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Anybody looking
forward to “March Madness”?
OK, B-Ball isn't riding horses. But we can still get excited!
What if we created an “Equestrian March Madness”?
What would you like that to look like?
Maybe with new stuff available for you? Especially since
we've had two unusual years, and supply chains and companies
have really changed? We're
excited and hope you will be too!
March Madness
at Cultured Cowboy has been fun & a little scary at the same
time. We just opened
up a couple really nice boot dealerships.
R Watson Boots.
Last October, we discovered the company through a walk-in
customer. While our customer was beside me, I contacted R
Watson. We agreed to meet in January at the WESA show, we did.
And we have a great plan for you for '22!
3rd week of March I'll have an R. Watson pages
on our culturedcowboy.com website.
For now, visit rwatson.com and let us know if there are
any we can have made for you. Fits like Justin. Rustic
Caiman in stock now. A
new Snake Proof boot that looks cowboy, to complement out moc
looking TwistedX version. 2 new boots for bronc riders! Hard
heel counters, Cutter toe, Made for riding! And they're working
on a prototype of the old Justin 545 lacer for us.
We're excited!
Joe's Boots. Made in
Mexico, affordably priced. We stocked a basic work boot and a
few ladies dress boots. The ladies dress boots have been a big
hit! We'll have them
up this month. One has cute yellow daisies on the shaft. Another
complements our Black Star line with look a-likes at well under
$150.00
Yes, Black Star
boots – for ladies with discriminating tastes and maybe ready
for some excitement in footwear! And Life! See
their ads in Cowgirl Magazine.
Twisted X has
great fit, function & tough wear-ability. Got lots of that
square toe styling. I do have some rounded toe boots remaining.
Their model MABW001 All Around Waterproof Boot is very
popularly replacing that Geo Strait 9018, 9010, 9011
discontinued Justin series. (One of the changes we all have to
adjust toward.) I
can't say enough good about Twisted X company and management!
Call me, ask
me why I think they are real people!
And, upon
popular request from our ladies – We now have “Grace”
jeans ($79.99) here now & “Miss Me” jeans coming later
this Spring. Medium
rise jeans are the rage. High waists are coming on strong. (No
more muffin on top of the waistline!) All styles we
ordered for stock go over a boot.
I'm gonna put some “wild side” 60's looking ladies
pants on the site just to find out whether we should get them in
for you. Delivery on these for Summer, Fall.
Still have Colored Rockies available in a lot of sizes
– higher waist. &59.99 up.
Outback Trading now has their stockman coats back in stock –
for now! We have a
load on the way.
(Happiness)
Still no deliveries from Kakadu. (Sadness)
Dakota saddlery
is now delivering special makeups in 10 – 16 weeks. (was a
year) BigHorn is a
longer wait. The Old Garroutte company is the same actual
saddler, but they may come to you with a different label. Dean
has retired. Company continues, but he prefers no one to use his
name. We have a bunch of Tucker & Circle Y saddles coming in
for Fall, beginning with July deliveries. If ya need any Circle
Y or Tucker saddle, PLEASE go to their website Let us know. A
reasonable deposit & let's get yours on order NOW!
Even their bits & pads are taking months to get. They
are just that far backed up in production.
Due to so many costs escalating, we are expanding or offering of
imported saddles. There are a couple of really nice for the $$$
saddles available. European leathers, India labor. India has
some great leather craftsmen – like umpteeth generation
leather workers! 5
yr warrantees – Ropers for
under $800 new. Others even under $600.00.
Circle J has some snazzy looking barrel saddles we can
deliver packages for about $1100.00 on saddles that would
compare to $2500.00 on the top side.
Hats are in short supply and prices escalated. We're working
with Stetson & Resistol as much as possible, but we have to
have substitutions. My friend, John Milano at Milano hats is
coming through with some deliveries later this spring. Limited
styling, but by not being so many options they can get 3X the
hats produced in a limited labor market.
I called Bailey
Hat- Ordered everything they had in open crown, any size, any
color. Only got a
limited supply. Called Akubra & ordered everything in
popular styling in any size I could get. Still just a relative
few available. American Hat Co is not even taking new orders for
a couple years. (till they catch up.)
So Cultured Cowboy is adding heavy lacquer to straws for
you, to get that tough type hat.
Seems straws from Ecuador, Mexico, central American countries
are more readily available than Shantung straws.
Cultured Cowboy opened with a few more hat companies.
First load coming in this week. We have great hopes – dress,
smaller brim, & Aussie type styles.
Wrangler
promises I'll get better deliveries soon!
SO we'll get them up & available late Spring and then
from that point onward. Key
is still a great jean, but they cut al kids (some sizes left)
and reduced available sizes to mostly heart size stuff.
Still some “Larger sizes in work jeans for you. Just
not the avail in lengths they had, and no more 25, 26, 27 and
few 28 waist men's jeans.
Tack – Weaver
has cut my margins to the bone – they compete with their
dealers heavily. Still they have a great ½ inch set of reins
– roper & split that we'll carry. And anything else they
make we'll get for you too.
So many of our guys have either died or retired. Reinsman
is pretty much all merged into Tucker. No saddles. Bits &
pads greatly reduced. Still
their quality is supreme.
And that brings Supreme Leather to mind. Still a great company
for basic tack. And cotton rope leads. Good side pulls. Practice
& farm ropes at about $30.00. (Kids ropes too.)
Pro ropes – Cactus seems to be our customer's
preferences. Plenty of
saddle bags and halters are ready to ship for this Spring. Big
Horn, Reinsman, South Bay.
Custom blankets
from Mayatex. Don't wait till you need them. Great quality.
Vibrant colors. Just taking time to get. We're keeping specialty
pads & wool pads in stock as best we can. Prices on imported
better wools start at $79.99. Most at $200.00 +.
We'll have the 5Star line this year too.
Had a great meeting of the hearts with them!
And that's the
beginning! SO much
change, so much fun! WE still don't use buy buttons. Call or
email. Till you get
us. Like everyone
else, we have about 25% of the help we need. I apologize for not
being as responsive as we wish, in answering calls.
The phone messages are filling up in half days. Over 1000
emails a day that people really need answers, not counting the
junk. It's because we really try to research & answer
questions for you all.
I turned 66
today (Mar14) and our store became 49 yrs old. I couldn't be
legal till 17 in SC. We
could argue the start in '73, but I like to remember it as a
great Birthday gift to me and the world of Cowboys!
Ridiculous how many changes I've been thru in these short
years. SO don't be discouraged by our “NEWS MEDIA”.
God is still in control. You are a person of worth & value,
God loves you and I love you!
Another side thought: retirement
- I was tired yesterday & I'll be re-tired again
tomorrow! Kinda got huffy with Social security when they
suggested I retire at 62.
I need your
help. Opinions.
At 66. am I crazy for even thinking about investing in a
$2 Million buy of a new location with huge space? I really
don't, of 7 kids & step-kids, have anyone else to take it
over when I die. But, if anyone is interested in being a
partner, I'm thinking of a combo Cultured Cowboy with a dance
hall & restaurant combo. Large enough for small concerts.
The location is ace in Greenwood. Can't do it alone!
On a personal
note: The cancer is all cut out or gone for now. Chemo is over.
Spent yesterday after church with a chainsaw & clippers on
fencing. With my 2 youngest (14 & 10). Felt great! We took
the cuttings & smoked some beef for super, and probably have
5 or 6 more meals! Thanks
for the thousands, maybe millions of prayers during the past
couple years. I've had it better than most on chemo.
As I write
this, I'm listening to Willie Nelson & Gordon Lightfoot. And
I'm thinking: life has opportuned me with more than most men
would dream about. Maybe because my dreams are so big! I've
already lived the life of 3 men. Accomplished a lot. Failed at
much. Strange how the fails are necessary to grow you into who
you're meant to be!
As an “old fart”, I'd advise – live life. Never sit on the
sidelines for long – just enough to get into the groove of
things. I have more
stories than “Carter” has pills!
My memory is not as it was, but I'll always relish what I
do remember. And what I remember most is the love you have given
me for 49 years in this industry, so I in turn can pass that
love forward, back to you!
We lost a good friend at Brushy Creek. His family's running the
company since his passing. Brushy Creek has been making
"real" leather belts - not genuine leather (
reconstituted). Good belts that last! We look forward to a good
year with them too.
And some family
members who were much younger than I are also in their resting
place. And too many more customers, and friends, that I'll dance
with in Heaven. Wonder if they do the "Cotton-eyed
Joe" or "Boot Scoot Boogie"? Imagine dancing with
angels, with saints, with Jesus! Guess I gotta brush up on some
of that fancy Hebrew dancing I see on video.
(Seems if it's
not Covid, it's cancer or a heart attack or something. - Prayers
to all of you who have lost loved ones.)
God Bless &
Let's have some fun this month!
PS: On the Moto
side, more perforated leather motorcycle jackets are now in
stock. And flow thu vented jackets. - Gotta get ready for warm
weather, don't we? Still
got the Schott 141 models too!
Made in NJ & NYC. Need new chaps? Lots in
stock, XS to 5X. First
Manufacturing has great product. And Cultured Cowboy can cut
& re-stitch belts or bottoms for you.
{March Madness
Sidebar – Seems the whole world is in midst of madness. The
war between Russia & Ukraine threatens WW3. We're closer to
world conflict than I'd like to even imagine.
It's gonna interfere even more with better felt hat
deliveries because so much of our felt comes as a side product
of fur coat markets in Eastern Europe.
Petrol is way up in price. Uncertainty is everywhere.
So, aren't ya
glad yer a cowboy/cowgirtl?
As Hank Wms Jr sang: “A Country Boy Can Survive”.
What if hot
heads could simmer down? What if the opposing factions could
have talks about how each could support each other rather than
extending the fear and the threats, the escalations, caused by
fear? In every war,
is it strange that the wars have to be financed? That the same
sources seem to like to lend to both sides?
Who stands to profit?
Not so much the soldiers fighting! - They don't split
“booty” anymore. Not the families of soldiers or civilians
killed. Who really owns the munitions factories?
In our USA
'49ers gold rush, those who really benefited were those who
supplied the miners! Duh!
Has someone's profits or debt control fallen since we de-escalated
from the Middleast conflicts? Who are the pressuring forces
controlling the “Hawks” in governments? Could someone
explain to all the elected and dictatorial “officials” that
the real heroes will be those that resolve conflicts peacefully?
My other job is
as a life coach, specializing in relationships. Now obtaining
another advanced certification in team coaching. I was honored
to be selected in the World Business & Executive Coaching
Summit as a top 15 facilitator. (thousands of professional
members worldwide)
“Boy Howdy, world leadership could use some professional
coaching! Team coaching is all about opening relationships with
team members & their stakeholders for the better benefit of
all. The entire world, people & planet are stakeholders in
the decisions being made. Present forward & future back role
plays are part of the mix. With the right coach, amazing what
can be co-created together, even among people that are not
getting along all the time.
Listening is key! New options are available – unlimited
resourcefulness will out-perform resources every time.
Kind'a like a relationship I have with one neighbor. He needed
help watching out for a large property next to me. Twice fires
“popped up” in his woodlands from "visitor" abuse.
I watch after the property. I'm allowed to ride trails, grow
some corn or oats if want, Made
a muddy clay track, 2 tractor widths wide, 100 ft straight-aways
and 60 ft radius ends in the midst of an 8 ft tall blackberry
bramble for those "tough to break" horses..
Works wonders! He
pays the property taxes. I keep the property in shape and safe.
Everybody wins! Maybe
I should send a proposal to Putin.}
C
Taylor, Jr
03/14/2022
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