They’re here. We like them. Here’s the longer story, if you care to know: last fall I loaned someone the blaze orange cap I’d used for many seasons and they inadvertently kept it. I thought it was gone forever, so wanted to get a new blaze cap. I looked at the Treasure Valley Community College hats (their mascot is the “Chukars”), but the logo is a total cartoon. The Idaho Falls Chukars, a Pioneer League affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, has a similarly cartoony logo, and a hat that looks like this (which I couldn’t see wearing in the field unless I traded my Benelli for a Pina Colada or was hunting with Jimmy Buffett).
So because I couldn’t find one I liked, I thought I’d try to design one myself. My design skills suck, so I found a guy from Ireland on Etsy whose logos were cool, and he put our logo together, doing two versions: a simpler one for hats and a more intricate one for t-shirts (coming soon). My brother’s fish research firm (Mainstemfish.com) had some sweet lids made, and he referred me to the folks who made his (Atomicshirtfactory.net). So I’ve gotten carried way far afield with this. It’s only money, right? The ironic thing is that I didn’t end up getting an all-blaze model. That might come if we sell out of these.
Anyway, the online shop — also a new thing for me — seems to be working. I’ve tested it, and checkout is through Paypal (but you can pay with a credit card if you don’t have a Paypal account); if you have any issues, please let me know.
Finally, I never intended to sell stuff on this site; I’m thinking of the Shop not so much as a change to the blog, but more as an addition. I’m not doing it to make money (although that would be nice), but rather to offer stuff I want for myself to anyone out there who might like it. If it works, great. If not, no biggie. I will say that a project in the back of my mind, though, is to develop what — for me — is the perfect chukar hunting pack (which I’ve yet to find). Stay tuned.
