Conversations with Marcia & Nick Morales

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marcia & Nick Morales. 

Hi Marcia & Nick, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
Marcia: Since I was a child, my family has supported all my art endeavors. My grandmother was in Virginia Art Education and shared her passion with me through museums, education, and experience. I worked with many mediums over the years. I did commissions and was in shops and online stores. Sometime in 2018, Nick said he wanted to make a chainmaille shirt and had been researching it. I chuckled because that is what I wanted to do decades prior, and had failed. I said, “let’s do it.” We started by making our own rings and learning all we could. It took off from there. Stormspun Mystic was born. Date nights for us were either hours of gaming or chainmailling. 

Nick: I have always been into fantasy/medieval history. Love historical re-enactments and festivals etc. One time after Marcia and I went to Renfest I resolved to make myself a maille hauberk. Starting from just wire, making all the rings myself. Turns out my patience was limited and I got distracted with a bracelet I saw made of maille and thought “Hey, I could do that”. 5 years later, we have made countless bracelets and necklaces. Yet I remain shirtless. 

Marcia: It is always fascinating to me how we work so well together with our creations. We didn’t realize it until we began the chainmaille journey. We weave different weaves. He enjoys making intricate and tiny pieces with precious metals and stones. I prefer complex heavy steel and titanium pieces. We often work together on pieces in the planning stages and contribute each of our skills to one piece. 

Nick: We do work well together. Marcia is strong in all the areas I am not. That little fact is very helpful when I’m struggling learning a particular new weave or think a project is scrap when I think it is not up to my standards. I do like softer metals that can gleam, like silver and bright baubles and jewels. I like pretty and slim. If I were a character in a game, I’d be a dwarf. She enjoys things that are heavy, large, and bold. Things that might maim you if they fall off your dresser. I however am usually responsible for getting us into more projects than we know what to do with. Marcia is sometimes too supportive, which means that we also now 3D print cosplay and Dungeons and Dragon paraphernalia as well as leatherwork and metalwork. 

Marcia: We love our universes. We are readers and gamers. Nick also does narration for audiobooks, while I write fantasy and science fiction. We are collaborating on a few book ideas this year. This inspires everything we create. 

Costumes have been a focus of ours as well. We have been creating nonstop for Renfest and Star Wars. This means everything from chainmaille, leather, 3D printing, painting, sewing, metalsmithing, and a lot of brainstorming to answer “how can we make this costume happen?” 

I am officially a member of The Rebel Legion -Apollo Base as a Jedi Knight. We have been building costumes for both of us for The Rebel Legion, The 501st Legion, and the Mandalorian Mercs. All of these are costume groups that do charity work. Three of our kids are in the Galactic Empire, which is the young person version of these groups. 

Stormspun Mystic started out with chainmaille, and has grown to include a world of fantasy into physical form. Our workshops are filled with jewelry, metals, helmets, mannequins, fabric, masks, figurines, wooden flutes, and even custom chess sets. 

Nick: Which just means that I get to buy more tools right? 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Nick: No, it has not been smooth. While the partnership with each other has been easy and great the same cannot be said for our various suppliers. Over the last 3 years finding and acquiring our supplies has been very hit or miss. With steel tariffs rising on imports and the lack of production due to COVID it has been a rocky road. The various lockdowns and health concerns have also meant that the craft shows, open markets, and in-person selling where we would normally sell our products have mostly been canceled. 

Marcia: With the in-person events being canceled, it could get disheartening to continue. We kept looking ahead that eventually in person venues would open up again. Our online presence was not built up enough yet for it to carry through the lockdowns. Last year we were invited to attend a Small Business Event at Hero’s Hearth/ Cincy Book Rack in Anderson. That was a fantastic experience all around. Hopefully 2023 will bring good vibes our way. Summerfair is one of our goals for the next couple years too. 

Besides the pandemic, we have distractions. Having six children keeps us busy. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Marcia: Chainmaille is a specialty of Stormspun Mystic. We enjoy working with steel, titanium, niobium, and precious metals such as argenteums silver, and rose gold. Costumes and figurines have come a long way over the years. Once we get past some learning curves, we hope to offer more to the public. There are a lot of skills at work for costumes. I cannot count how many helmets have been printed so far. 

Nick: I am most proud of a Byzantine necklace I made with a Forbidden Eye pendant. It was tough and time-consuming, but it’s my favorite piece by far. I believe what sets us apart from others is the sheer number of weaves we can offer, the amount of ways you can weave some metal rings into a piece of art are many. We intend to master most of them. Marcia summed it up pretty well that what we are known for is chainmaille, but I believe to the people we work with and our customers we are the “People who can make It for you”. We don’t shy away from a challenge. It’s never no in our shop, only let’s see what we can do. 

Marcia: I am proud of my scalemaille vest I made last year. It is made from tiny black scales with a chainmaille back. I wore it to RenFest last year along with many other parts of a costume we made from fabric, leather, and even handmade viking horns. 

I also have enjoyed my Jedi Knight costume. I have worn it to several charity events the past two years. Nick and I worked on an Order 66 levitating meditation dedication photo shoot last year in that costume (that is super nerd awesomeness). 

Cloaks and robes have made the top of the list too. We have several Jedi and Sith robes. We also have Sorceress and Wizard styles. These will make it to market as soon as I make a few more. 

Being Stormspun Mystic means bringing fantasy to life. The characters from what we read, watch game, and create enter our world through costumes, jewelry, stories, and figures. We are not just jewelry, just costumes, just books, or just anything in one medium. We want to bring characters to life and help others be as unique as they desire. 

What do you like and dislike about the city?
Nick: The programs and facilities that bring us outside. Cincinnati has devoted a lot of resources to expanding bike/walking trails throughout the city and its surrounding environs which I think is just amazing. The nearness of any major activity is no more than probably 30 minutes away, sports games, ice skating, roller skating, skate parks, museums, etc. The architecture and feel of our city is old yet manages to blend with a more modern lifestyle. There is a lot of history here and it’s a real joy to take some of our city tours to learn it. As for things I don’t like, public transportation could use an overhaul, why does it have to be so muggy, and seriously the east side needs more sidewalks. 

Marcia: I agree about the trails. I would love to see more dedicated trails and paths for walking and biking as well as businesses being set up for people who are not driving. It really helps with keeping active physically, mentally, and spiritually. The conversations, meditations, and health benefits are priceless. 

The rivers are gorgeous. The Ohio River is beautiful from Cincinnati, Ohio, and Newport, Kentucky. We will park at Sawyer Point and walk both sides of the river. There are often events happening to keep it interesting. The Miami river is peaceful whether you are in a canoe or kayak, or on the Loveland Trail that runs just along the side of it. Rails to Trails Conservancy has been developing the old train tracks into trails that go from the Ohio River to Lake Erie. 

What do I like least? The weather is predictably unpredictable. Being in the valley, it can get weird. We experience all seasons in one day more days than I enjoy. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.stormspunmystic.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/stormspunmystic
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/stormspunmystic