both sides of the border. Stick dressing means he made walking sticks using hazel for the stick part, then sheep's horn for the handle. The craft would have originated from shepherds needing a crook, and before the days of TV it would have been a way of passing long dark winter evenings.

They took many hours of patient craftsmanship to make. Some horns were left plain, and others were carved to make a collie dog or pheasant. Generally he made on commission but also made them for presents for friends. We have some of them displayed in the hall.

These are fine specimens, but too curly for stick dressing.