I enjoy making wooden pieces that have an historic provenance. In the early days of exploration of the Canadian wilderness, French speaking trappers used the waterways to explore the vast interior of the continent. There were two different groups; the Hivernants (the Winterers) and the Mangers du Lard (the Pork Eaters)! These unlikey names came about because the Winterers travelled the upper country north and west of the Grand Portage, rarely returning to civilization, and the Pork Eaters whose diet consisted of large amounts of salt pork and who plied their trade between Montreal and Minnesota. The voyager's cup was somewhere between a shallow cup and a spoon and had this dual use, meaning that less kit had to be carried. Many of the originals were copies of the Native American's Ojibwe Naagan - a cross between a spoon and a bowl.