Have you ever seen your products among the best shield makers from India? The crafter Sergey Shmyd from Ukraine saw it and was very surprised. Who wouldn’t be surprised? Just so that you do not fall for the bait of dishonest sellers, we will tell you about the work of the “MedievalUA” workshop, which Sergey created in 2008.

The workshop was nominated for participation in The Artisans and Craftsmen People’s Choice Award several times at once and we are pleased to introduce it to you.

“I am proud of my work. I was the first in Ukraine who began to produce shields like Pavise and Kalkan from plywood, only then other crafters began to make copies of my work… Friends joke like: “… you are cool as Adidas, they are already copying you.” People just took my products instead of coming up with something of their own. The Indians have gone further – they just steal the photo”.

As you have already understood, the main specialization of the workshop is shields. The beginning of the story is quite standard – in 2008 a young man from the city of Lutsk, in western Ukraine, became interested in HMB and made a shield for himself to participate in tournaments.

“I made a shield for myself. It turned out quite neatly and reliably, especially as for the first experience in this case. At that time, the HMB movement in the country was not so large, and everyone knew each other. At the tournament, a fighter from another city saw my shield and asked me to do the same for him. Then orders poured in”, said Sergey.

It was high time to think about the initiation of his own workshop. The most difficult thing was to come up with a name. Shields from Sergey is a simple and obvious working option that stuck firmly to the workshop. Now it is already a serious workshop, which has entered the international level and the name had to be changed. Today many people know it under the MedievalUA name.

“Quality and reliability have always been our top priorities. Once a client contacted us who had already ordered a shield 4 years ago. He needed a new one. I thought that 4 years of “life” for a shield is a very good result! Fighters often “kill” a shield in one season. As it turned out, the shield was simply stolen at the festival by some tourists … “

Sergey and his colleagues, working with clients, periodically help to make a choice, taking into account the region they have chosen and the period of the Middle Ages, or they advise a shield that matches the style of fighting.

“All forms of shields we make are historical, but they don’t always fit the realities and rules of HMB sport. We took the most necessary and interesting aspects from historical sources and adjusted them to the rules of the competition. Some of our shields have even made it into the Battle of the Nations Guide. It was very rewarding for me”, says Sergey.

Speaking of pleasant things, Sergey shared with us a couple of very romantic stories from his practice.

“Once a guy ordered a shield as a gift for his girlfriend, who is involved in HMB, and asked me to write a declaration of love for her on its inner side. Also a couple from Australia ordered a shield for their wedding, and their names were on there. This is the first family relic”.

This is very touching; however, the masters coped with the tasks and now their shields protect not only the athletes in battle, but also the family hearth.

However, MedievalUA has not only shields among their goods. Here you can find hats and many more fabric products that can be useful for reenactors and HMB athletes. Sergey’s wife is responsible for this area of the workshop. According to him, they have developed a family business. They started working in the evenings in the kitchen of their flat, and now they have their own workshop.

For such a long time of the workshop existence, fighters and reenactors from the USA, Canada, Mexico, Chile, UAE, Israel, Portugal, Spain, France, UK, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Greece, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Finland, Georgia, Hong Kong, Japan, China, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia and even Honolulu (the capital of Hawaii)  can boast of items from MedievalUA. 

Here there is a long but interesting story that takes place. Beware of fakes and take care of yourself in battle, defending yourself with quality shields. And we would like to thank Sergey Shmyd for the interview and wish his workshop prosperity.

In the meantime, we are preparing a new article for you about another nominees of the Artisans and Craftsmen People’s Choice Award competition, and we invite you to remember those wonderful crafters who we have already talked about earlier:

Henrikas Viteika workshop from the UK
Workshop of Anna Muzalevskaya from Russia
Historicum workshop from Poland
Past Time Pedlar workshop from the UK
Ivan Lukic, craftsman from Serbia
Patterson Shieldcraft from the UK
Racaire’s Workshop from the USA
Knight Art Workshop from France
Rogday’s Craft” Yar-Tur workshop from Ukraine
Výroba štítů Workshop from Czech Republic.
Evil Russians workshop from New Zealand
Bogdan Mihaylov Worksop from Ukraine
Средњовековни Занати workshop from Serbia

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