Vikings’ popularity put The Crafty Celts on the map. “In the second season,” says Danny, “the main character, Ragnar, is nearly killed in battle, but he is saved at the last minute by a companion, a priest named Athelstan. Ragnar takes off his oath ring, our Viking Dragon bracelet, and gives it to Athelstan in thanks. That week our business basically doubled! And it seemed like everyone in the world wanted to own their very own ‘Athelstan’ bracelet! I have no idea how many of them I have made in the past four years, but it is in the thousands. Each one of them was made by hand in our workshop.”
Two dozen pieces or more have been worn on the show. The Crafty Celts also supplies historically inspired jewelry to the SCA and other historical re-enactors, as well as to revelers at Renaissance festivals, to fans wearing costumes at fantasy conventions, and to participants at Grandfather Mountain (North Carolina) and Stone Mountain (Georgia) Highland games. Plus, jewelry is sold at various shows throughout the United States.
The Hansens started The Crafty Celts, now known throughout the world, 25 years ago in a log cabin kit house with an allocated room for a jewelry studio. Danny was working as a typesetter for a Kinko’s store, but he and Sherry realized at the end of the summer in 1994 that more of their income was coming from selling jewelry than from his job at Kinko’s. Sherry had been working as a lab manager at Midlands Technical College. Both quit their jobs to concentrate full-time on the jewelry business. The Hansens also built a two-story workshop building on their Leesville property. Just recently, the couple made a business decision to move the operation to an even larger building — 7,000 square feet — that they purchased in Batesburg.
Although both are jewelers, Sherry concentrates primarily on management of the business. Also working with them at The Crafty Celts is Danny’s brother-in-law James Glendenning; their son Kendall, who is 25 and a designer and jeweler; and occasionally their son Kaellan, who at 20 is in his sophomore year at USC as a double major in media and studio art. Kaellan’s twin brother, Kelley, is a Marine. They also have a daughter, Kerrie, who is 13.
Danny offers insight into his creative process: “I study what was done before, and then I try to put myself in that time period and ask myself, ‘What would I have made if I had lived then?’ I never copy existing art; that holds no attraction for me. I want to create something new, but I want to challenge myself to see if I can make that new thing while still following the ‘rules’ of the historical style.”
He shares how Celtic art, in particular, has a distinctive set of conventions and preferences, adding, “Same with Greek art, Scythian art, and others. And so with each historical style, I study what was done, how it was done and why it was done, and then see if I can do it as though I lived then.”
A highlight for Danny came when he was invited a few years ago to the set of Vikings, filmed in Ireland, and asked to be an extra in the show. His son Kelley went along. Father and son also consulted on costumes. In one scene, Danny plays a guard who stands beside the Frankish king’s throne.
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