'Bean' to busy to Blog……

Been very, very hectic last couple of weeks in the workshop and the office. Mark and I have been trying to build up stock for this year's shows as well. Weather is not on our side at the moment as its so cold in the workshops even thought the heating is full on. It does hamper any hand sewing and hand dyeing we do too. The cold effects the dexterity of your hands making them less nimble and the dyes to dry a bit longer. We did come however come up with a few new Sami style pouches to add to our range of soft pouches. We decided to use some funky colours this time just to brighten up the January blues and we even came up with a 1970's inspired patchwork design…just for fun and at very reasonable prices…..

So why are Sami style pouches so popular?….

There is something quite tactile about the design, and the more you use the pouches the softer and more 'squeegee'  they get and you can ram quite a lot in them (Depending on size and what you are using them for).

Sami pouches were originally used by the Sami people. Since prehistoric times the Sami people of Arctic Europe have lived and worked in an area that stretches over the northern parts of the regions now known as Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Russian Kola Peninsula. They have inhabited the northern arctic and Russia for at least 5,000 years. The Pouches were originally used to store Reindeer, elk meat, tools, tobacco, flour ,coffee beans etc and were mainly made from the skin of the animals they killed for meat. The leather they used would have been softened but durable and on some occasioning decorated with beads and embroidery! In parts of Siberia 'shamen' would have also used them for storing their scared objects and herbs in. Now a days they are known as Sami Coffee bags or Coffee bean bags or 'Possibles Pouches….we at beaver Bushcraft use them for our Tinderboxes or stuffing tinder in them!