A Few Gains and a Great Loss: 5 Updates

Jun 9

Museum Replica

The Grand Master of Iowa in 1979 was Donald E Stamy. He passed away June 8, 2025. His family donated his jewel to the Iowa Masonic Library and Museum. It is a gorgeously intricate piece, made of solid gold with a beautiful carved opal set in the center.

This spring, IMLM decided to rededicate their Hall of Past Grand Masters to Donald E. Stamy. As part of this dedication, they had a display made for a replica of his jewel (the original is stored in the vault for insurance purposes). They asked Graeme and I if we could make the replica. The catch: We had only 5 days to get it done. We used every hour of those 5 days to frantically craft the replica, and we delivered it just in time for the Open House on May 30th, 2026.

Due to the “Curse of the Artist’s Gaze,” Graeme and I can spot several things we could have done better if we had more time. But those who know the jewel best have assured us it is difficult to tell the difference between our replica and the real thing, so I suppose that means we did okay LOL

This is also now the 2nd piece of Studio Eldeen Handmade Art that the Iowa Masonic Library and Museum has in their collection. That fact would blow the mind of 10-year-old me, and I am so grateful and honored for the trust and confidence the folks at IMLM have in us.

New Dice Molds

Early this year, our last Mason Dice mold gave up the ghost. The numbers of the dice were set too deeply and thus resulted in the numbers tearing out of our molds, rendering them prematurely unusable. The deep-set numbers also made it a complete PITA to ink the numbers.

Graeme and I decided to redesign the masters with shallower numbers to fix both issues. After printing and polishing the new masters, I cast a new mold and tried it out at the end of May. The redesign seems to be working as intended so I’m now in the process of pouring more Craft Lodge dice to complete outstanding orders.

Craft Lodge Dice Orders

Once those outstanding orders are complete, I’ll make a 2nd mold and keep pouring more Craft Lodge dice. When I get a little backstock of completed Craft Lodge dice sets, I’ll open sales again. Handmade is neither a quick nor an easy process, so a big thanks goes out to everyone for their patience.

New Masonic Dice Colorways

At the beginning of August (after Anime Iowa is in the books) I’ll make a few more molds and then FINALLY start pouring sets of our 2nd and 3rd colorways, Scottish Rite and York Rite! You can sign up for the newsletter to be notified when those sets become available for preorder.

A Departed Friend

If you’ve read the story of how these Mason Dice sets came to be, you’ll know that Kerry Staggs was the spark which set the whole project alight. It wasn’t until a week after ICON 46, when he and I met up at Perkins to discuss his ideas for the Mason Dice project, that I realized why he looked so damn familiar; I had first met Kerry about 20 years ago!

I was working at my boyfriend’s dad’s mechanic shop. Kerry and Boyfriend’s Dad were friends, so naturally Kerry got his vehicular services done at that shop. Beyond the friendly chatter at the shop, the 4 of us (Boyfriend, Boyfriend’s Dad, Kerry, and I) also went to dinner a few times at Perkins. I enjoyed his playful, witty banter every time. It must have been the setting of Perkins that jogged my memory. We both got whiplash from that 20-year flashback!

Since our post-ICON 46 lunch meeting, Kerry became a fixture in our lives. Beyond the Mason Dice project and Graeme’s Masonry journey, he was a true friend, a mentor, and a sort of father figure. His anecdotes and stories were the stuff of legends.

Kerry laid down his working tools on May 21st, 2026. Graeme had the honor to conduct Kerry’s Masonic service on June 5th, 2026. His visitation was nearly standing room only, a testament to how many lives he touched. Kerry’s absence is profoundly felt in many places, including in here in our little Studio.

If you have one of our dice sets, we hope you will dedicate your next Nat 20 to Kerry Staggs; Without him these dice would not exist.

Thank you for everything, Kerry. We miss you.