The Roaming Tailor

It's not often that I get to travel far. As an apprentice father (I guess you don't hit Journeyman until your oldest is 7?) and generally very involved in everything individual, travel is not something we get to do often. But when we do, we try to fit in everything including visiting at least one historic site. I can't wait for my daughter to be old enough to complain that dad is taking her to another boring history place.

On a recent business trip, I got to stop by a site that I've been wanting to visit for years: The Old Barracks Museum in Trenton, NJ. The site itself was amazing. Gotta say that I'm a little jealous of the amenities in comparison to my usual stomping grounds at Fort Frederick. Ok so not really, it's mostly that I'm jealous that the walk to the bathroom is significantly smaller; visitors are notorious for arriving when your bladder is full. But I am green with at their tailors shop.

Unfortunately, David, the resident tailor at the Old Barracks was not in the day that we visited, but after shooting the breeze with another one of the staff Asher (who is pictured and awesome by the way) he was kind enough to give me a peek into their tailor's shop.

The shop is fantastic. They have many original items including a tailors yard, multiple pairs of Gambia shears, geese, you name it. The thing that I was most jealous of was the natural lighting. The shop is set up to provide the most natural lighting through two large window that blast the entire room with light. You could truly work a full 18th century work day. The two tables inside provide adequate space for all sewing needs. It's a testament to efficient use of limited work space.

We were so impressed that my daughter tried to take home a souvenir in the form of an original pair of Gambia scissors. She has a penchant for stealing scissorsm, and was caught moments before the act in the picture to the right. David, if you're reading this, no need to inventory your scissors; she didn't take them.

The shop at Fort Frederick is still being built, and I can't wait for it to be done. Based on pure design limitations of the barracks, we'd never be able to get that much light into the shop, but I can't wait until the room is finished and I can have my own little fiefdom. Though I may have to worry about small children trying to steal my tools.