TWO ELK ENTERPRISE
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ABOUT US:
BATTLE DRESS HISTORY

Battle Dress Web / Index Page / Two Elk Enterprise
The Battle Dress we offer you evolved from traditional decorative arts my tribe developed during the late 1800s'. Our Battle Dress is also further influenced by the styles of decorative arts in contemporary periods. We've taken the combined essence of these influences, enhanced them and sought to build on them in our unique style of Battle Dress.

THE HISTORY OF BATTLE DRESS

I began producing Battle Dress chokers again in 1992. I introduced Battle Dress jewelry to retail stores throughout the Colorado Front Range region, including Denver and nearby high country communities. Several retail outlets began to offer Battle Dress to their customers.

Over the years we have sold Battle Dress jewelry at pow-wows, county fairs, cultural festivals and conferences. Many people from Colorado and beyond have purchased and enjoy their Battle Dress jewelry.

Lakota Battle Dress

Our particular style of Battle Dress does not offer a center dangle of hairpipe and beads you might see commonly placed on hairpipe chokers today. We generally leave this center piece off our chokers in order to replicate the 1890s' trade goods style.

In reviewing the works of Catlin, Bodimer, Curtis, Russell and Remington over the years I saw that none of the chokers worn in that period, included this center dangle. So, in following the style of that period we've selected to not offer the center dangle.

Contemporary Battle Dress

As mentioned earlier in the Hairpipe Information section, the resurgence of Hairpipe jewelry received a critical push during the period of Indain activism of the 1960s' and 70s'. It was during this time that I learned to make the hairpipe chokers. I had also made many chokers which included rows of spent shell casings, along with the hairpipe, as an element of style. When I began making Battle Dress I carried on what I had learned before and built on it with new innovations and design.

Our Battle Dress

From this experience over the years, we have demonstrated the market demand for our type and quality of Battle Dress jewelry. We offer to you now, those products which have proven themselves in the Indian Goods marketplace. In 2012, we bring to you the best of Battle Dress!


WHO'S BEHIND BATTLE DRESS?

The making of Battle Dress at Two Elk Enterprise began as a family venture. I knew how to make the chokers and so I refined the process and talked my children into helping me out. They were still in middle and high school at the time, and still young and impressionable. So, I told them what we could do with Battle Dress and they agreed to help.

The Craft Makers of Battle Dress

I taught them and they taught me how to make the Battle Dress jewelry. My experience and their exploration in the crafts materials and techniques allowed us to collaborate on the development of our Battle Dress jewelry.

On weekends, vacations or when ever we needed help to fill an order, we'd all pitch in and make Battle Dress, chokers, breastplates, bracelets and necklaces. Their Mom even taught them fine peyote style beadwork and so they would help her meet orders for her specialized beaded products.

They helped make a variety of specialized beaded items like, peyote stitched chokers, necklaces, loom style bracelets, moccasins and bags.

So todays, I continue to build on and refine the process of making Battle Dress jewelry and I call it TIPI INDUSTRIES.

Already, I have begun to take the lessons learned so far and to transform them into information for small home business craftspeople like myself.

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BATTLE DRESS WEB : Battle Dress History Page
created by Richard Two Elk
TWO ELK ENTERPRISE:Battle Dress Jewelry
Established: MARCH 1999
Last Modified: JANUARY 2012

URL: www.twoelkenterprise.com/