Laffing Horse Crafts

Now, this is a besom!

It’s a one-of-a-kind hand-tied besom broom featuring a twisted handle harvested sustainably from the hardwood forests of the Arkansas Ozarks.

The besom is tied out of three layers of full broomcorn stalks. The first two layers are trimmed on the top and bound tightly to the handle with 17 gauge wire. The final layer is bound with 3-ply, 89-pound test jute twine. The binding on the final layer is called plaiting. It is a form of weaving or braiding. Finally, the broom is wrapped with multiple turns of the same jute and a lovely, reinforcing cream twine stitching. The stitching is also in a spiral designed to accent to twist in the handle.

These sticks occur naturally as a vine – usually a honeysuckle vine – will attempt to grow around a sapling, and the sapling tries to outgrow the vine. In this case, the vine won against a sweet gum sapling. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 49% [?]

Popularity: 5% [?]

I wanted a challenge, so Jen suggested I do a smaller hook. And I did!

This is a size F (3.75 mm) turned out of a lovely piece of black walnut, but it’s got a little extra elegance added in. Between the sleek tapers to the shaft and again to the end, there’s a small embellished grip. At the end, there’s a very fine captive ring (some call this a jingle ring). Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 36% [?]

Random Orbits – Triple captive ring, cherry, size I crochet hook

Popularity: 31% [?]

Triple Plaited

This one of a kind broom starts with a one of a kind vine-twisted red oak sapling for the handle. More than a pound of broomcorn – including some hand dyed red for accent – is tightly bound to the handle. A beautiful triple plait is then applied and three rows of hand stitching. This is truly a functional piece of art! Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 43% [?]

It’s impossible! It can’t have been a full year since last Christmas. I mean, I would have noticed 365 days slipping by, right?

Still, the atomic clock embedded in my computer doesn’t lie!

I guess it’s understandable, though. We started out the year with 16 days of power outage during the worst ice storm in the past however many years you wanna put in there… some say it was ever, some say since 1982, and others say that the ‘82 storm was worse. I wasn’t here for any but the last one. It was the worst one I had ever seen.

We followed that up with one of the wettest years on record. Rains and sprinkles and drizzles and torrents, and then, just to round things out a bit, it would rain.

In spite of the rain – or maybe because of it – the Ozark Folk Center seemed slower than last year. Somehow, that didn’t stop the number from growing. Busy busy busy.

Folk School, the season opener, and then special events out the ears… open houses once a month, extended season, one on one classes in woodturning and broom making. Whew…

Things really started to change ’bout mid-season, though. At that point in time Jeanette and I were driving 27 miles to town in the morning – those are Ozark miles and 27 of ‘em equals an hour long commute. After work, we’d try to visit folks or attend concerts or shop and then make the hour long 27 mile trip home – often not arriving until 8 p.m. It didn’t help that we appeared to be living on the Road that the County Forgot. For 3.5 miles each way we were jounced and rocked and bounced and shocked and forced to slow down to 5 mph. We’d arrive home stiff, sore, tired and it’d be dark already.

The change? We started looking at properties closer to town – or at least on a smoother stretch of road.

Long story short, after looking at about a dozen properties we were called back to the first one we had looked at… A wee bit of money changin’ hands and a few signatures on dotted lines and here we are at Havencroft (Jeanette really like naming her farms – can’t say that I mind).

Now, instead of an hour long ordeal, we’ve a 10 minute jot.

Of course, moving is just so fun! We’ve been trying to save some of the fun for everyone else, but it’s been hard sharing that. We’re about 85% (I think it’s more, Jeanette thinks it’s less, so I compromise).

Of course, while we were doing this, it was raining, we were working, we were prepping and working the  Off the Beaten Path Studio Tour, we were sitting in on meetings of the Mountain View Area Artisans Council, the Arkansas Craft Guild, the Arkansas Craft School, building websites, hauling hay, doing chores… y’know, what we always do.

So, we’re now snuggled into the new home for Christmas and almost out of the old one (by New Years)… and with all that’s gone on, it’s easy to see where a year could slip away.

However, next year I’m gonna… well, maybe… naw, forget it… next year will likely be just as crazy!

Til then…

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Popularity: 5% [?]

I’m sitting here looking at my website thinking it needs an update, But I haven’t the foggiest how to organize it.

I want to talk about the way we live, maybe spout a little philosophy, sell the items I make with my own two hands and promote the works of others that I admire and work with.

But there’s the problem… I make too much! I make crochet hooks, trilooms, brooms, knitting needles, nostes, spindles, websites, and messes (but we don’t want to talk about that). So, if I try to break it down into categories, there’s too much and people can’t find things on my website. However, if I just lump it together, people have to dig through brooms, say, to find a crochet hook.

I often wish I would just settle down and make one thing, but I get bored easily and want to move on. If I make multiple things (not at the same time, but I suppose a broom on the end of a crochet hook might be interesting…. hmmm), I keep from getting bored.

Meanwhile, I find I am frustrated with the way the arts and crafts market is going and think of getting a 9-5. In this day and age when the dollar won’t go as far as it needs to it seems to me that getting quality – even if it costs a bit more – that will LAST and please you should be more important, but I hear “I can get that at (fill in the blank with the name of a big box store) for $9.99.” more and more often. I point out that the $9.99 item will not work as well and will not last as long and will not be as comfortable and will not help the local economy, and so on and so on, but it just doesn’t matter.

Am I fooling myself thinking I can make a difference?

If so, I’m gonna keep on being a fool…

See ya in the funny pages or right here… where redesigns may or may not take place soon.

Popularity: 6% [?]

That is our phone number and our address…

New address is

17467 Highway 66
Mountain View, AR 72560

Our new phone number is

870-269-6808

Now, I know that there are a lot of folks out there that would call me an idiot for putting this information online.

They’re likely right.

However, I’ve given out around 3000 business cards in the past year with the old information and want to keep them informed.

What’s a guy to do?

Popularity: 5% [?]