Meet Travis Sigler

We were lucky to catch up with Travis Sigler recently and have shared our conversation below.

Travis, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

I would say that my own personal resilience stems from all the hero archetypes one finds in many fantasy novels. Growing up reading the works of J.R.R Tolkien for example, I found an attraction to the mindset of never giving up hope, even in the darkest of times. Over the years, I found that by applying this overall perspective of hope has given and continues to be a driving force of who I am today.

For many years now, I have been following my passion of leather working, mead making, and overall love for the medieval fantasy genre and have created my own business out of it. Starting a small business from the ground up is no easy feat in itself, but I have kept pushing for the dream and despite the years of hardship, have created a place where folks can be themselves and have fun in this life.

Wyrd Leatherworks and Meadery is born from passion, hard work, determination, persistence, and lifting up your sword and pushing through when the road seems darkest.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I am a leather worker and mead maker by trade, and from a passion spanning nearly my whole life I left my stable full time job to start and create Wyrd Leatherworks and Meadery.

From the leather side of things, I specialize in making medieval fantasy armor. I am self taught, and have spent many years learning the skills and knowledge of the craft and have applied these skills to my hobbies and interests such as cosplay. I have recreated many pieces from The Lord of the Rings such as King Théoden’s armor, Éowyn’s armor, and Éomer’s armor. I have also made cosplay replicas of leather goods from Pirates of the Caribbean, Black Sails, Game of Thrones, and more too! Some of my work has even made it to the film sets of Vikings and Vikings Valhalla!

In regards to the mead side, I began brewing mead in a closet with my friend. Mead is the world’s oldest alcohol, and has been found all over the world for centuries. It is made by fermenting honey, water and yeast together to make a delicious brew similar to wine. Mead can be found in literature as well and is very prominent in the fantasy genre as well. Our mead is made with local Oregon honey, and from there we experiment in this age old craft by offering different styles, flavors, and techniques. Since I was already diving into the leather world, I came up with the idea of combining these two different things into one business.

Over the years Wyrd Leatherworks and Meadery has gone through the fires for sure. We have faced trial after trial, all the hardships of starting a new business from the ground up with no capital or savings, a worldwide pandemic, and so much more we could probably write a whole book at this point.

But we have survived.

In those years we found community. We found family. The Warriors of Wyrd are all those who have supported this dream since day one, and continue to help keep us pushing forward.

Today we have a whole immersive medieval fantasy hall that takes our customers out of the modern world, and into the realms of myth and magic, and allows patrons to escape the modern world for a few hours out of their day. Our clientele is worldwide folks travel from around the globe to visit. Some wear their costumes such as cloaks and armor, some dress as their favorite characters. All partake in this shared dream and vision, which stems back to the imagination of that small child wandering the fields of The Shire within the pages of an old book on a warm summer day.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I would say that the three most impactful qualities, skills, and areas of knowledge would have to be passion for what you are doing, persistence in chasing the dream, and dedication to the grind. The best advice I can give to anyone starting out in their field is to just keep going. It doesn’t matter how easy or how hard the road gets. You have to keep going no matter the odds and keep fighting for your dream. Don’t give up because things are stacked against you. Don’t quit because you are tired and drained. Never accept defeat and keep pushing forward. The only real thing that is standing against you is YOU. Make it happen.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

The biggest challenge I have faced, and continue to face is the ongoing hardships of the economy. We live in a world currently where the prices of things are skyrocketing. The cost of living is insane. For example, eggs are currently a billion dollars and half your soul.

With this comes the every day struggle of continuing to sell our products and get the community support we need to be successful. By keeping our community engaged, thriving to be a light in the dark for all our supporters who seek us out, and just continuing to push forward.

All we can really do is be open and honest, continue the extensive grind, and keep making quality goods that folks actively seek out.

My late Papa Vern Sigler told me when first starting out on this journey “Your followers are more important than the business itself, because without them, you won’t get anywhere. You could have the biggest best place, but without loyal customers you won’t get far.”
And I have strived to live by that statement and welcome our community as part of our family.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Brett Downen
Downen Photography
(Travis Solo Picture in Chair)

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