I have participated in reenacting and living history for over 15 years concentrating originally on the Second World War with the 51st (Highland) Division and more recently with Queen Victoria's Highlanders. I have also assisted San Diego based “Bydand Forever” in several of their shows at various Scottish Highland festivals as an assistant loader for the Gatling gun and Krupp Mountain gun. My main area of interest is the Black Watch throughout Queen Victoria's reign. I also custom load and shoot the Martini Henry and Long Lee rifles. For the last several years I have attended the Charles Dickens Christmas Fair at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. This is a great event that usually runs from Thanksgiving to Christmas on the weekends. I was growing tired of ordering items from dealers and having the uniforms not fit and many times the wrong article sent. Everything I reproduce is based on photographic evidence, patterns from republished original sources and original surviving examples in museums and private collections. During my post as curator of the Kings County Museum I established valuable contacts with other museums around the world. I am currently a Senior Researcher for the Fresno County Library in California.
Cheers,
Stan Dolan
Nat Sooy has been reenacting and collecting for over 40 years, with a focus on the late Victorian through early Georgian time periods. With a hobby background in stained glass, tin work,wood working and saddle making, the military reproductions started in 1994 with WW1 British, German, French and Austrian equipment. Within the last 5 years the full focus has been on that of the late Victorian time period with focus on enlisted British and commonwealth headgear and equipment. With sales in over 15 countries and items on display in over 11 museums world wide. It’s a one man operation and each item is made to order for that customer. I take pride in every piece I make and get great joy from happy customers. All work is done at my home workshop with nearly all parts made from scratch by me. I strive to continually improve on my products, more so for myself and my attention to detail.
Nat Sooy
