It all started with De Ann rearranging at the shop (P20) and I helped her move some furniture around. Then there was this decorative guitar. What to do with it? I looked at De Ann and her mom and about the same time, we all said that it needed to be painted. Let's be real, it was u.g.l.y.
What if we paint it turquoise? add bling... or fringe... Guitars and Cadillacs! We need a new tee design and a window display! Oh yeah! The ideas were flowing! Let's Channel some Dwight Yoakum, meets Miranda Lambert, throw in some Chris LeDoux and MoMo (De Ann's mom) said she was even thinking Dottie West. We painted the guitar for her and she is working on fixing it up!
Yeah my guitars, Cadillacs, hillbilly music
Is the only thing that keeps me hanging on
-Dwight Yoakum
Brenna comes to work about that time and (gasp) she doesn't have a clue about Dwight Yoakum or the Guitars and Cadillacs song. I key it up on my phone and she shrugs... Well, Ok, I'm most definitely taking the designing role on this design! Fast forward through the day and I have visions of crowns, wings, guitars, and old cars. A Spotify Playlist was born and put on repeat. I was busy with orders and Brenna was at the computer working on some other projects. I couldn't wait till after 9:00 to come around. After garden chores, supper, and dishes were done, I knew I could sit down and bring my ideas to the screen. It was more like 9:45 pm when I set down at the computer, but my night owl self loves working in the quiet of the evening, after everything else is done.
Music is medicine... but here's the thing, it's about so much more than catchy tunes, guitars, Cadillac's, or hillbilly music... You know, all the best designs have a story behind them and this is more than meets the eye.
Back in the day, I drove 70 ish miles, one way, to college each week. It was the same time Chris LeDoux's 20 Greatest Hits came out and the tape (yes, I had a tape deck in my truck!) would get me almost to PJC and mercy, did I jam out to that almost every week! Cadillac Ranch was one of my favorite songs from that album and ranks right up there at the top of my favorite songs of all time.
Well the well went dry and the cow did too
And daddy didn't know what to do
The banker came by the house one day
He said he's gonna take the farm away
Then mama came up with a plan
My brother and me started up a band
My sister put a sign on the roof
And daddy bought a case of 90 proof
-Chris LeDoux Cadillac Ranch
It's more than just a family building a bar in an old barn. To me it is about a family overcoming obstacles that life presented them. It wasn't giving up or giving in. It was getting creative and making a living. As I always say, "when life gets tough, get creative" and "keep rolling on." Those two phrases have kept me going the last few years. Life has thrown us a few curve balls and we've had to look for creative ways to keep going.
(Please note, I am wearing a large in both tees. The tank is a ladies, more fitted style, while the v neck is a unisex style.)
Heck, just last week, we should have had our second farmers market of the year, but sadly it's been cancelled for the year. There was another show I was hoping to do this summer and I couldn't get into it... I'm not gonna lie and tell you we haven't been a little concerned about that... I took off one weekend, wondered what was next, what to create going forward since we wouldn't have summer shows... but by midweek, we were back to creating, worked all weekend, and have several things going on and we are brainstorming on some new things to come. (The Texas Farm to Market tee in the window was/is our farmers market theme tee for the year. We already had a big stack of them made, when we learned the Gilmer Market wouldn't be happening this year, so you can find them online and in the shop.)
Sometimes these wheels
Get a little heavy
And I can't stay between the lines but I'm rocking steady
When I can't fly, I start to fall
But I've got wheels
I'm rolling on
And when I find a place to rest
I'll stay just long enough to catch my breath
This life with you will keep me strong
D**n these wheels
I'm rolling on
-Miranda Lambert, I've Got Wheels
Wings, a crown, flowers, glitter... we needed all that in this design.
Look around and see how farmers are diversifying- maybe they have a pumpkin patch and hay maze in the fall or a YouTube channel to subsidize farm income. I know Jeff watches plenty of them! Maybe we take pictures of our farm animals and use them in designs or some turn an old barn into a vintage market or wedding venue... we create our own version of Cadillac Ranch.
Now the only horns around here today
Are the ones up on the grill
Of a genuine '59 Coupe Deville
Of course the caddy needed horns on it! Jeff said we have a 68 model instead of a 59, but the cool thing is that I actually had a 68 Texas license plate that I was able to use on the car. Just a little editing turned into a car plate, instead of a truck.
10-4 buddy, come on back
A horse trailer on a cadillac
Yeah, we're talkin' to the cowboy
In the coupe de ville
Chug-a-luggin' up one side
Slidin' down the other
Well I'm a lover of the other
Side of the hill
A horse trailer on a cadillac
Yeah, we're talkin' to the cowboy
In the coupe de ville
Chug-a-luggin' up one side
Slidin' down the other
Well I'm a lover of the other
Side of the hill
- Chris LeDoux, Cadillac Cowboy
Anytime Jeff or I either one says 10-4, the other follows it up with...
come on back
A horse trailer on a cadillac...
So what started with a guitar an ugly paint job, led to so much more!
We will update when Momo gets done with her transformation and we will have to add it to the window when it's done.
We were had a Texas Road Trippin' theme for our summer window and Guitars and vintage Cadillacs just right in there with it!
Come see us at P20 at 100 Davis St. Gilmer, TX 75644 (My workshop is located in the back room of the store.) Some items are online or you can always message me on social media or my website (I don't always get notifications of blog comments or they show up as "no reply" so I can't always correspond that way.) It's possible that we may pick up a couple of events this summer, we just don't have any confirmation yet, so stay tuned.