At my house we go from buying deer calls, ammunition and deer feed to shopping for Christmas gifts in the blink of an eye. Every year I make it a point to use local businesses for many of my Christmas presents. This year I’ve hired three different local businesses to make gifts for me. I’m kind of excited about these gifts, I like giving ones that are special made.
I’ve used the local machine shop to custom make metal signs in the past. The kind of signs that hang on an entrance way. I’ve had belts custom made and even had custom made knife scabbards made. This year I’ve got a plan for some cool gifts and I sure am excited about it.
My wife has made a few gifts in the past for our kids. Her mom has one of those sewing machines that hooks up to a computer. It can sew designs and patterns to beat all. They’ve put their heads together and made some cool stuff for the kids. They made my son a hunting vest one year that’s better than anything I’ve ever seen in the hunting stores.
We’ve got a handful of off the wall places that I go for custom made gifts. I thought I’d share a few of these. Billy Spearman at Sidewinder signs in Poteau can take a picture I send him and add in a quote for the coolest metal backed picture / memory. Billy is the most talented graphic designer I’ve ever met. He’s made several big pictures of ropings, barrel races and stuff like that.
Eastern Oklahoma Fabrication in Cameron can cut metal with their computer operated CNC machine. They’ve made the shanks for the bits I make, awards for livestock shows and a host of other stuff. They’ve always exceeded my expectations on every project.
Tracie Smith in Stigler has a leather working shop. Bobby Shipman in Wister does too. I’ve bought leather goods from both of them in years past.
The local feed stores have farmer type gifts, the Farmers Coop in Poteau has a decent amount of tack, gloves and knives. The Wister feed store that’s ran by the Walden family has some cool stuff. I like the handmade knives they sell in there.
My grandpa would only buy one gift for each family member, but it was always something he put a lot of thought into. He said Christmas gifts should be something that’s cherished for years. I try really hard to carry on that tradition.
James Lockhart lives near the Kiamichi mountains in southeast Oklahoma. He writes cowboy stories and fools with cows and horses.
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