~Our Story~
We are Julie and Carol, the mother/daughter team of The Old Tattered Flag. In 1988 I (Julie) married my husband, Michael. We have had a great 35 years together with lots of adventure. We have two wonderful sons, Josh and Jeremy and are a retired military family. After 26 years of service where we moved 14 times, we have finally settled in Evans Mills, NY.
In 1998, while stationed at West Point I found the instruction for some Santas that were made of paper mache. A friend and I decided to give it a try and a crafter was born! I made hundreds of Santas and even sold some paper mache West Point cadets for a time. After I burned out on that I kept crafting and have done everything from wood burning, to candles, to cross stitch. In 2003 (from Ft. Stewart, Ga.) I opened my first website and sold primarily paintings and textiles. I continued that while we were stationed for three years at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. When we moved to upstate NY I decided to open a little shop area in the back of our stone home. It was great fun while it lasted but soon the Army beckoned and I ended up closing it due to an impending move. Well, surprise, they asked us to stay at Fort Drum, so I decided to focus all my energy back onto my website. Over time I would design a hooked rug pattern inspired from a painting and send it to my mother in Florida and she would hook it, send it back and I would sell it.
I should back up a bit. During our time at Fort Drum, in upstate NY my parents would join us for the summer. My Dad had fond memories of the Salmon River in Pulaski and was so excited to be back on the river again. So, in 2008, with a newly built "in-law" suite, my parents settled in. We had a wonderful summer all together, my Mom and I crafting, my Dad fishing and we the whole family would gather for dinner at night. In August we were blindsided when my father died instantly of a heart attack. You quickly realize how unimportant small things are when you lose someone who means so much to you. My mother continued to stay with us but felt a need to return to Florida in the fall as her and my father had always done. It ripped my heart out to see her go back alone and in time Mom realized that although she hates the cold, she hated being alone more. We have always gotten along great and our love of crafting, antiquing, gardening, eating, well, just about everything brought us closer together. My husband and I convinced my mother to stay with us for good.
One day Mom said "do you think anyone would like to learn to rug hook" and that was it. 2 students turned into many. A painting that turned into a rug pattern has now turned into a large pattern line.
After a quick 14 month assignment in Missouri, we returned to our Stone house in Evans Mills and converted part of our home into a "wool lovers paradise". Our shop officially opened in September of 2014 and has been going strong since then with an expansion of a larger shop in 2020, located in Watertown, NY.
So, with that, I look forward to creating lots of new designs for you, and Mom always looks forward to hooking her next project. Thank you for taking the time to get to know us.