Makers stamp

[2MadJacks]

Ok, so just curious to know if your makers mark has any special meaning to ya.

Mine is MadJacks -- my kids names are Madelyn and Jackson

[tashabear]

Essex Custom Leather is in Essex County, Massachusetts. :-)

[Tkleather1]

TK-Leather = Tim and Kim leather

[oldtimer]

Old Timer saddlery : an old timer making old time saddles !

[rcsaddles]

Rugged Cross Saddlery

The way God blessed me in being able to go to a saddle building school, the wonderful "deals" He has given me finding equipment and tools and the work He has brought in for me I had to find a way to honor God in my business.

The Old Rugged Cross is one of my very favorite hymns. The first time I really remember hearing that song was in 1973 at my grandfathers funeral. During that song is the oly time I remember seeing my father cry. He helped me financially and with words of support and taught me my business ethic. Had to figure a way to honor him also.

Joe

[rdb]

I live a few hundred yards from The Rocky River, Chatham County, NC...so.....Rocky River Leather Co. Very clever of me...lol.

Tashabear, I am from Salem, Ma originally. I had no idea you were from Essex County...cool

[Ian]

Black Canyon Leather

Many years ago I lived in Phoenix close to the Black Canyon Highway. I thought, back then it would be a cool name for a business, so 18 years later, that's what I picked. Though, someone has already parked blackcanyonleather.com, so I guess someone else thought it was a good name too.

[wildrose]

I don't have an actual stamp yet, but since others are sharing the story of the business names, here goes:

I grew up on a small horse farm in NJ. It was a very rural area, surrounded by old stone walls, wildlife and a variety of wildflowers and flowering trees (inc. our apple orchard). My favorite of all was the wild rose. I could smell them as they started blooming, while I took our dog on long walks down a nearby dirt road. In honor and memory of that special time in my life, I chose to name my business Wild Rose Creations.

So NO, it has nothing to do with being Irish (though I am)

[King's X]

King's X

Cuz, when I tool something and make a mistake, I can invoke King's X and do it over with no penalty or ridicule from the spousal unit and/or children.

Nice thread.....

[2MadJacks]

Hey guys these are all great reasons. I always thinks its neat how nost everyone has a story to go along. thanks for respnding and keep em coming. James

[TwinOaks]

I've got a pair of live oaks in the yard. They're almost mirror images of each other, so......Twin Oaks.

[Suze]

thanks for the stories -- I seem to "know" you all a little better now

While I don't have a Leather Shop - when we did dollhouse minis we went by the name Tiny Accents - cause we did the small things "to make your house a home"

When I started selling "garage sale type stuff" in the SCA (my medieval group) I marked myself as Ashgrove's Dungeon Sale. (castles usually don't have garages, another friend uses AEdric's Attic - so we joke about haveing the whole castle covered from the attic to the dungeon - lame I know)

But when a friend and I do SCA events with our Good Stuff we use Gryphon's Faire - cause the Barony we belong to is called Flaming Gryphon and the first name that we thought of for our shire was supposed to be Sundridge Faire - the stupit heralds didn't like that one so we ended up with Norborough.

so if I was selling leather it would be under Gryphon's Faire (and it might come to that yet)

[ArtS]

On mine the Schwab LeatherCraft is obvious. My Logo is a combination of two things that I love and are important in my life. Most of all God and much lower on the list are horses. I drew this up years before I started leather work back when I started into horses. I dreamed of it being my ranch logo. I felt it said who I was.

Art

Edited April 8, 2009 by ArtS

[Timbo]

Well I wish I had an amusing story about my leather shops name "Drunk Horse Custom Leather"..........but I don't. There is a little town west of here and out in the mountains is a road called Drunk Horse Lane and I always thought it was a cool name, that's all.

So my lovely wife thought it would be a good name for my leather work. Somebody on the forum once asked me if it was a reference to the drunk horse on the move Cathouse and Ballou........nope......just a neat sounding name. After I picked it I also found there is a band named Drunk Horse......that has a cult like following from what I can see.

So that's it.........

Tim

[Luke Hatley]

Timbo...........is that where the song came from also?

'BEER FOR MY HORSES"

[Billy P]

My name came about, because when I worked const. I would, between jobs draw unemployment and work at making leather things. That was along with doing custom belts and pocketbooks and such. Somebody asked me why didn't I get a shop and do it full time. Never enough business to make a living around here where I live so I told them no that, it was a Sideline, hence Sideline Leather Co. it's been that since about 1981. I like it and see no reason to change it now. Billy P

[DeeAnna]

Our main business is Classic Bells. We restore antique sleigh bells, so the connection between the business and the name is probably pretty obvious.

When I'm not doing bell things, I do a variety of repair work, tack, harness, personal gear, etc. I call that offshoot of the business Williams Creek Outfitters.

We live in a real picturesque part of Iowa and the proverbial babbling creek that formed our rocky little valley is Williams Creek. The reason why I used Williams Creek in my business name is that the creek is a bit of a wander away from our house ... and W.C.O. is a bit of a wander away from Classic Bells. One of the attached pictures shows the creek valley from the vantage point of our front yard.

--DeeAnna

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

OK I will try to keep it short. A long time ago, I used to build race cars, engines,trans, chassis and stuff. I never got into doing the bodies so I contracted that out to a friend of mine who was really good at it. Well I finally got around to taking the time to build one for myself, but; when I went to Bill to do the body, he was loaded up with work, so he suggested that I bring the car over to his shop and do it my self with his tools and help. I watched him put the first coat of bondo on a quarter panel, it looked easy! Next it was my turn, 2 gallons of bondo later, most of which ended up on the floor, and I won't even tell you how much razzing, I finally got that quarter panel finished. Now then, Bill and I were old buddies and had been racing for many years (back in the 60s) and had a lot of friends at the track. We were known for having a really fun time and raising a lot of H___when we were there, (that was always Bills fault) anyway, when I pulled up to the line for my first run in my new 69 Camaro super gas car, there was a lot of comotion going on that of course I could only see, but; could not hear over the sound of the car. Come to find out that Bill had, unknown to me, gone to the owner of Milan Dragway and had them make a big todo about my new car and announce that at the wheel was "Bondo Bob"! That name has stuck with me through all of the racing we ever did, here in MI, in Ohio, and in Kentucky, so when I started making custom saddles it simply seemed like the logical name for my shop. Beside it gives me a chance to have a little fun and think about the old days every time I tell the story. Sorry if I bored you!

Bondo Bob Custom Saddles

[badger]

Great story Bob.

I don't have a good story for my little leatherworking company name. It's called 'Skin-Job because I'm a big Sci-Fi fan and the name is referenced by Blade Runner and Battlestar Galactica both. That and the fact that it sounds a bit rude

However my nickname, 'Badger', came about when I was a Fireman in London many years ago. I had a dark Van Dyke beard which had a grey stripe each side, at the corners of my mouth.

At change of Watch one day, a new guy walked into the Watchroom, gestured at me with his thumb and said 'Hey, is that guy eating a Badger?'

Much hilarity ensued. It stuck.

Cheers,

Karl

[Todd]

Garedn River Custom Saddles

The Garden River runs through my property which also gave me the Garden River Ranch name which I love because I have a grizzly bear emblem with the initials GRR under it. lol

[HarryB]

Pretty simple; used to be Brown's Leathers and when I started concentrating on holsters, primarily for law enforcement, I changed it to Silhouette Leathers for the silhouette targets used by the popo and it stuck. I also used High Country Custom when I did most of the custom work for High Country Cowboy Company. Now its mostly "H. R. Brown ~ Maker"

[jbird]

when I was about two monthes old my hair fell out on the sides and was thick as a weed patch in the middle that's right like a Mohawk any way my mom said he's a got some Indian from the looks of it and yes a big laugh she says, well some monthes later I saw some old torn pants and mom said she made chaps out them and I would not give them back so she said he's got some cowboy to and yes another big laugh I made my first chaps at ten out of a swamp cooler cover and have always thought that the picture of a cowboy in those old Dust Chaps was poetic, and so after that story I came up with dusty chap leatherworks.

I should add that I always had eye for creating and I think this name is a good segway to my work.

Josh

[Sasquatch]

Makoa means "Fearless" in Hawaiian. My fiance and I came up with it. Although we have never been we are getting married in Hawaii next year. As far as fearless well I am a huge Pink Floyd fan and Fearless is one amazing song and a bit of a motto...

You say the hill's too steep to climb

Climb it

You say you'd like to see me try

Climbing

You pick the place and I'll choose the time

And I'll climb the hill in my own way

Just wait a while for the right day

And as I rise above the tree lines and the clouds

I look down Hear the sound of the things you said today

Fearlessly, the idiot faced the crowd smiling

Merciless, the magistrate turns 'round, frowning

And who's the fool who wears the crown?

And no doubt in your own way

And every day is the right day

And as you rise above the fear-lines in his brow

You look down and hear the sound of the faces in the crowd

(You'll never walk alone...)

And so Makoa Custom Leather was born.

Edited April 9, 2009 by Sasquatch

[TomSwede]

I just had to make a keyfob so it will be easier to see that my makers stamp is supposed to resemble an eye with my compass star logo in the center as the center of an eye.

Not sure this vision of mine comes through but I use the name 1eye1 as sorta business name so wanted the stamp to be in relation to that and at the same time have the compass star incorporated to it. An oval shape seemed to be pretty common so I made it in diamond shape instead.

Tom

Edit: Thanks to John K Karnes aka Indypbear for making my Delrin stamp totally happy with it!!!!!

Edited April 9, 2009 by TomSwede

[AndyL1]

However my nickname, 'Badger', came about when I was a Fireman in London many years ago. I had a dark Van Dyke beard which had a grey stripe each side, at the corners of my mouth.

At change of Watch one day, a new guy walked into the Watchroom, gestured at me with his thumb and said 'Hey, is that guy eating a Badger?'

Much hilarity ensued. It stuck.

Cheers,

Karl

That's pretty funny right there. Mines fairly easy, ARM leather, basically my initials and a logo I made for myself which has multiple meanings:

1. I am left handed, hence the left hand.

2. An arm representing ARM leather.

3. A hand for "handcrafted leather goods".

4. I like it so there.