In 1983, Verna Cole began making shirts in a small lean-to structure at the Maryland Renaissance Festival, then located in Columbia, MD. Buying fabric in 3 yard pieces, she made one shirt at a time, tailoring them to each customer.

The Cole Family Circa. 1984 When she sold all 20 shirts she had made by first weekend, she drew a picture of her Renaissance shirt, framed it and started taking orders. And here is the original sketch!

Her husband, Darrell, modelled the remaining sample. Darrell was building a new booth at the Georgia Renaissance Festival and learning to sew wrap pants in his spare time. As the business expanded, Darrell designed and built booths in Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, and Canada.

When Cynthia, then 18, came home from school in England, she was quickly drafted into the burgeoning family business. As the elder Coles retired from their day jobs, Cynthia became the General Manager of PU, and the business began to grow. Cynthia met her husband, Mark Page, at the Ontario Rennaisance Festival in the summer of 1997. They were Married on the January 1, 2000 at the turn of the Millennium.

In 2001, Mark built the NEW Maryland Renaissance Booth. Jeff Cole is our Mac Computer Guru, as well our Travel Agent as providing a safe harbour while we are travelling. He is also a great salesman, and manages the booth at the Carolina Renaissance Festival in the Fall.

Mike & Lisa Cole, and the two grandkids, Bryanna & Alexander help us run the Carolina Booth, and are some of our best models.

All pictures, patterns, and images are The Purple Unicorn © Copyright 1997-2005. (Unless Otherwise Noted) All Rights Reserved.