Dear Gentle Readers,
My BFF Christina Bouvier calls my cadre of friends my “collection.” One of my favorite people in my treasured collection is Tony Swatton of Sword and Stone, the Burbank, CA-based company that creates those wonderful costumes and armour you see in certain Viking-style TV ads and films requiring swords, armour, etc. Aside from Tony’s amazing vision and craftsmanship for artisan metal, leather and jewelry work, what drew me to become his friend was our shared sense of humor. He is truly a kindred spirit. First, let me show you an image of Tony and his favorite model Natasha, and then I’ll explain further:
Tony Swatton at San Diego Comic-Con...Vikings REPRESENT!
(BTW, Tony made the costume you see above on Natasha.)
Since Tony has plenty of Viking-like costumes lying about his shop, he calls up friends to do the Viking version of a Rave – they randomly show up dressed as Vikings at, say, the local IKEA for Swedish meatballs. Tony gets all perplexed when he’s suddenly flanked by security-type folks. He told IKEA security that he and the crew were sent there by “IKEA’s Headquarters.”
Someone could write an entire book on Tony and his wild adventures, and frankly, I’m just the author to do it.
So…Tony formed the NORSE HOLLYWOOD VIKINGS DINING CLUB. You can find this club on FaceBook. Toward the end of August, he is renting one of those amphibious Duck Boats, and they will deck out the exterior in armour, load it up with Club members donned in Viking gear, and drive it through Compton, Watts, and God knows where else, before ending up in Long Beach Harbour. I’d give my left ovary to join in on the hijinks – this is TOTALLY my cup of tea.
So Tony Swatton is just one of the eclectic folks in my ever-growing collection of friends – I blame it all on my Aquarian rising sign. If you are so moved, follow Tony’s hijinks on FaceBook and join in on the fun. I am so moved.
Denise!
Denise Dorman's Blog 