RL KELLY & SA MILES Co.

**Haversack** · 08-03-2011, 02:25 AM

Just wanted to add to this that I know Shane personally and have had the pleasure of seeing quite a bit of his and Rachel's work up close. It is spectacular! I am working to put a kit back together and will most likely be getting quite a few items from them.

***RedLegLT*** · 08-03-2011, 11:22 AM

Just as a heads up. A lot of their work is spectacular, I have seen much of their frocks up close, headgear etc. A few of my boys in the 14th have their kepi's including myself. My one warning is that they have been a bit inconsistent with the 14th Kepis. Not a bad thing, but they have combined the McClellan Kepi with the "True" Chasseur Kepi.

Chris Sullivan and I have spent hours discussing this at length and compared their kepi with the originals i have in my possession and a couple Sullivan has in his, and they basically combined the two hats. Another issue is the wool hey use bleeds something fierce. After one day of wearing the caps, my boys' hats were bleeding bad. The blue bled into the red (which is the wrong red btw). Thankfully and to her credit Rachel took the cap back and will fix it for him.

Honestly the only thing that turns me off about them is not their attention to detail (which is amazing) or their revolutionary idea of changing the hobby and taking down all other vendors (none of my business) It's their stubbornness to listen to educated sources (ie. myself, chris sullivan and a few other experts on the 14th Brooklyn). We shall see, I figure they want to make an impact and will get better as time goes forward and listen to sources or suggestions (backed by evidence of course).

But honestly other than that, I think Shane and Rachel's normal federal stuff is spectacular, as well as their 79th NY stuff. As for their 14th Brooklyn stuff I'm not sure, as I've only seen the kepi. But this month 5 or so of my guys are ordering up the 14th Brooklyn tunic from her. I will post more once i get images, and hands on experience with more of her work.

Just my 2 Cents.

**PatrickStultz** · 08-12-2011, 01:50 PM

Let set this out plainly here.
Shane Miles and Rachel Kelly are on a whole other level of garment and hat making. In a hobby they have a dream... a real movement. When they speak of revolution in a passionate way it is in reference to being the one true source for Zouave, Chasseure, & various other Militia gear. They base all of their gear off of original sewing manuals and they replicate based on that and the surviving pieces down to the smallest detail. When variations of product show up its for a couple reasons: 1- The product was historically made a few different ways
2- They themselves are evolving as artists in the craft.
That is a very big deal. If you lay out Shane and Rachel's first kepi, and lay it next to the 3rd, 8th, & 12th attempts, there is a vast difference. That is due to the fact that they are growing with each project. Dirty Billy actually bought one of their hats just to take it apart and check it out. Then, contacted them with praise saying that if he made a kepi at that level no one could afford it. THAT'S A HUGE DEAL & COMPLIMENT.

I know these two fine people personally and I can stand and defend against the quote "THEY WANT TO TAKE PEOPLE DOWN" competitor wise. This is complete and utter GARBAGE. It's one persons opinion driven by who knows what & should be wrangled back into a PRIVATE MESSAGE, and not in a public forum where it could cause credible damage to Miles/Kelly Inc. in the eyes of the general population out there.

As to the specific Brooklyn Kepi's, they are really excellent. All of the surviving originals that are below officer grade are mostly incomplete and are not really pinned down to a specific era be it early war, late war, or Indian War era for that matter. There was even a debate about bottom line accurate hat brass, and it was concluded that too few examples exist to really know...KNOW that "this is what they had" Oh, and their colors do not bleed at all....... they checked it out and it's most likely black powder spilled from above me (i would surmise) as I knelt and the second rank was firing behind and above me..... This combined with a massive amount of sweat coming outta me at 150th Manassas was the culprit. So they cleaned the shit out of it at their own expense and are sending it back to me at THEIR expense.
AND TO COLOR, in any situation, then (150yrs ago) & now, the vendor is at the make and will of the Producing Mill. I guarantee there were differences in the shade and weight of each individual batch based on availability. Red is red, blue is blue...and everyone is doing the best they can unless they learn a better way or have a better outlet for material.....As it relates to the Brooklyn Kepi it does not make it look bad at all...... It's a work of art bottom line, and no one else offers it at that level of quality.

Yet again someone is only taking HALF information and choosing to make a broad statement with it. Furthermore, giving backhanded compliments within a post is not good business practice and I truly believe it lessens you in the opinion of your peers.

In this new era of reenacting we are headed into and the lack of too many quality vendors, Kelly/Miles are one of the newest and one of the best. And they work in communication WITH their competitors, because that's how you build, elevate, and grow within THEIR community of vendors & artists. Thus, at the end of the day we the general public have an awesome choice for a product that tends to stand alone in it own arena for quality, accuracy, & price. They are young, ambitious, and have the pure desire for excellence. Definitely make ONE of your choices of vendor out there Shane & Rachel. The cost of excellence is transcending the bullshit and putting out a product that speaks completely for itself.

Patrick J. Stultz
~ 14th Brooklyn, Co. E, N.Y.S.M. ~ "Des Teufels Mess"

***RedLegLT*** · 08-17-2011, 11:25 AM

Patrick,

I do stand corrected on the "Bleeding" issue of the wool. Who would have thought that the black powder would look so much like blue on the red honestly. Last i had heard it was a bleeding issue. Well new information changes the story. Glad you got your kepi worked out, and will have it back post haste. Since I wrote this post I have gone back and fourth with shane and rachel. And I am currently looking for sources for 15mm ball buttons, which has proven to be a tough task indeed, but hopefully we can get them enough buttons for their first run of tunics... soon.

As for your statement on kepis. The actual hat brass used by the 14th Brooklyn has been documented within their ledger from 1848 through 1870's, it was as follows 3/4" for the regt designation numbers, and company designation letters were 1/2 inch brass (Sadly Not Many Vendors Exist that make the correct size or mold but there out there). As far as color, red is not entirely red. We have spoken on this in person and via email before patty. The Mill used, the weight used and exact shade of "Madder Red" is still in production and used on the pants that Chris Sullivan makes. In fact Shane is going to be in contact with Mr. Sullivan very soon on sources for the wool!

The color that we see on originals is from 150 years of oxidation yes, but when the kepi, tunics, and trousers are taken apart we see the original color of the madder red hidden under the folds and seams. And it was that of an "orangey" red. And even in the regimental ledger book it describes the shade used, the weight, the reason for the shade and more. I'm not here to argue, or make statements based on "Half information" I'm just presenting the facts that i have received from sources left behind by the original men of the regiment, and was merely critiquing what i had seen in my kepi and a few others. But all and all they were made beautifully and well constructed. There just a few errors but nothing horrid. It was not meant as an attack on them. Surely not!

That being said, my compliments weren't meant as a backhanded comment. But in fact i sincerely do mean that their work is stellar! One look at a frock, or construction of trousers, kepis and even their boots and one knows that their work is amazing and attention to detail is on par if not above a lot of the approved vendors here on the AC. In fact once i get my money situation squared away i have even told Rachel and Shane i'll be sending measurements in to get a tunic of my own. I'm actually damn excited to see what they can do with a tunic.

I believe, nay I know! Shane and Rachel will be making uniforms for the hobby for a long time to come and will continue to put out a damn good product!

***highpvt*** · 08-17-2011, 12:24 PM

Purchased a rubber wheelhat from these folks prior to 1st Manassas. Its a fantastic piece of work and I'm overly pleased with its construction!!!

**FootsoreFederal** · 12-01-2011, 11:06 PM

I just got a McDowell forage cap from them and have to say that I'm incredibly pleased with it! Fantastic quality and incredible workmanship. It'll probably take the place of my NJ ****** cap for the next few events, hehe.