The COVID #@$#!! The whole virus thing has been hard on my mother and our business, Nancy She is the founder of Fugawee. Age ninety, and she is doing great. She is still independent and lives on her own. Nancy’s latest project that she is finishing up is a book on our family and the letters back and forth from a family home in Florida and my father. He was a Merchant sailor and was away a lot, up to eleven months at a time. He could be ANYWHERE in the world!  I remember watching TV about 1968-69, and they were showing how the Vet Cong were setting up IED’s for ships using anti-aircraft missiles along these long rivers the vessel had to go up to unload. Munition ships like my dad was sailing carried 500,000 tons (one billion pounds) of hi explosives, bombs, bullets, artillery rounds, all the stuff that went boom. He would be in faraway places. They would be written on onion skinned paper to save weight. The letters had cool stamps and marked “US Air Mail” on them from coming from  Far away places like Cat Lai bay, Saigon, Da nang. They didn’t sound safe, according to Walter Cronkite was saying. I was eight years old. I’m sure I will be quite embarrassed by some of the passages that come out in the new book. But we will talk about her new book another time.

’87 Prairie Du Chien

Entrepreneurs “Risk-takers”

The Entrepreneur is a French word.  We all think of a small business’s when we hear it. The direct translation to English is a risk-taker.

When you’re a small business that includes our Children and spouses as we travel the rough road of our way.  As a small business, we employ about half of the United States!  I accept that, and my family has been living it for years.  Ups and downs

Then out of the blue comes COVID-19, a risk no one saw coming.  Like a grass fire, it starts small and grows to engulf the whole prairie.  As a small business, it’s like being struck by a bolt of lightning on a sunny day.  A boot to the head is another way to describe it.  With only a vague restarting date for one the entire world that keeps getting pushed back farther and farther!  The situation is fluid at best.

But how do you weather the storm?

WE ARE LOOKING FOR BUSINESS, so check this out.

We are here and happy to do custom metalwork.  Hatpins/lapel pins have been viral.  As an introduction, we are doing an excellent special for small clubs or events.  Very simple and straight forward.

The first pin, coin, or medallion will cost $150, and every one after that is $2 and up with no minimum quantities.

What I need:

Your vector graphic artwork a sketch/drawing or description of how you want it to look.

What you get:

• 1×1 inch Lapel/hatpin with a clutch. Or a 1 1/4 inch single-sided coin or medallion.  All made in the USA. Larger sizes are available at additional cost.
• Finishing will bright with a highlight. Other options are available for an additional cost.

a group of Medallions by Fugawee Corporation

Three Rivers

Award Hocus pocus

There is a lot of estimating happening at the making of an Award, and it is confusing. Ayotte Pewter is going to lay it on the table simple.

Below is a basic custom Britannia Medallion (lead-free Pewter) not brass. It’s a silvery metal. This offer comes in a basic antiqued finish and is priced to give every event, association, club, venue, and more a chance to have a memento of their own.  We can make them as fancy as you want. Just give us a call.

100 1 ¼  inch single-sided Britannia coins made in the USA, text only, inset letters included, making of the master and produced with an antique finish –  $300.00 plus shipping.

Outside loop $10 extra.

Raised letters and/or artwork $45 per side. (You supply the art)

If you need Fugawee to do the artwork, please call for estimates. (Usually about $85)

2^nd side $45

The more you buy, the price goes down.

100 1 ½ inch coins $345

100 1 ¾ inch  coins $390

100 2” inch coins $435

100  2 ½ inch coins $480

100 3 inch  coins $530

Neck ribbon extra.

Fugawee has been making event medallions for reenactors and events for over 30 years.

These are a few of the hundreds of medallion designs that have been produced by Fugawee through the patience and skill of Nancy Ayotte. Her background includes study at the Art Students’ League in New York and jewelry design and fabrication. The two Indian medallions on the right and left are part of a ten-year series of medallions made for the Travers de Sioux celebration in Mankato MN. Each features a bas-relief portrait of one of the chiefs involved in the Great Sioux Uprising of 1862. Nancy works from sketches and photographs to create such designs. The medal with the ribbon is a recognizable reproduction (not a rip-off) of the Spanish American War victory medal. It was manufactured for a museum shop and re-enactor group. There is enough difference in dating and wording so that there can be no confusion. 

Types of medallions

There are two basic classes of medallions. The first is made like those shown above. A picture of the subject is rendered into relief by the sculptor’s art. The second type, as on the left, is a straight photo-etched product. It avoids the cost of sculpting and often is suitable for a small rendezvous or when cost is a factor.

Cost: There is one unavoidable cost. This is the $200 for the mold. It is for the MOLD ONLY. Other costs also apply.

The mold charge must be divided between all the medallions. Thus, the two hundred dollar mold cost would come to a two dollars apiece if you ordered a hundred medallions. However, for an order of a thousand medallions, the MOLD-MAKING cost per medallion would only be a dime. The same sort of cost division applies to sculpture work. The cost per unit is reduced on larger orders because the bench and mold costs are divided by a higher number. The cost of casting and finishing must be added on an individual basis. The cost of heat and labor is more or less constant. Metal prices vary with the cost of tin which makes up about 90% of our alloy.

Sculpting can be as low as $50 total for an order to about $250 total for the order. Thus, a well-sculpted medallion will cost $150 to $300 for the mold and bench time. You must divide this into the number of medallions in the order. Let’s say that your order is for 500 medallions. The artwork and mold together will cost $350 divided by 500 units or $.70 per unit. This is not the total cost. You must also figure in the cost of metal and casting.

If the order was only 250 medallions instead of 500, medallions, the mold and bench time per unit would double to $1.40 per unit while the cost of casting and finishing per unit would remain the same. 

Most people ordering medallions are first-timers. We realize this and will work with you to turn out a medallion you can be proud of.