Cufflinks are such a timeless, and classic accessory for gentleman. Bird Dog Bay has made a mark by creating our own unique shotgun shell cufflinks that make one heck of a statement. Imagine walking up to the bar to place a drink order, and upon your drink arriving, you take your hands out of your pockets and place them upon the bar. Anyone that notices your Bird Dog Bay shotgun shell cufflinks will know you dress like a man.

Our 12 gauge links are the perfect gift for the sportsman, the businessman, or both… They are a blast! literally… Try out the black 12 gauge links with a tuxedo, the red 12 gauge links with a sport coat, or the orange 12 gauge links without a jacket for a more casual look. Anyway you go, you are sure to be a big SHOT!

AFTERNOON ANGLER

Design #286 – Portfolio Entry #4

 

What does skiing have to do with fishing? Stay with me and I’ll explain. All Mayer stories come full circle and have a pay off, although some are better than others…

 

My grandfather, Ronald Macfarlane Clarkson, took up the sport of skiing at the late age of 44 in 1960. He took to it so quickly and naturally that he mastered all our Midwestern mountains–really, just glacial hills–before leaving for Canada and Europe to perfect his craft. His favorite place to ski in America was always Colorado and the buzz within the skiing community in the early ‘60’s

was centered around a new pass deep in the Rocky Mountains that was about to break ground: Vail Valley. He skied in Vail the first few years as the town and its popularity grew, and he knew he had stumbled upon something special. In those years, he developed a kinship with the mountain, the village, and the tight knit ski community who worked tirelessly to build a small mountain town into one of America’s largest and most popular ski resorts.

 

One day my grandfather got word that a swiss gondola was going to be built just down the street from downtown Vail Village and my savvy grandmother, swooped in and purchased a modest one bedroom townhouse in a building, that was still an architectural spec, a stones throw away.

 

Now, because of the townhouses desirable location and due to the growing popularity of Vail,  it rented practically every single ski day for the past forty three years. This meant if the Mayer family were to use it during the winter, we’d essentially be taking money from the rest of the family. So, my folks, sister and I had never visited Vail during a ski season until just recently. Though that wasn’t the case in the summers…

 

Vail Valley had a light marketing push for tourism in the summer season from the 1960s until about fifteen years ago. It seemed as if the town made so much money in the winter that they didn’t bother to promote how unique the summer experience was. They seemed content to get a few warm bodies in their establishments and stay afloat until the next fresh powder fell.  Or maybe they just wanted to keep this unique summer secret to themselves. Unfortunately, for a try-anything-once family like the Mayers the summer experience turned out to be a perfect fit. Every summer after the school season broke, we’d pack up the current family truckster and head West for Vail, staying until we had exhausted all the activities it had to offer. Not many kids from the suburbs of Chicago can say they grew up horseback riding, backwoods hiking, whitewater rafting, real mountain biking, and, of course, fly fishing for trout and steelhead in Gore Creek. My love for nature and the outdoors really took shape in Vail and are reflected in the illustrations for the Bird Dog Bay collections.

 

I know this long winded story just expressed that I’m inspired by the outdoors, but really the point of the story is that without my particular experiences in Vail, there most likely wouldn’t be a Bird Dog Bay. The possibility to build a very unique life for myself with the opportunity to some day live part time in Vail, Colorado in the off-season, in what is now my folk’s townhouse, is what inspired Bird Dog Bay. To this day, several years on, I wake up at the break of down on the third week of August with my trusty Tahoe packed with my design studio and equally old dog, Gus, riding shotgun and we roll away like a classic Bob Seger song.

 

While I’m gone, my team holds down the fort back in our Chicago loft while I primarily focus on illustrating, designing, and coloring the following Fall’s collection from the same maple kitchen table my grandparents purchased before I was born. When I’ve finished and have submitted the collection to the silk mill a month or so later, I pack up the Tahoe and Gus and head back home for the holiday season. Mission accomplished.

 

Anyway, to return to design, the tie you see here, Afternoon Angler, is something I designed after my sister, Jen, and I returned to the townhouse after a guided wade trip in Red Cliff last year. While she hooked seven impressive trout, I slipped into the drink, filled half my waders with the Colorado River, and spent the bulk of my time untangling bird nests from the bank … all in all, a solid fly fishing experience with her!

 

If you are ever lucky enough to visit Vail, swing by the Landmark Resort and take a look at the framed photo of my svelte grandfather on the peak of the mountain in the late 1960’s. It is mounted in the “Ronald and Florence Clarkson” locker room which is dedicated to my grandparents. A beautiful tribute to the two people that inspired me to take this life gamble, launch my fun yet challenging company and continue to inspire me year after year.

Here is another photo of Gus the dog, and his new favorite food, Seaweed…well maybe not. It looks like he might not be a fan. He is adorable none the less.

Good Morning! This is Steve Mayer, the guy behind the Bird Dog Bay brand. Frequently, the question I’m asked to field most when chatting with fans is “What’s your inspiration for your designs?” After years of our marketing manager hammering me to write a weekly blog describing my illustrations and the stories behind them, I’m now waving my white flag. Every week, I’ll provide fans with a bit of a glimpse into the hundred or so designs I create each year. I’m known among friends to be a bit of an embellished story teller, so bear with me: short and sweet is not the Mayer way! Anyway, I hope you find it interesting as the rest of my team thinks you will enjoy it…

SHARK WEEK

 Design #254 – portfolio entry #3

The second most frequently asked question I’m asked is “Are you ever concerned you’ll run out of ideas for your silk designs?” The answer is usually an impish grin and the following explanation … were you ever to visit my studio and flip through my design files, you’d understand why running out of designs is the least of my problems–dealing with custom jobs, maybe–but thinking of the twenty-seventh way to draw a clever golf tie? Not so much.

As of today, there are thousands of random sketches on scratch paper, pub coasters, old Polaroids, Victorian Christmas ornaments, and vintage hunting licenses, not even considering the thousand of ripped out pages from home decor and sporting magazines. What started with a simple accordion folder when I was a teenager is now several file cabinets some twenty-plus years later. Really, I would say collecting inspiration for silk designs is my one real hobby, and I add to it every day. Just this morning, in fact, I sketched a design of a blockheaded English labrador retriever mid-flight from a dock jumping competition, inspired by a photo from the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition in Charleston, SC. Stay tuned as that baby might show up in next Spring’s collection…

Well, anyway, last year I came across a sketch drawn on a Key West snorkeling brochure tossed into one of the cabinets a million years ago. My illustration had a load of different shark breeds swimming in circles and in Sharpie I wrote “Tiger, Nurse, and Hammerstein.” Clever? I don’t know, but at the time I thought it would make a good tie for lawyers. Granted, I wasn’t sure I was going down the right path, so when I finally put pen to paper I drew in a little “Scuba Steve” to play it safe … well, maybe not so safe in these silky waters.

It is mid-February and Bird Dog Bay is located in Chicago, IL. Needless to say, it is cold. It is bone chilling cold. To get to the loft today, I put on Snow boats, 4 layers of earth, my faithful Bears snowcap and ski goggles. I was still freezing… Yet, it was beautiful out. It also made me wish I was skiing. Then I got to the office and went to check out what Ski ties we have… We have several!!!! My favorite is an oldie but a goodie… It is called “Fresh Powder”… It is a great ski tie and I really like the dark forest green color. The downhill skier just pops on it! Steve actually sketched this one while sitting at his folks’ kitchen table in Vail, inspired by a photo he saw in that morning’s Vail Daily while on a ski trip with his buddies last spring. He would have been carving the back bowls that day, though he tore his rotator cuff showing off his very limited skiing skills to his friends and ended the remainder of his trip with a #2 pencil, sketch pad, and a sixer of Coors Light. His pain is your gain… It is a great ski tie! Just look at the detail!

 

 

Another great ski tie we have is from this past Fall/ Winter Collection. It is called ski school, and it offers a little more of a geometric/ subtle approach.  Stve describes it as, a beautiful step and repeat featuring sticks, planks, and flakes, Ski School is a gnarly addition to even the most seasoned bum’s formalwear, and a surefire way to make you even cooler this winter… It is a handsome tie, and would complement any outfit, even a linen shirt in the summer!

Good afternoon! This is Steve Mayer, the guy behind the Bird Dog Bay brand! Frequently, the question I’m asked to field most when chatting with fans is “What’s your inspiration for your designs?” After years of our marketing manager hammering me to write a weekly blog describing my illustrations and the stories behind them, I’m now waving my white flag. Every week, I’ll provide fans with a bit of a glimpse into the hundred or so designs I create each year. I’m known among friends to be a story teller unafraid of a bit of embellishment, so bear with me: short and sweet is not the Mayer way! Anyway, I hope you find it interesting as the rest of my team thinks you will enjoy it…

SETTER SHEILD
Design #285, Portfolio Entry #1:

After years of living outside Chicago, my folks became snowbirds and began splitting time between my hometown, Sleepy Hollow, and Sarasota, FL. In late-October, I headed to the suburbs to help pack two cars to the brim before they headed South in another chapter of their always entertaining fifty year partnership. One thing that didn’t make the cut while packing? My dad’s mentally questionable English Setter, Prince the Dog.

Can you guess where Prince the Dog found his new digs? Pun intended.

Let’s just say having a untrained hunting dog in downtown Chicago is not all roses I’d hope it would be. Yeah, my Labrador and company mascot, Gus, has a new buddy at home. But, in all my years of never seeing an Irish or English Setter walking the streets of Chicago, I now know why…

Prince, or “Black and White Dog” as fans and foes now call him on the block, is a real piece of work. Already a staple in my West side neighborhood, Prince spends his days in the yard, barking at everyone and everything. A baby stroller? Bark. Stray cat? Bark. Snowblower? Bark. Pigeons and squirrels? Bark. Whether it’s a three ton V8 engine Uhaul or a floating plastic bag in the wind, everything that travels past my front wrought iron fence is fair game for Prince’s endless hollering. It’s as if coming up with new and inventive ways to scare the living daylights of all things on my block is his personal twisted game, considering he happily wags his tail in complete delight while doing so.

When not barking outside, Prince likes to stare at me while I work in my home studio. Always judging, endless staring… plotting my demise. I can feel it in my bones while he peers at me through absent, black doll eyes. Now, I know all those holes he’s dug in the front yard these past few months are most likely to dispose of my remains.

As I write this, he has finally taken a break from his terrifying ambitions and is fast asleep on my studio floor. His mouth gaping and his right paw, twitching; whether he is dreaming of sweeping open fields while flushing pheasants or my eventual demise, I’m not sure. At any rate, this design is a nod to Prince’s wistful sporting dreams and my hopes for the day I don’t need to lock my bedroom door when I sleep…

Good Morning! This is Steve Mayer, the guy behind the Bird Dog Bay brand. Frequently, the question I’m asked to field most when chatting with fans is “What’s your inspiration for your designs?” After years of our marketing manager hammering me to write a weekly blog describing my illustrations and the stories behind them, I’m now waving my white flag. Every week, I’ll provide fans with a bit of a glimpse into the hundred or so designs I create each year. I’m known among friends to be a bit of an embellished story teller, so bear with me: short and sweet is not the Mayer way! Anyway, I hope you find it interesting as the rest of my team thinks you will enjoy it…

BIRDS & THE BEES
Design #285 – portfolio entry #2

When launching Bird Dog Bay, I drew a similar design in my very first collection called “The Birds and the Bees.” It was one of my better executed designs in the line: small images arranged in a step and repeat pattern that paired well visually for a fun, whimsical image. At the time, a few publications featured it as a clever Valentine’s Day gift, though that wasn’t my intention. When that happened, however, I realized I needed to work to expand my portfolio to appeal to a wider range. Essentially, I didn’t want new or hopeful fans to pigeonhole the brand as “the company that makes ‘x’ ties.” All my designs those first few years were carefully plotted; nowadays, I can draw Santa blasting ducks in his powerboat, but in the beginning I made a concentrated effort to throw the biggest visual net I could when I put pencil to paper.

As I began work on Spring 2015’s current collection, I came across my initial ballpoint sketch in my design file. Composed on a cocktail napkin from The Red Lion Bar & Grill in Vail, CO, I had to have been sitting at the bar in the late-90’s, trying to impress some young gal with my illustration skills as I waited for Phil Long’s famous late night cover set. Obviously, I failed to woo, considering I’m still sitting on the evidence, and I’m sure my friends took the mick out of me and my terrible closing game. On the flip side, however, my lousy pick-up evolves into a creative win for Bird Dog Bay. Glass half full?