Craftman's Apron

Beautiful work

I don’t talk a lot about masonry here, as it can be a touchy subject for some for what I have to say about it.

But I did want to share my experience with my ordering a custom apron from The Craftman’s Apron website.

For starters, the website was prominently advertised at our jurisdiction’s last lodge leadership retreat as the website was printed on every lanyard given out to attendees. I had contemplated ordering an apron from them for several years now, but that kind of pushed me over the edge.

I ordered the apron I wanted back in April, but as a square, not rounded, style. Under the flap you are allowed to print custom text, and I added my name, title, and lodge.

A few days later, I got a call from Brother Patrick, who works for the business, and he noticed that I was a Past Master. I noted I was, and he suggested changing the square in the design to a quadrant, which I considered, and agreed to. I then asked, ok, if you can change that, can you change the text in the ribbon below the quadrant to “Memento Mori”. He said sure. For an extra $15 dollars, I was able to make those two slight changes, which makes my apron a truly unique and one of a kind design, unlike anyone else’s. They also can do a real custom design for you within reason.

The website did say to expect 6-8 weeks for delivery, but I was hoping to get the apron before our Grand Lodge Annual communication. Sadly, it arrived the day after, due mainly to USPS’s issues with delivering priority mail. It should have arrived a week earlier, but kept getting delayed, and spent a whole week moving from Seattle to Bremerton, 60 miles away.

So, I’m going to show it off a bit here.

The packaging was great, and arrived unbent or damaged. The apron was neatly wrapped inside the cardboard box, as shown in the picture above.

Opening the wrapping exposed the treasure inside:

The images are crisp and colorful, and the trim very neatly sewn. While they call these aprons “painted” I’d much prefer they are called “printed” as they obviously use software like corel draw or some other design application, and a UV (or similar) printer. Regardless, it’s very well done and with this method, the design should last decades, if not forever.

Under the flap is the text, beautifully done with very elegant script.

Included is a “certificate of authenticity”:

Which isn’t quite accurate, as it’s a modified (and thus, unique) design based off of their original artwork. It doesn’t matter to me really, I know what I have, I don’t need a certificate to prove anything.

And the apron itself is made from 100% lambskin, and it supple and beautiful when you look at it up close. You can see and feel the texture, as well as the quality of the material.

All in all, this apron is a great value for what you get, compared to the mass produced aprons from the major masonic supply house like Masonic Supply Shop where you can spend a lot more money and look like every other masonic apron everyone is wearing. There is nothing wrong with that, I have one that was gifted to me once I left the East and that I receive compliments on, but I wanted something that reflected more of my own individuality.

To give some history, tradition has always been that masons hand decorated their own aprons with symbols that reflected their personal beliefs:

Above is George Washington’s Masonic Apron, presented to him in 1784 by the Marquis de Lafayette.

So, personal aprons, worn by members of a lodge (not officers in their elected/appointed stations per WMC) can and should be whatever design (within masonic decorum) the bearer wants to identify as their own.

I highly recommend these aprons, they are of superior quality and craftmanship, and well worth the expense. Time will tell if the graphics and construction hold up, but my current past master apron is starting to show some wear and tear, and that one cost $100 dollars more and is made from cheaper material.

Have you entertained the idea of a custom apron?