Our Philosophy

On Craftsmanship

“The quality of design and work shown in something made by hand; artistry.”

Oxford Dictionary

We embrace craftsmanship completely, it’s so important that we put it in our name. We also believe in letting the inspirations of the heart guide us, and honestly we don’t know any other way to make things, no matter what it is.

Shields says it like this.

“Everything seems to be “crafted” nowadays, from craft beer to craft meatloaf at the diner, you hear it everywhere, it’s a buzz word. But it’s important to remember that crafting is a real thing, a very old thing. It’s a mind set of doing something correctly, not cutting corners, taking all the time that it takes to do it right. When you take pride in your work especially when making something with your hands and then add inspirations from your heart, it makes something that would otherwise be ordinary and approaches art. Besides, that meatloaf at the diner is damn good, so yeah, I’d say it was crafted! For me, I craft when I cook because who wants a boring meal? When I step up to my bar that I crafted, I craft classic cocktails for my guests. I’m also crafting an epic 65 Mustang for my wife, it goes on and on. It seems that I have a basic drive, a need to make things the best way I can, it’s just the way I am. And it’s the way I’ve always done it, it’s the way I craft my lamps now in my shop.”

On Customer Service

Our customers are why we are here. We keep things simple. We are accessible, we are accountable, and we do the right thing. If you ever have a problem with one of our products contact us and we’ll make it right. We’ll warranty any defects and our products are guaranteed for as long as you own it. If you’ve handed it down to your family and we’re still alive, we’ll cover them too. We don’t cover the light bulbs, the fabric lamp shades or the cigar boxes because we didn’t make those but if you ever have a problem with these, let us know and we’ll try to help anyways. If you sell my piece off to someone at a yard sale then shame on you and the deal is off. Just sayin.

On being a Gentleman

Because we produce “The Original Gentleman’s Pocket Valet Cigar Box Lamp” it made us think about what we thought it meant to be a Gentleman. Everyone seems to have their own ideas on the subject and there are many good books out there both old, and surprisingly enough, new about this. If asking the general public “what is a Gentleman” you would probably get responses somewhere between “old fashioned” and “landowner”. But what it really gets down to is a Gentleman is someone who is polite, well mannered but most importantly someone trustworthy and reliable. A gentleman will be the first one to step up to help out when there is a need. He would also be the first to tell you that he is not perfect, but he’s always striving to do the right thing.

We encourage the efforts to educate young men as to the correct way to behave as men. For a long time there has been a distinct lack of proper manners being instilled in young men and we encourage the efforts to teach them, no matter the age, the proper way to act towards others. Manners make the man, and the way he treats and serves others is the true measurement of his character. It is important not to try and take the manhood out of men but to help them learn to use their God given talents to better their lives and the lives of those around them. Men should never mistreat or abuse others, ever. The contributions men make to support their loved ones and others in the community should be the foundation of who they are. Young men especially should be encouraged to recognize and embrace this. Usually, it only takes for someone to teach them to take their eyes off themselves and look at the needs of others to make a difference. A young man finds he can hold his head high when he knows he has done good for others, it is the natural and proper way towards the development of his character.

A real gentleman is always someone who can be trusted and relied upon, not only to have good manners, but to always be a benefit to those around him.