Elizabethan Mafia

Welcome to Elizabethan Mafia. My name is Alison and I am an avid historical costumer and a rabid western martial arts and fencing enthusiast. I enjoy studying a wide variety of historical eras but my primary focus is Elizabethan England and the Early Modern English period.

My earliest love is fencing and western martial arts. I began primarily as a historical fencing enthusiast and I'm especially pleased that I've managed to preserve my joints well enough to continue to fight long after having received my White Scarf. With luck, love, and cross training I hope to fight for many more years to come. My fascination and enthusiasm for historical martial arts grew out of my love of fencing. I was looking for more. More information, more tricks to add to my repertoire, more ways to improve my game. I started reading Di Grassi and everything took off from there.

Sewing and my love for historical fashion grew out of my love of fencing as well. It wasn't enough to want to fight well; I wanted to look really good while I was doing too. As my skills improved I began to tackle more and more difficult projects. And I was no longer satisfied with “ok” results. I wanted clothing. I wanted a full wardrobe of historically accurate, well made, lovingly fitted garments. I wanted embroidered shirts and coifs, lots of beautiful little accessories. I wanted to challenge myself with big, beautiful, hard core projects. And so I spend an untold number of happy hours doing just that.

I currently reside in Raleigh, NC with my beloved husband, two crazy dogs, and a rather sweet but ornery cat.  When not studying history I am a cardiovascular researcher at UNC Chapel Hill.  I also pursue a large number of other hobbies including SCUBA diving, reading, dancing, and web design.