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Branching out has been a theme of ours lately. Many things about spring imply new things - a new season, new life, new gardens, new interests, new growth, new ideas… and new merch!
Yep, you read that right. Our art board is currently filled with Bowtreader designs for stickers and merch! Items will start releasing soon… but as we're all about storytelling, there is a story that needs to be told about our current pieces!
How about that all of the colonial sea islands edge just miles away from our location — or that arrows were originally an American emblem for defense of liberty? It's true.
We've included some history, patriotism, and random but awesome facts into all of our work — especially our gear — and we want to share it with you.
If you have been around us for long, you're aware that the American Hunter t-shirt was the start of how we represented our brand. We ordered a limited quantity, but locally they are well dispersed — it isn’t hard to find someone who has one or two of them if you are from the area.
Comfort Colors was a good start for us — the shirts are undeniably comfortable as well as versatile. But of that aside, they mean a lot to us because they mark the values we started with at the beginning of our journey.
From the start, our goal has been to educate people about the outdoors and get in the mud ourselves. As much as our country may batter through new circumstances, from day one we wanted to show our American pride as well. People can live off of this land we love effectively with just a little bit of knowledge and some good equipment. The same goes for being a good citizen — anyone can do it, and on a daily basis it requires little more than basic understanding.
We have a thing for “starting traditions” here.
If you haven’t met our family, we are wild and pretty untraditional. For Halloween we get together and beat up a piñata; during the summer we work outside more than we go to the beach. Our means constantly have to be shifted to accommodate this changing culture we are a part of — but our motives have stayed the same.
Though we are constantly changing our gear, we confess to being a part of a greater line of outdoorsmen who have been pursuing the dream of living off of the land since before America was founded. Our American Tradition shirts both have a turkey on the back — that has long been a local species here, even as the deer and rodent population has changed.
Wild turkeys were a commodity when the colonists came and they still are today. They are the beautiful animals we chose because they perfectly embody the fact that living ethically from the land is still a lifestyle that exists (and by the way, turkey season is starting soon so get ready!)
Interesting story — this is perhaps our most unique design! The bright red color catches people’s eye, however the story this shirt tells is one many don’t know — a tale of another of our favorite founding father’s great ideas.
Not only did Benjamin Franklin have a special affinity for turkeys - which prompted him to suggest them as our national bird, he also tried to implement the use of archery instead of firearms in the revolutionary war! In fact, among his many letters, historians found an argument he wrote to General Lee explaining why archery was a much more effective means of defense. The 8 reasons he gives are the basis for our t-shirt. All of them are printed on the back!
Obviously, the turkey was not chosen as our national bird, and guns remained the primary armaments of our first war. Although, the use of arrows as a means of defense was never expended in battle, arrows did make it on our emblem — 13 of them to represent the thirteen colonies’ defenses. They are a symbol of our nation's defense whether it comes to defending liberty or defending our American heritage of enjoying the outdoors!
Our location is in the middle of everything. We are surrounded by farms covering every mile between cities and by marshes every league between us and the coast. Ponds sprout up everywhere and the hot humidity seems to make all wildlife thrive (including mosquitoes…) which makes it a great place to be an outdoorsman.
Don’t get us wrong, wherever you are, the wildlife is nearby that you can care for and enjoy. But we can’t ignore the fact that we are blessed to live in the middle of such a richly diverse area!
Hunting, of course, is the primary goal of our sport. But, hunting would be impossible without the climate we have because of our nearness to the ocean. Coastal islands are some of our personal favorite places to spend time… and in our family, we happen to love fishing in everything from the open areas to the brackish rivulets!
The sea island shirt represents each island expanded along the shoreline with our logo at our current location. The east coast is our home and we are proud to live on it!
Most of our archers (and many of our really good archers 😉) are women. We have them working behind the scenes to make our website sleek and our blogs consistently organized along with many other jobs to hold us together. So, about a year ago it was about time that we made a women’s shirt!
The arrow bouquet shirt is softer than the others and the colors are a little brighter to match. Like many of the others, it was designed by one of our Bowtreader girls but this one is different because it was based on a hand drawn design. The girls started sketching things out and eventually decided that a bouquet of arrows would look much better than flowers! It's one of our favorites to sport for both it's comfort and design!
This one really shouldn’t be last… but the ladies had to come first so here we are. Dogs! If you hang around us much, you know we love them. The original Bowtreader dog was a Boykin spaniel whom we love, but then Sheriff the hound dog was added to the family. He immediately stole the show.
Our first t-shirt with a dog was based on neither of them — instead it was inspired by our long withstanding love for all dogs over the years. One of our good friends and contributors to our blog, our podcast, our laughter, and our dogs, Wes Chester, is a talented dog trainer who has been working with us for years. We recommend everyone with a dog that needs training to Shady Acres Retrievers. There are quite a few things you can have fixed if you pay a visit to Wes Chester.
Of all the dogs he has probably worked with Sheriff the least. It isn’t because the big old hound is perfect… he just likes to think of himself as more of a poser than a sports guy. His favorite pastimes include sniffing everything, tracking down deer, stealing and devouring entire cups of coffee, eating flowers and shoes, sleeping, and his favorite, repping as our Bowtreader mascot!
He's still learning his size and to slow down when it comes to meeting many people at once, but as to whether or not he likes getting photos, it isn’t even a question. He is fully prepared at all times to wiggle his extra skin into a smile for his Bowtreader fans.
We were just getting you started. 😉 We've also got hoodies, hats, canteens, and stickers - and don't forget about our custom shop! Always keep an eye out for new gear - check out the rest of our Bowtreader Gear and comment your favorite below.
The weather isn’t the only thing that can change in a matter of minutes in Georgia — each shot is different from the last one and they just keep getting more epic!
