Taking The World By Storm!!!

Cap of the Day:  Navy HOH Military Cap made for Miss Rodeo South Dakota 2012.

I just realized that I haven't blogged in well over a month! Holy Moly!! Where does the time go? I have been extremely busy with orders. I found out that Cowgirl Swank will be gracing the runway of the Miss Rodeo America pageant's fashion show held on Wednesday, December 7th during the National Finals Rodeo! I am truly honored! I plan to be there to take in the festivities.....I'm so excited!

Other than that, I have been trying to figure out ways to take the world by storm. I've had a few ideas.....more on that in the future.....and am very excited at what the future holds for Cowgirl Swank!

I am making it my mission to try to update my blog on a more regular basis.....we'll see how good I am at this mission! :)

Live with Jim Thompson and the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund

Cap of the Day:  Black Cheetah HOH Military Cap with Pistol and Alias Personalization

I just love this cap! Maybe because it's so different than a lot of caps that I make. I love the fact that a lady shooter is wearing this one in New Mexico. I like my guns and have a huge respect for women who compete in shooting events.
Lots has been going on in the Cowgirl Swank world. I have been fortunate to have been in the news quite a bit lately. I was honored to be in the 2011 Ag Pride Edition of the Tri-State Livestock News (I think I mentioned this in a previous post). The Wrangler Horse and Rodeo News also reprinted the article on June 6th. I was honored to be featured in the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund's May/June Newsletter. On page 4, they featured a little blurb about Cowgirl Swank and a picture of the brown Bronc Rider collection of caps/visors. For each one sold, $5 goes directly to the JCCF.
I was also honored this past Friday, June 10th to be on the radio show "Live with Jim Thompson". Jim has a radio show on KBHB 810 am. He covers a lot of rodeo and ag news in the area and knows a lot of people. He has known my folks for a long time. I really enjoyed being on his show. It was a lot of fun and I hope to do it again sometime in the future! Here is a link to the show in case you want to listen to it, I'm a few minutes in....."Live with Jim Thompson" - June 10, 2011.
Currently, I have 7 gals working for me in the Oelrichs area. It's nice to have that many and I will possibly be adding more in the future. We are finishing up the initial Downunder Horsemanship order early this next week and shipping it off. Soon Cowgirl Swank "Roo" creations will be available for purchase on their website and in their fall catalog. Then we start right into another DUH order for their Seattle, WA tour stop in July. Of course, on top of these large orders, I am constantly working on filling individual retail orders as well as other wholesale orders.
I have been getting quite a few orders from the articles that have been published. In fact, I had to dissuade a gentlemen from ordering 400-500 caps for delivery in 3 weeks! I had to tell him that there was just no way that I could fulfill that order at this point and time in my business. Maybe in the future! He was very gracious and we worked out something for the future.
I hope to get with a neighbor gal who has recently taken up photography (who takes amazing photos) to get some professional photos of some Cowgirl Swank products. I haven't been able to make up any samples yet.....everything I seem to make sells. I guess that's a good problem to have! :)

Article on Cowgirl Swank hits the internet!!!

I haven't been on here in quite some time. Time sure does fly by when branding season comes along! I have been busy helping outside, making caps, and attending a graduation in Montana. Now that I'm back, it's business as usual. It's a good thing that I have lots to do inside with all of the rain we have been having!!

There have been a lot of new things happening for Cowgirl Swank. I have gotten in a new style of kids' military caps that will allow me to put hide on them! Also, zebra and cheetah-printed hide have debuted and are a great success! I just sent 36 off to the Downunder Horsemanship's St. Paul Walkabout tour stop. I'm excited to see the public's reaction to them. DUH has been selling out of their Cowgirl Swank creation everywhere they go! Selling 150+ caps/visors in 2 days is no small feat! I am constantly trying new things and developing new designs. I have begun doing a bronc rider design that has been a huge hit. $5 from the sale of each of these items goes to the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund. I am currently developing a breakaway roper, team roper, and barrel racer designs. I'm sure these will be very popular once I get them perfected! I am very proud of the next tidbit......

This morning the 2011 Ag Pride Edition of the Tri-State Livestock News' article on Cowgirl Swank was launched online. Here is the link:

http://www.tsln.com/article/20110527/TSLN01/110529950/1031&ParentProfile=1001

Above is a picture of the cover of the magazine. I am so excited to be featured in such a well-read publication and on the cover no less! I had fun doing the interview and even took the pictures that are featured in the article. Orders are already starting to come in so it will be interesting to see what happens once the edition hits the mailboxes on Tuesday! I hope they come pouring in! 

The last piece of information I have is concerning the Cowgirl Swank website. It has been completely revamped and now has an ordering page along with a wholesale login page, Swank Fans page, Links, Retail Outlets, etc. There area  lot more pictures and it links to my Facebook page and Ebay store. To say the least, things have been busy around here......I hope to be even busier soon! :)

May Day

Cap of the Day:  Black Military Cap Collection - "Salon Bliss"
What a windy day today was!! Unbelievable!!!! I won't complain too much though because we have been fortunate to avoid the tornadoes that hit the south a few days ago and the horrible blizzards up north. I'll take a day or two of wind if that's all it is.
Had a Help Wanted meeting today in Oelrichs at the Community Center. I found two more people to help out gluing hide and making "roos". Yay!
I have a lot of caps to do in the month of May so I'm going to be relying heavily on my help......We are branding next weekend and heading up to my brother-in-law's graduation celebration in a couple of weeks. I am looking forward to the trip, but I have a lot of work to do before we leave. I can't leave things undone. One of the responsibilities of owning a business.....you don't really get a complete vacation. That's okay with me though! :)

Happy Easter!

Cap of the Day:  Black HOH MC with Crossed Pistols.

Happy Easter, Everybody! Peter Cottontail is hopping our way......soon to make delivery of his first Easter basket at our house. Stone is very excited about the whole egg-coloring and egg-hunting thing. Kids are so full of excitement about this stuff. I just love it!

It dawned on me that I haven't blogged in quite a while. I have been so busy with Cowgirl Swank business that I've barely had a chance to turn around. Mind you, I'm not complaining.....merely explaining. :) My in-laws are visiting from Montana for the Easter holiday. It's been so nice having them here for a few days. I don't have a whole lot to say other than that I wanted to wish everybody a very Happy Easter. I hope Peter hippity-hops to your house as well. :)

Fight Like A Girl

Visor of the Day:  Pink HOH "Fight Like A Girl" Visor with Pink Ribbons.

I finished this visor yesterday and have to say that I think it's the best one I've done yet. This particular visor is going to a gal fighting a battle against cancer. I donate $5 from each Awareness Ribbon item that I sell to Tough Enough To Wear Pink. I truly believe in their mission and their organization. It's my way of helping those affected by the ugly disease that is called cancer.
After I posted pics of this visor on Facebook, I got asked by a friend from back home to do two visors for a benefit. One just like the one pictured and another one in tan that says Cancer Sucks. It will also have navy blue crystals on it in support of rectal cancer. I am honored that I will have the opportunity to create a couple of items that will benefit somebody fighting a battle against cancer. The gal that it will benefit is my age, is married, and has 3 young children. Before I was asked to make these visors, I had seen the Cancer Sucks merchandise and thought how correct that saying is. Well, I can now say that it's dead on. Cancer does indeed suck!

Expanding??

Cap of the Day:  Brown HOH Military Cap with Bear Paw Logo in Topaz Crystals.

Just got in from checking cows. Counted them instead of calves today. It's always good to make sure all the cows are there....especially since we are using a new pasture this year and there's a gate on the road. We have to check it twice a day to make sure that it doesn't get left open....which happens occasionally.
I'm busy with Cowgirl Swank stuff as usual. I finally got the Downunder Horsemanship caps underway and lined out with my helpers. Thank goodness for those ladies! Now, I need to do 15 Hotel Matador designs today and cut hide for 75 caps. Plus, make lunch, do laundry, pay bills, etc. Sometimes I think working from home isn't all it's cracked up to be. However, the grass is always greener and I know if I did work in town again it wouldn't take long for me to wish that I didn't.
I honestly would like to expand and get my business out of my house. I'm looking for possible locations that are nearby....this doesn't give me a lot to work with. However, you never know what may pop up so I'll just keep my hopes up and my mind open! :)