You are welcome at my campfire anytime

My good friend Rachel came to me with a request for a customized hat. She wanted a way to remember her favorite uncle that passed away late last year. From what Rachel told me about her uncle Dan was that he always had a smile on his face and stayed strong until the end.

From his obituary: Friends and family who knew him best would describe him as one of the strongest men/cowboys that they ever knew. He began working at an early age, and epitomized an honest days work. Dan worked for many ranches as a ranch hand, employed with the City of Cheyenne for 25 years only to take a vacation day to do "day" work for friends' ranches, and worked as a foreman at the Lummis Ranch for 13 years after his retirement from the City. You always knew where you stood with Dan. He counted his age by friends not years and simply said "you are welcome at my campfire anytime."

I created Rachel’s hat in honor of her uncle Dan using a dark brown cowboy wool felt hat. I burned in his actual cattle/ranch brand of a capital “D” and “W” (his initials) onto the back of the hat and his famous saying and the coordinates of his home address onto the under part of the brim. The feather badge includes a bullet casing and a used match, along with a variety of feathers for his love of hunting and the burnt match to represent his say “you are welcome at my campfire anytime.”